A Tragic Christmas Tale

At my parents' house in Virginia, there is a sizable collection of nutcrackers in varying sizes and styles.  They're one of my favorite Christmas decorations, and when I came home this last time, I cracked up when I noticed the addition of a little cannon, cannon balls, and swords.  "Sometimes they have wars", Mom informed me as I stood examining them.

Indeed they do.

But in the Christmas spirit, they decided to lay down the weapons, eat, drink, and be merry.  Out of this, a Conga line formed on Christmas Eve.

 

One can only surmise, however, that things got out of hand, and Christmas morning we awoke to this carnage:

  

Luckily, Monstro did not succeed in actually eating Claudio.  Unfortunately for him, Claudio was quick to exact his revenge with the sword and brought his aggressor down by the next morning.  The day after, they held his processional.

You may notice the snowman standing guard and saluting.

Yes, that is a Mexican mariachi nutcracker at left, and yes, he is playing "Taps".

My family is nothing, if not imaginative. ;-)