As every dancer (current or former) knows, the holiday season is essentially a synonym for “The Nutcracker.” Between rehearsals, performances and the flurry of the season, here are 15 experiences dancers can all relate to during “The Nutcracker.”

1. Performing "The Nutcracker"

After rehearsing every Saturday since August, you finally get to showcase all your hard work and “relevé” to the occasion through the art of ballet in “The Nutcracker.” With each performance, you love it a little bit more. No matter how many times you’ve run “Snow” or “Waltz of the Flowers,” the magic keeps intensifying.

2. Soaking Your Feet in Epsom Salts

Wearing pointe shoes for four hours a day can really take a toll on your feet. To keep your twinkle toes in tip-top “tendu” shape, soaking your feet in Epsom salts is your first-choice remedy. You always have a huge supply at the ready. No wonder the drugstore is always sold out.

3. Sewing New Pointe Shoes

Performing and rehearsing pointe shoe-intense choreography (such as “Snow” or “Waltz of the Flowers”) kills pointe shoes faster than anything. Almost nothing is worse (or more dangerous) than dancing on “dead” pointe shoes. Hence, out comes the needle and thread for some savvy stitchery.

4. Breaking in New Pointe Shoes

Once your pointe shoes have been expertly sewn, it’s time to start the break-in process. We all know how that goes. “Mom, please don’t look while I destroy this brand-new pair of $80 shoes. I promise it’s for a good cause.”

5. Brand New Pink Tights

Ah, yes. Wearing brand-new pink tights is quite the luxury. At last, you feel like a princess… or the “Sugar Plum Fairy.” Your “plié” into that pair of smooth, pink tights is the highlight of your pre-performance rituals.

6. "Snow" Everywhere You Go

Even when reality’s weather forecast predicts sunshine and warm temperatures, the “Snow Queen” somehow “glissades” around you everywhere you go. There is stage snow in your street shoes, your dance bag, your hair and your coat. Not to mention all the stage snow in the dressing room, in your costume and your eyes… especially after a performance.

7. Going Out After the Show in Full Stage Makeup

We’ve all done it and we’ll all do it again. Even the “Sugar Plum Fairy” goes to Taco Bell, McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A after a performance to get her French-fry fix. The “Snow Queen” wouldn’t be fulfilling her role if she didn’t down a “Frosty” from Wendy’s. Frankly, it’s secretly fun to get crazy looks from the cashier and other customers.

8. Sparkling Inside and Out

All those gorgeous sparkly costumes leave their mark, though. Somehow, all that glitter gets inhaled and swallowed. So yes, dancers sparkle inside and out… literally. Finding glitter in your dance bag next spring will be a blissful reminder of all your wonderful memories from “The Nutcracker.”

9. Running Out of Bobby Pins

Before opening night, you bought a package of 200 bobby pins. After the last performance, you had eight pins left. Where did they all go? Every year, the Bobby Pin Fairy wreaks havoc on dressing rooms around the world. No one is safe.

10. Stretching

After a strenuous week of “The Nutcracker” performances, stretching rejuvenates every fiber and cell in your hard-working dancing body. Falling asleep in a middle-split is an all too real reality for most dancers. At least we “turn out” better because of it.

11. Watching "The Nutcracker"

In the midst of your own performances, you always attend another company’s rendition of “The Nutcracker.” Each version is magical in its own way. Although the common thread of each show is similar, the sets, costumes, choreography and dancers are unique to that particular performance. That is the beauty of live ballet.

12. Making Survival Goody Bags for Cast Members

Successfully surviving “The Nutcracker” is a glorious bonding experience for you and all your cast members. Best friends are made backstage while waiting in the wings for the next scene. Sharing the adrenaline rush of each “saut de chat” is the best bonding agent for lifetime friendships. “Assemblé” your cast members’ goody-bags with chocolate, candy canes and more bobby pins for a sweet way to show just how much you appreciate them.

13. Ballet-themed Christmas Trees

Tulle, pointe shoe ornaments, and ballerina figurines are staples of a dancer’s Christmas tree. Your collection of ballet ornaments has taken years to cultivate… and it's still growing. One can never have “too much” of a good thing. Am I right, or am I right?

14. Your Christmas Wish List... More Leotards Please

Your Christmas Wish List, which was started in October (if not earlier) and is added to during rehearsal breaks, is comprised of 95 percent dance-related items. To all the Mariah Carey fans out there, “All I want for Christmas is ‘Yumiko’ leotards."

15. Never Ceasing to be Amazed by the Magic of “The Nutcracker”

Year after year, your favorite part of the holiday season always comes back to “The Nutcracker.” The magic and wonder of the “The Nutcracker” will never cease to amaze audiences and dancers, alike.

The holiday season is truly the “most wonderful time of the year,” especially for dancers. We can all relate to the magic of the season through sewing our pointe shoes, battling with the Bobby Pin Fairy, inhaling too much stage snow, and of course, performing in the holiday season’s most beloved ballet, “The Nutcracker.”