It might take a village to save a globe

Q: Is it possible to repair a cracked snow globe?

A: A broken snow globe is not easy to mend, but if you have an antique or sentimentally valuable piece, it may be worthwhile to enlist the help of a professional who can fix it for you.

A snow globe usually consists of figurines encapsulated in a glass or plastic sphere. This globe is filled with a mixture of distilled water and glycerin (which helps the glittery "snow" float) and attached to a base.

Since the late 19th century, when snow globes were first produced, the snow has been made of ground rice, bone, ceramic or porcelain, and the figures fashioned from bisque, stone or metal. These days, the snow is more likely to be composed of granular plastic pieces, which are textured to aid buoyancy; simple plastic glitter is used in inexpensive models. The majority of today's figures are also plastic.

Most modern glass globes are as thin as eggshells and will probably shatter if dropped, says Dick Heibel, a snow-globe repair specialist in Northfield, Minn. Vintage globes have slightly thicker glass and aren't quite as fragile.

For $15 to $50, professionals (search online to find one) can replace a glass globe, add new snow, refill liquid that has evaporated or become cloudy and so on. (Plastic globes cannot usually be repaired.) More extensive fixes, such as repairing chipped figures, will be pricier.

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