The ballet opens with an extravagant Christmas party at Clara's house. He awes the other guests with his gift of two life-size dancing dolls. Then he gives the children their presents. Fritz, in his jealousy and boyish spunk, grabs the nutctracker from Clara and breaks it. Later that night, when all the guests have gone and the family is asleep, Clara frets over her nutcracker and creeps back to nurse him.
Strange things begin to happen.
The magnificent Christmas tree begins to grow, and the room fills with mice, led by the mighty Mouse King. But the nutcracker comes to life and battles the evil mice, summoning his soldiers to fight. The nutcracker turns into a handsome prince, and it's on to the Land of Snow and enchanted forests, where they are greeted by dancing snowflakes. As a finale, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier dance a Pas De Deux, though in the local production, this will likely be a solo for the Sugar Plum Fairy. But then, Clara awakens and finds that it was all a dream, and she is there alone by the Christmas tree with her nutcracker.