Please help: Christmas itinerary Eisenach to Dresden

I have not made a winter trip to Europe, so these comments are based on some time spent in eastern Germany during the summer of 2015. I was traveling via public transportation.

Erfurt is a very handsome university town. It didn't sustain much, if any, war damage as I recall. Rick visited Erfurt for one of the German videos in his most recent series.

The city of Weimar is historically important and has a very attractive historic center, but I went there mainly to visit the Buchenwald concentration camp. It turned out to be extra-interesting because it was used to house enemies of the new regime (DDR) after the war. Ask for the printed English explanation of the latter period. Weimar is a quick trip from Erfurt. The camp is a city-bus ride from downtown Weimar. I have no idea whether that bus continues to run in the winter.

Farther afield is Quedlinburg, which has over 1000 historic structures, mainly half-timbered. Also a castle and a church with a stunning treasury. Google for the American connection to the treasury. The tourist office has an English audioguide you can rent. The town can easily fill a full day; it is a stunning place. There's also a modern-art gallery.

Haven't been to Leipzig but Dresden has a number of fine (and not quick-to-visit) museums. I loved the Historic Green Vault (timed ticket required) with its nearly unimaginable trasures. The regular Green Vault isn't exactly chump change, either. The time you need in Dresden will be significantly affected by how much time you want to spend in the museums.

East of Dresden, right on the Polish border, sits the town of Goerlitz. Like Quedlinburg it came through the war in good shape and is full of picturesque buildings. It has some art nouveause along with many hundreds of half-timbered structures. It is so picturesque that it is used for location filming. I don't think Goerlitz has a lot of indoor sights, however, so,it's probably not the place to go if you have bad weather.

Some thoughts:

1. Eisenach and Erfurt are basically in the same area. It's both Thuringia, and Thuringia is small. It takes just 45min from Eisenach to Erfurt, so how about just one base? As long as you don't want to spend a few night in the wonderful hotel next to the Wartburg and high above the Thuringian Forest I would recommend to simply use Erfurt as the single base in Thuringia. Actually, it also takes just 80min to Coburg, which is historically part of the same region (small Thuringian duchies, like Saxe-Coburg-Gotha -> where the Windsors are from).
2. since you are interested in antique dolls: Thuringia was the centre of the German toy industry, and in Sonneberg you could visit the German Toy Museum.
3. don't miss Lauscha, a village between Erfurt and Coburg/Sonneberg deep in the Thuringian Forest. Lauscha invented the Christmas baubles, and they are still made there. There is a museum, a shop with a demonstration workshop, and a Christmas market at weekends.
4. do a day trip to Quedlinburg in the Harz mountains. It's like Rothenburg, just without the tourist hordes. Try to drive via Stolberg/Harz if possible, it's a utterly cute little town with just three streets and a big castle high above the rooftops.
5. I would rent a car already in Eisenach (or Erfurt, if you use just one base). Thuringian towns are small (because the region was divided into tiny duchies with equally tiny capitals, which all sport huge castles), so you often just need just a few hours to see everything and could do two if you ike. Towns I would recommend to see are Schmalkalden, Gotha (castle with a good museum), Rudolstadt, Weimar of course, and maybe Mühlhausen in combination with Bad Langensalza.
6. six days in the Ore mountains is a bit much I would think, especially the four days in and around Seiffen. Keep in mind that Seiffen is a small village at the end of the world. Great if you want tranquility (after the tourist hordes are gone), but not the best base if you want to explore the surroundings. Having said that: you should definitely see a miner's parade, which is part of the Christmas traditions of the Ore mountains. They are usually on weekends, and there are four bigger ones when you are there: Seiffen (here is a video), nearby Marienberg, Schwarzenberg and Zwickau. It's usually very difficult to park, and it would help if you stay there in a hotel.
7. add more time to Dresden and skip Leipzig... or do it as a day trip from Dresden. Spend maybe 2 days less in Thuringia and Northern Bavaria and add them to Dresden. And/or 1 or 2 less in the Ore mountains. Dresden offers several world-class museums and is a great base for day trips. Definitely visit Görlitz and Bautzen, both to the east of the city. Bautzen is a Baroque town surrounded by medieval fortifications and offers one of Germanys oldest Christmas markets, Görlitz is probably Germanys most beautiful town with 4.000 listed buildings. Saxon Switzerland with Königstein fortress (which offers a Christmas market throughout the first three weekends of Advent) and Meissen are the obvious other day trips.