Cowabunga Christmas: Raphael Snow Globe


Turtle Tidings! Join me on a sewer sleigh ride and celebrate the holiday season with Turtle Power. Throughout December, I'll be featuring a slew of seasonal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles items from past to present. In The Sewer Den's 5th year running, Cowabunga Christmas will be brimming with festive creations, wacky discoveries, and plenty of pizza! Get merry.



OOZING WITH HOLIDAY SPIRIT

Stop all the clocks. Rewind back to a simpler time. A time with no internet, video stores, and plastic snow globes. This was my life in 1990. 8 years old and obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Who am I kidding? That's my life now too!). But back then, December was pure fantasy. Decorating for the holidays and crafting my wish list, it was all so magical. But nothing topped the annual appearance of my Raphael snow globe. Once the decoration was put on display, I knew the holidays had begun. Festive food, family gathering, and presents! Raphael was like the master of ceremonies to all these things, kicking them off and watching over us as we enjoyed the spirit of the season.



NAUGHTY OR NICE?

My Raphael snow globe is no spring chicken. It's been a Christmas decoration for decades - seeing the light of day only once a year for the holidays. In its prime, the Raphael snow globe was Yuletide treasure. But Father Time hasn't been so friendly to this Turtle. With each passing year, the liquid inside dips lower and lower - leaving Raphael looking like he's gasping for air on a sinking ship. The rest of the piece is in great condition, so this evaporation defect is a real shame. But, when my parents originally purchased the globe, they probably weren't concerned how it would look on a blog 30 years later.



COWABUNGA CONCLUSION

The Raphael snow globe is lackluster in its design, suffering from cheap materials, uninspiring text, and poor craftsmanship that fails the test of time. Even with all those flaws, I absolutely love this thing. How can you complain about Raphael dressed as Santa? You can't. After all these years, the decoration should have evolved from a symbol of Christmas to simple, tacky decor. But every time I give the globe a little shake, the clocks stop and I'm reminded of holidays from the yesteryear.

You can find this guy and the other three Turtles snow globes on eBay, but my sappy nostalgic experience is likely not included!


Check back for more holiday hijinks all December during Cowabunga Christmas!

1 comment:

  1. Looks like Raph needs some swimmies in there! Get him out of that wintery pool before he get hypothermia!

    ReplyDelete

Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.

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