Nutcracker Painting Guide

1. Supplies You'll Need

You don't need anything fancy to get started. Most of these supplies are available at Walmart, craft stores, or online.

2. Prep Work

Preparation is the difference between paint that lasts all season and paint that peels off after the first rain. Don't skip this part!

Disassemble it

Take the nutcracker apart into its separate pieces (arms, body, hat, etc.) before you start. It's much easier to paint individual pieces than the assembled nutcracker, and you'll get better coverage in the seams and hard-to-reach spots.

Tape off what shouldn't be painted

• LED lights — cover each LED with small pieces of painter's tape (rip off small pieces and wrap around each light, pinching the tips). Paint on the lights will block the glow.
• Attachment points — tape the joints and connection areas where pieces snap together. Paint buildup here prevents proper assembly and gets scraped off anyway.

Clean it

Wipe the entire surface with warm soapy water or rubbing alcohol to remove any factory residue, oils, or dust. Let it dry completely.

Scuff it

Lightly sand the surface with 220-grit sandpaper. You're not trying to remove material — just roughen it up so the primer has something to grab onto. Blowmold plastic (polyethylene) is naturally slick, so this step makes a real difference. Wipe away the dust with a damp cloth afterward.

Prime it

Apply 1–2 light coats of plastic-bonding spray primer, holding the can about 10–12 inches away. Use light, sweeping passes — thin coats dry faster and prevent drips. Let each coat dry per the can's directions (typically 15–30 minutes between coats).

Let the primer cure for a full 24 hours before painting over it. This is longer than most people expect, but it gives the primer time to properly bond to the plastic.

3. Planning Your Design

Before you open a single paint bottle, figure out what you want your nutcracker to look like. A detailed design on a 6-foot nutcracker can take 20–40 hours of painting — mistakes are costly at that scale. This is where Paint My Nutcracker comes in handy — you can try out colors and see the full design before committing to real paint.

Pick your template

The app has templates for the various Walmart blowmold models — Pumpkin, Classic, Candy Sweet, Gingerbread, Step2 Prince, and more. Select the one that matches your nutcracker so you're designing on the right shape.

Choose your colors

Start with 3–5 colors. Fewer colors keep the design cohesive and make painting much simpler. You can always add more later, but a clean 3–4 color design often looks better than one with 10 colors and tons of detail — especially for your first nutcracker.

Consider your color scheme

A few approaches that work well:

• Traditional — classic reds, greens, golds, and whites. Always looks sharp.
• Character/theme — match a specific character, team, or holiday. The Theme Generator is great for this.
• Monochromatic — pick one color and use lighter and darker shades of it for a sophisticated look.
• Complementary — pair colors from opposite sides of the color wheel (like blue & orange, or red & green) for a design that pops.

4. Painting Basics

Keep coats thin — especially on blowmolds

Two thin coats will always look better than one thick coat. Thick coats run, drip, and take forever to dry. But on a blowmold there's an extra reason to go thin: your nutcracker lights up from the inside. Too much paint blocks the light. Build up to full coverage gradually so your nutcracker still glows when you plug it in.

Expect to need 2–3 coats for most colors. Reds and golds tend to need 3–4 coats for solid coverage; black usually only needs 1.

Paint lightest colors first

Start with your lightest colors and work toward the darker ones. Light colors are easier to paint over if you make a mistake, while dark paint bleeding onto a light area is a headache to fix.

Paint order

Work from the largest areas down to the smallest details:

1. Base coat the big sections — jacket, pants, hat body, boots
2. Secondary sections — belt, cuffs, trim, hair
3. Face and hands
4. Details and accents — buttons, buckles, eyes, mouth

Let it dry between sections

When painting sections that share a border, finish one side and let it dry before painting the adjacent area. Painter's tape can help if you want super-clean lines, but most people find they can freehand it with a steady hand and a small brush.

Check your work in sunlight

Colors look different indoors under shop lights than they do outside. Periodically take your pieces outside to inspect — what looks great in the garage may look completely different on the porch.

5. Painting the Face

The face is where people look first, so take your time here. Many painters save the face for last so they can practice their brushwork on the larger, more forgiving sections first.

Skin tone

Paint the entire face area with your chosen skin tone first and let it dry completely before adding eyes, mouth, or other facial features.

Eyes

Start with white ovals for the eyes. Let them dry, then add the iris (colored circle), and finally a small black pupil. A tiny dot of white on the pupil gives a lifelike sparkle. Use the smallest brush you have and go slowly.

Mouth and cheeks

A thin line of red or dark pink for the mouth works well. For rosy cheeks, dab a small amount of pink paint with a dry sponge or stipple brush — the goal is a soft blush, not a solid circle.

Mustache and beard

Depending on your template, you may have a molded mustache or beard. A couple shades of the same color (like white and light gray) can create depth. Paint the base color first, then use a dry brush technique — load just a tiny bit of a lighter or darker shade on a stiff brush and lightly drag it across the raised areas.

6. Adding Details

Details are what take a nutcracker from "painted" to "impressive." You don't have to do all of these — pick what fits your design.

Buttons and buckles

Metallic gold or silver paint can make buttons and belt buckles really pop. Rub 'n Buff in Antique Gold is a favorite for this — apply a small amount with your finger and buff it to a shine. For perfectly round button dots, dip the eraser end of a pencil in paint and stamp it on.

Trim and borders

A contrasting thin line along jacket edges, cuffs, or hat rims adds a lot of polish. Painter's tape can help, or freehand it with a liner brush for a slightly more organic look.

Glitter and specialty finishes

For extra sparkle, mix fine glitter into your clear sealant before applying, or use a glitter paint. A little goes a long way — glitter is much easier to add than to remove.

7. Sealing Your Work

A clear sealant protects your paint from rain, UV fading, and general weather wear. This step is essential for any nutcracker that will live outdoors.

Choose your finish

• Matte — no shine, looks more natural and traditional
• Satin — subtle sheen, the most popular choice
• Gloss — shiny finish, great for a polished or candy-like look

Product recommendations

Use a UV-resistant, water-based clear coat spray. Krylon UV-Resistant Clear Coating is a popular choice. Rust-Oleum Clear and spray-on polycrylic also work well. Water-based formulas are preferred because oil-based clear coats can yellow over time.

Apply the sealant

Apply 2–3 light coats, holding the can about 10–12 inches away. Use sweeping motions and let each coat dry for 20–30 minutes before the next. Don't go heavy — drips in clear coat are just as annoying as drips in paint.

8. Common Mistakes & Tips

• Skipping primer — paint will eventually peel off bare blowmold plastic no matter how well you apply it. The polyethylene surface is too slick. Always prime.
• Painting too thick — thick coats run, drip, and most importantly block the internal lights. Build up thin coats instead. If you can't see any glow when you hold a piece up to a light, you've gone too thick.
• Not letting layers dry — touching or taping over paint that isn't fully dry leads to smudging and peeling. Give each coat the full dry time on the label. And know that "dry to touch" is not the same as "cured" — Krylon Fusion, for example, is touch-dry in 20 minutes but takes about a week to fully cure.
• Painting the attachment points — paint buildup on joints prevents pieces from snapping together properly and gets scraped off during assembly. Tape them off before you start.
• Painting the LED lights — even a thin layer of paint on the LEDs noticeably dims the glow. Cover every light with painter's tape before priming.
• Using indoor paint outdoors without sealing — standard craft acrylics (like Apple Barrel) are not formulated for weather. They'll fade and peel within weeks if not heavily sealed. Use outdoor-formulated paint or plan for extra sealing.
• Painting in bad conditions — below 50°F, paint won't cure properly. In direct sun, it dries too fast and leaves brush marks. A shaded area on a moderate day (50–85°F) is ideal.
• Starting with the face — save it for later! Practice on the larger sections first to build confidence with the paint and brushes.
• Not planning the design first — at 20–40 hours for a detailed design, figuring it out as you go is risky. Plan the color scheme ahead of time.

Reassembly

Once everything is painted and sealed, carefully remove all painter's tape and snap the pieces back together. Go slowly — painted surfaces can rub during assembly, so expect to do some touch-ups along the seams and connection points afterward. Have your paint and a small brush ready.

Plug it in and enjoy the glow!

How-To Videos

Watch these short walkthroughs from our Facebook page for some hands-on tips.