During the holidays some people like to set out their collection of snowmen or Santas or snow globes — or even reindeer. Marge McAfee, 85, collects Nutcrackers.
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This is a very busy time of year for the Lake Viking resident. Starting the first of December, she sets out her more than 200 Nutcracker figures all around the house, upstairs and downstairs. They will keep a festive guard through the holidays.
"Pierre is one of my favorites," Marge says of the six foot, life-like figure in her entranceway. "He’s been here for three Christmases because he’s too heavy to move."
Marge has been collecting for about 29 years. Her first Nutcracker came from Augsbergh, Germany. It was sent to her by her daughter Cindy who was stationed in Germany with a national security agency. The Nutcrackers started in the Black Forest in Germany, which is also famous for developing the cuckoo clock.
Tut’s mother gave them a little cannon that sits next to their first Nutcracker. It was the same one Tut gave her for a gift when he was six years old. He carved it and put the wheels on it.
"It was always under their tree so now it’s under ours," said Marge.
Marge buys some of the nutcracker figures herself and some she receives as gifts. The price ranges from $1 for small Nutcracker figures from dollar bins to $400 for the hand-painted ones, antique ones and terra cotta ones.
She has the traditional figures known from the Nutcracker ballet — soldiers and Sugar Plum Fairy and Mouse King. Marge also has a marine, a fireman, and a veterinarian complete with stethoscope and critters in his pockets. She has sports Nutcrackers, including the Kansas City Chiefs, a soccer player and a bullfighter.
Different cultures are represented by the Nutcrackers, like an Irishman with his blarney stone, Gaucho from Mexico, Scotsman with bagpipes, and one from Japan. There’s Dracula, a skeleton, a scarecrow and cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz.
There are soldier nutcrackers guarding the dining room with sword and spear. Two other large, tall, skinny, old-world type soldiers are guarding religious figures. There are three cooks with big chef hats.
A penguin server sits on the buffet. There are two other servers that stand a good four feet tall. They are holding a tray with chocolate Christmas candy. "Walk by and have some," said Marge.
She has Captain Hook and the Little Drummer Boy and Thanksgiving Pilgrim Nutcrackers and the Lion King. There’s two fishermen Nutcrackers, one with a bucket and a spear, the other with two fish — and that’s just pointing out a few of them.
Marge said the ones with the furry, black hats are English or German. The ones with the billed hat sticking out in front are Italian or French.
You can tell a lot about the quality of the Nutcrackers by their paint jobs, Marge adds: "A true Nutcracker will always have a mouth that opens on a hinge. Or they will have a chin painted on. That’s what make them a Nutcracker, their chinny-chin-chins."
Marge points to a favorite on the mantle of the fireplace, an Abe Lincoln Nutcracker. He is flanked by Robert E. Lee and George Washington.
"I was thrilled to death to get Lincoln," she said. "And I just got him."
Some, like the Maxine cartoon figure, serve a functional purpose. You can really crack a nut with it if you need to.
"Some were given for the humor, an inside joke," she said.
Marge has a Christmas tree loaded with nothing but Nutcracker ornaments. Table runners, candle holders, a bowl of candy suckers and a cake baked in a nutcracker shape continue the Nutcracker theme. Even the bathrooms have a lip gloss and lotion Nutcracker dispensers.
No matter how many Nutcrackers she has, there’s still one yet to be added to her collection. Marge has a set of spoons next to a group of five Nutcrackers from the Christmas Carol story.
"There’s supposed to be a set of six, maybe eight," she said. "I hope to find the others before I’m gone."