I bought these little plastic snow globes from the dime store 50 years ago. I probably paid a quarter, maybe less for them. One for Larry and one for John, who were toddlers at the time. They both have cracks In them and won’t hold water. Both were made in Hong Kong. The Santa bobs in and out of the chimney. Well, he did when water was in the globe. Through many life changes, moves, and downsizes they are two of the few Christmas decorations I have left from when the boys were little. Every year I unpack them and put them somewhere I can see them.
They began to leak a few years ago. First the Santa, then the snowman. Since then I’ve considered finally letting them go but I just don’t have the heart to. I started downsizing quite a few years ago and I’m particular about what I keep. A lot of more costly, more beautiful things never made the cuts, but these little unprepossessing snow globes always stayed.
Part of it is the memories of my boys when they were little. That was a long time ago and Christmas memories fade here and there as time goes by. Only certain parts of them stay with you, replaced by newer memories of more recent Christmases. And more recent Christmases have thousands of cell phone pictures and videos. The 50 year old ones just have a handful of faded square photos to help you recall the day.
Still, there were more valuable reminders of long ago Christmases I could have kept, I’m sure. Why these broken tiny plastic snow globes? Today I could buy beautiful $50 snow globes, ones that play a favorite Christmas song we could all sing along to, as the heavy snow swirls around the ceramic figures in the glass globe. Or more affordable similar ones at Home Depot for $25. What’s the appeal of these 25 cent ones?
I think it’s because at the time I bought these for the boys this was the only way I could afford a snow globe, to buy a cheap plastic one at the dime store. We were very young, just one year out of our teens, my first husband and I, and we scrambled each month to pay bills and buy necessities. There wasn’t a lot of money left over for splurges.
For Christmas my mother-in-law always bought the boys a big winter coat, and thank goodness she did. One Christmas John was just 2 months old. My mom knew we went out on New Years Eve with my in-laws, who purchased tickets for a meal and party at the SPJST Hall. So my mom bought me a new pair of dress shoes instead of buying John a present. She still had 5 kids at home and things were precarious there so she had to be careful with her budget too. She said he was a baby and wouldn’t know and she knew I needed new shoes. This was the state of our finances during these early years.
But the boys looked forward to Christmas and we made their wishes come true, some way or another, as all young parents do if they can. But foolish things, like snow globes, were not in the budget. So when I saw these at the dime store, and they didn’t cost too much (our grocery bill each week was $9 or less, so 50 cents wasn’t to be thrown around lightly), well, I decided to get them for the boys. They were little guys then and they loved them. They’re in their 50s now and I’m sure they don’t remember them.
But I remember them and their story. And I remember the times for me when a little plastic snow globe purchase for a quarter had to be thought out. These times helped form my character. How I look at the world and at the problems and obstacles other people face. They remind me that I’ve had a good long life, they remind me to have empathy for others, and they remind me to be thankful.
So every year I unwrap them from their tissue paper and find a place I can see them. And as I watch the snow fall outside my window some days, I remember two little boys giving them a shake and watching the snow in the plastic globe fall.
