I give a nutcracker to my son every year to kick off the Christmas season. This year I gave him this musical nutcracker snow globe as well for his collection. He loved it. I like it too, but I was a little disappointed that the base is not metal. It is metal colored plastic and for me it brings the overall quality down. The globe on top is heavy glass so a metal base would help ensure a lasting decoration as plastic easily cracks and breaks. Also the nutcracker and Christmas tree could be painted better for a nicer presentation. The winding mechanism works well and the music sounds nice ( from the nutcracker ballet) so it functions well. I got this on sale but I still feel like the quality is lacking for what I paid.