You found the
Nutcracker dolls!

Nutcrackers are wooden carvings of a soldier, knight, or king. They have existed since at least the 15th century. Most nutcrackers portray a person with a large mouth which the operator opens by lifting a lever in the back of the figurine. Originally, one could insert a hard nut into the big-toothed mouth, press down and thereby crack the nut. Nutcrackers exist in numerous fairy tales.

Modern nutcrackers serve mostly for decoration, mainly at Christmas time, a season of which they have long been a traditional symbol. The ballet "The Nutcracker" derives its name from this festive holiday decoration. The original nutcrackers were first made in Germany, and they were thought to have guardian-like properties because of their strong appearance.

The most famous nutcrackers come from Sonneberg in Thuringia. Wood-carved nutcracker dolls often provided the only income for the people of Sonneberg.

Steinbach nutcrackers have become popular in the United States, and the recreated "Bavarian village" of Leavenworth, Washington, even features a nutcracker museum. Many other materials also serve to make decorated nutcrackers, such as porcelain, silver, and brass.

Nutcracker dolls were also used as a token of good luck and goodwill, and were believed to protect people from evil spirits. They were thought to bare their teeth at any evil spirits to scare them away, just like a guard dog against bad luck.