Our Mantel is Decorated for Christmas: with Nutcrackers!

Our mantel is decorated for Christmas, and I can not wait to show you how cute it looks! I can’t even remember where the inspiration came from, but I decorated the mantel with nutcrackers! Lots and lots of nutcrackers.

I had to do a quick DIY project to give the nutcrackers a new look, but that’s part of the fun, right? Remember this blue Nutcracker I painted? It’s nothing like that! And this opulent red and gold Christmas mantel from last year? Nothing like that either!

This year’s mantle has a much simpler and cleaner look, and all the nutcrackers are painted one color: gold.

Creating an Army of Golden Nutcrackers

I searched for plain, undecorated nutcrackers and found a sweet deal on 12-inch ones in shades of pink and white. They came in packs of three. ( I bought three packs).

For a bit of variety, I added six small ones that are about four inches tall.

The easiest way would have been to spray them with gold paint, but I wanted them to have a little dimension than just one flat color.

Dressing the Mantel

This year’s mantel is really minimalistic compared to last year’s. No foam covered with chicken wire stuffed with a gazillion picks and stems and wrapped in several garlands. I used only two pieces of garland!

The first garland curves loosely on top of the mantel as a base for the nutcrackers’ feet.

The second garland is pre-lit with a few warm white lights, and I wanted it to cover the mantel’s edge. I used small, clear command hooks to keep it in place.

After pulling the front garland straight to cover the edge, I pulled the garland in the back forward to fill the gaps between the golden soldiers.

Don’t they look amazing? With their shiny gold finish and a little black showing in places, you could almost think they were made of brass! I adore this faux brass finish!

I moved the nutcrackers around to stand as random as possible. A couple of gold ornaments placed between the garland pulled the look together.

I said I was keeping it simple, but the ends looked just a tad unfinished.

I added three oversized ornaments and a royal blue satin ribbon on one side, and it already looked so much more polished.

A wreath that matches the front garland on the mirror completes the look.

Giving these nutcrackers a new look was super easy, and I think they look amazing.

Thinking of making your own golden nutcrackers? If you scroll down to the end of the post, you will find handy shopping links.

I always love to hear from you! Let me know in the comments what you think of my mantel decorated with nutcrackers.

Until next time, happy decorating!