By the 1950s, innovation in plastics and injection-molding meant that snow globes could be made even more cheaply. Even the “snow” that floats around inside the globe, called “flitter” in the business, could be made from plastics—no need to use marble, bone chips, or ground rice anymore (mass-produced plastic glitter, which was allegedly invented in 1934, became part of the snow globe story only later). The water filling the globes was also frequently mixed with glycol, to make the snow fall more slowly, although sometimes it was mixed with far more lethal substances. At least one manufacturer, McMichael told The New York Times, began mixing antifreeze into the water to keep the globes from freezing and cracking during shipping. Stories of children becoming ill after drinking the water from snow globes sometimes made headlines, including one about children who became seriously sick after drinking snow globe water taken directly from polluted Hong Kong Bay.
Following in the style of Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz’s realistic and detailed snow globe creations, the Danish architectural firm Ja-Ja made a special series of snow globes to celebrate Christmas. These creations show what the “Nisse” (a small Scandinavian mythological creature that helps around the house) are up to in modern times. This particular globe shows a Nisse working away on a rooftop garden just out of sight of us silly humans. More details on custom snowglobes.
To become a wide spread global gift, globes needed to be manufactured more efficiently. In 1927, an American, Joseph Garaja pioneered production improvements filling snow globes underwater. They went from an expensive individually crafted object to a cheaply made mass-produced item. Mass popularity grew in the 1940’s with the increased use of plastic and the development of the tourist industry. For those who could afford to travel with their families, souvenirs were in high demand. In response to this new market, the snow globe became lighter in weight, dome-shaped on top of an opaque colorful base. By the 1950’s every city and roadside attraction had its own snowglobe souvenir.
In case you forgot, gingerbread houses are linked to the Hansel and Gretel story. The most mentioned explanation for gingerbread houses stems from the fable created by the Brothers Grimm in which two little kids encounter an evil witch whose house is made out of bread and frosting. Engelbert Humperdinck’s play version of “Hansel and Gretel” premiered in Germany on December 23, 1893, which could explain why the story — and gingerbread houses — are associated with Christmas. Source: https://www.qstomize.com/collections/custom-snow-globe.