Nuts about nutcrackers

Couple has small army of Christmas figures

By Scott Thoma

Brenda and Rick Swenson of New London admit they get a little “nuts” over the holidays.

That self-proclaimed moniker rings true from mid-October until early January when their home in New London becomes a residential museum with over 700 nutcrackers filling nearly every available space throughout their home; even in the bathrooms.

Rick and Brenda Swenson in front of a few of the 700-plus nutcrackers in their collection.  Photo by Scott Thoma

The collection began in 1986 when Rick’s mother, Carol, gifted her grandson, Nate, a nutcracker for Christmas. While not the ideal gift for a 14-year-old, Nate politely informed his grandma that he loved the gift, even though he truly would have rather had something like a football.

The next year, Nate got a surprise prank gift from his parents... two nutcrackers. The following year he received four more. The gifted collection then grew to around 60 before Nate decided it was time to repay his parents.

“Nate called us at Christmas, I think it was in 2004, and asked what time we would be going to church,” Brenda said. “While we were at church, he came to our house and dropped off all of the nutcrackers.”

“He hid them in the washer and dryer, cupboards, freezer, the snowblower, the golf cart, anywhere he could find to hide them,” Rick said. “We were finding them all year ‘round.”

With the nutcrackers now in their possession, the Swensons’ collection continued to grow each year.

Only a handful of the nutcrackers are duplicates. Just about any category you can think of is included in the collection, which is organized into specific groups. The nutcrackers are displayed in a professional fashion and not just strewn all over.

They come in various shapes and styles from just over two inches tall to an eight-foot blow-up outside their home. There is also a six-foot wood nutcracker protecting their front door.

As you enter their home, the first collection situated in the foyer are the nutcrackers from around the world.

“We’ve picked up some of them when we’ve traveled to other countries and some have been gifted to us,” Brenda said.

The global nutcrackers come from countries such as Brazil, South Korea, New Zealand, Germany, Vietnam, Scotland, and Ireland, to name a few.

Some of the other collections within a collection are animated nutcrackers featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, The Grinch, Batman, and Anna and Olaf from Frozen.

Another group consists of performers like Elvis Presley, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Willie Nelson, and Kiss.

A myriad of other grouped nutcrackers can be found wherever you look, including occupations, shopping girls, Halloween and Thanksgiving characters, pirates, military, Santas, athletes, choir angels, and even a baby Jesus nutcracker.

“I think my favorite is Tiny Tim (from A Christmas Carol),” Rick said. “It’s hard to pick, though.”

Besides the actual mechanical nutcrackers, the Swenson home also has numerous other nutcracker products such as coffee cups, cake pan, plate, table cloth, Russian nesting dolls, and even gifts under the tree adorned in nutcracker wrapping paper.

Brenda and Rick Swenson enjoy a cup of coffee in their cups emblazoned with nutcrackers. Photo by Scott Thoma

The Swensons have been giving tours of their collection for the past 13 years.

That began just after their daughter, Leah and their granddaughter, Rudy, nearly died during childbirth. Fortunately, both survived and when they returned home, friends and relatives visited them at Rick and Brenda’s home.

At the same time, the visitors admired the nutcracker collection so much that the Swensons began giving tours in their home. Brenda even purchased a laser pointer to show which nutcracker she is talking about.

Perched high on a shelf in the kitchen is one nutcracker turned backwards. Brenda zeroes in with her red-beamed laser pointer and explains that “this one is shy and doesn’t want to face forward.”

The Swensons include a scavenger hunt in the tour, handing out a list to each of their visitors with nutcrackers they should seek out.

The collections spread from the kitchen, dining room, living room, bedrooms and even the bathroom.

“We keep our newbies displayed in our bedroom for one year before they join the collection the next year,” Brenda said.

Brenda checks eBay nearly every day in search of an irresistible nutcracker in the right price range.

“You can find just about anything on eBay,” she said. “We try to buy them discounted after Christmas.”

“Some of them weren’t expensive and some of them were,” Rick said. “We don’t look at them by how much they cost. They all have value to us.”

To show how deeply involved they are in the nutcracker collection, Rick and Brenda, who work part-time at Harvey Anderson & Johnson Funeral Home, found nutcracker cremation urns at Hobby Lobby.

When asked if they are serious about having their ashes placed in the nutcracker containers, Rick quickly responded, “Sure, why not?”

Brenda said their son and daughter aren’t looking forward to inheriting the collection when they are gone.

“They are fighting over who doesn’t get them,” she said with a laugh.

To schedule a free tour of six or fewer people, email brendaswenson88@gmail.com.