One of the most wonderful things about Christmas is that we get to watch the Nutcracker ballet again. Whether on our screens or in the theatre this annual ballet festive treat is a tradition in many dance lovers’ homes.

Nutcracker Ballet at Christmas

If you love ballet and Christmas as much as we do at Jade Harrison School of Dance, then having a Nutcracker inspired feast or party at this festive time of year sounds perfect to us! This lovely festive ballet features a lot of food delicious festive food, and these are easy to use to inspire your own themed menu.

About the Nutcracker Ballet

To understand how you can use the most popular ballet production of all time as inspiration for a Christmas party, it helps to understand a little about the ballet. The Nutcracker was created back in 1892 but didn’t become an instant hit for Tchaikovsky over time however, people have come to appreciate the story and the performances and for many it has become an annual treat.

The story focuses on a girl who receives a special doll from her unusual godfather. Usually known as Clara, the girl notices that the Christmas tree and all the toys around it have grown life-size. A battle breaks out between toy soldiers and mice where her Nutcracker is forced the fight the evil mouse king, she helps him, and he becomes a young prince.

The two then travel through the Land of Snow to the Land of Sweets where a whole range of food and drink is served. This is where you can get delicious inspiration for your own Nutcracker inspired buffet.

Party Food Inspired by the Nutcracker

One of the big things with the Nutcracker is that the food comes from around the world so there’s plenty of simple options to include to get the same theme. For example, the Sugar Plum Fairy, which lives in the Land of Sweets, provides guests with Spanish chocolate, Arabian coffee, and Chinese tea, all of which are easy to get and make for a lovely drinks tray.

Marzipan also features in the Dance of the Reed Flutes so you could serve marzipan fruits or sweets, iced cakes with a marzipan layer or even something almond flavoured to follow the idea. Candy canes are a familiar sight on the Christmas tree, and they feature in the Russian Dance. Even if you don’t add them to the buffet, you can use them as decorations around the table.

The Waltz of the Flowers originally featured flowers made from sweetmeats, similar to our modern mince pie filling. There were also treats such as Mother Ginger and bon-bons which come in all kinds of varieties.

Christmas Sweet Treats & Ballet

There is definitely a sweet theme to the Nutcracker food, the Land of Sweets being a bit of a giveaway!  But you can either use this as a sweet buffet or combine it with a range of festive favourites for the savoury side of the party table.

We can’t think of a ballet that is more delicious than the Nutcracker – can you?