American Girls at the Nutcracker

 The American Girl Doll of the Year this year is Isabelle, a ballet dancer. And The Nutcracker plays a large part in her story. So it was natural that the American Girl store arranged a group trip to the local production of The Nutcracker this year. Naturally, Marina wanted to go.

Marina wanted to take a doll that had not been to the ballet before. We looked through the scrapbooks and realized Mckenna hadn't been yet, so she was chosen to attend. Marina wore her red Christmas dress and Mckenna wore the matching outfit.

We arrived at the store for a bit of shopping time, then boarded the bus for the show. We ate lunch on the bus while watching the Isabelle movie.

We arrived a bit early, so Marina enjoyed a hot chocolate with a candy cane before we went to our seats. We had a wonderful view of the stage and the orchestra.

Marina really enjoyed the comedic parts of the performance: the Rat King, the Chinese dancer and Mother Ginger. But by far, her favorite part was the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Once it started she was very excited.

Once the show was over, Marina was clearly tired. We had spent all weekend taking in many of our Christmas traditions. I think she was at her limit of Christmas cheer!