Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Magic of Collecting Snow Globes

By Scott Jenson

Whether you are considering what your next big hobby will be or looking for a fun activity to share with your children, you can't go wrong with collecting snow globes. Unlike many hobbies, beginning a snow globe collection doesn't take much money to get started, and it is a fun way to remind us of the little child in the heart of every person. Since snow globes are fun to collect for people young and old, they make a great collection for an adult, a child or the whole family.

A snow globe is a souvenir that consists of a glass sphere holding a little world of its own. The globe is filled with water, and when it is still, a fine layer of white particles cover the landscape of the scene. When the glass is shaken, these little white particles are dispersed swirling into the water of the globe and resemble a little snow storm. Many snow globes also come with a music box that jingles a little tune as the flakes settle back over the landscape.

Snow globes fist appeared on the market in France during the early nineteenth century on the heels of a similar paperweight that was very popular at the time. Through the years, snow globes have a number of different names, such as snow shakers, water balls, water domes and snow domes. In recent years, it was discovered that filling the globe with a mixture of water and glycerin caused the snow to fall more realistically.

Presently snow globes are used to showcase everything from holiday scenes including Easter and Halloween plus the traditional Christmas scenes. However they also have angels, Winnie the Pooh and his band of friends, Disney Characters, and many other pop culture icons. Also, many cites have snow globe souvenirs to purchase.

As snow globes can and do break causing quite a mess, it is important to have a stable place to show off a collection. Ideally this would be in a collection cabinet, but good sturdy shelving works as does a sofa table as long as it is well known that snow globes are only handled with adults helping. It is also not a good idea to store snow globes where they are exposed to extremes in temperatures.

So, if you are looking for a new hobby, take all of this into consideration, as they really are a delight to have in your home during the winter season and beyond. Due to the fact that snow globes have been around so long, nearly everyone has fond childhood memories that make a collection a great conversation piece.

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