Day Fifteen: The Nutcracker

We went with one of our homeschool groups to the Nutcracker at the Joffrey. I had never seen it before. There was much anticipation as we sat down. Just being in the Auditorium Theatre was an experience. We were amazed at all the lights, and we spent some time trying to figure out how they must change the light bulbs, as they are really high in an arch. We finally decided that there must be hallways/stairways within the ceiling and access points in some of the decorative globes that are situated between the bulbs.

We watched the stage hands setting the stage. They received an enthusiastic round of applause from the audience.

After the show, the boys and I went to the Christkindlmarket. There's a stand there from Stuttgart, so of course, we had to take a picture with it. It sells candied nuts, the kind that Martin also sold in some of the fests he worked in when he was younger.

It was the day of the Nutcracker. The boys found some nutcrackers they loved at one of the stands. Max said he will add it to his Christmas wish list. They were pretty nice, I have to say. The nutcrackers we have bought in the past have come from JoAnn's and absolutely can't crack a nut. Apparently this is the difference between a real German-made nutcracker and one that is made in China.

And then we found a giant nutcracker. I like how our day had a theme to it. I hadn't even planned it, which made it even more fun.