Nutcracker Christmas Shirt Its The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year Christmas Tree Red Bow

Nutcracker Christmas Shirt With a Poinsettia Tree and an Oversized Bow

The bow comes first. It sits at the top of the tree, wide enough to spread past the branches below, and each loop of ribbon looks sketched by hand in loose crayon strokes. Two nutcracker soldiers stand on either side in tall hats with gold trim, and a line of white handwriting beneath them says It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A striped ornament rests near one soldier’s boots and a spotted one near the other’s, with a few snowflakes drifting in the gaps between.

This Nutcracker Christmas shirt is meant for the person in your family who opens the ornament boxes before anyone else is awake and has firm opinions about which branch each one belongs on. The tree is dotted with poinsettia blooms from the bottom branches to the tip, and the soldiers keep watch the way they do on a mantel all December. The one on the left carries a sword at his hip, while his twin on the right keeps both hands at his sides. That gives the design the feel of a room already set for the season. Collectors will notice the gold buttons down each jacket and the laced boots, and anyone who grew up watching the ballet on television every holiday will know the pair on sight.

We drew the two soldiers as a matched pair, so the design suits sisters, a couple, or a mom and her grown daughter dressing for the same holiday dinner. It also fits the night the tree goes up, when the lights are tangled and someone puts the ballet music on. A grandmother who has kept the same nutcracker on her hallway table for decades may find it already looks like home. The handwritten line underneath works as a quiet hello to anyone who glances across the table.

Where else does the nutcracker pair under that big bow get worn besides Christmas Day?

The nutcracker soldiers, the poinsettia tree, and the oversized bow suit any December plans, from tree-trimming evenings and family dinners to ballet nights and school concerts. The snowflakes and ornaments tie the design to winter, so it fits best from the first of the month through the New Year.

Somebody in your house will probably claim the soldier with the sword as their favorite before the first week of December is out.