Turtle Tidings! Join me on a sewer sleigh ride and celebrate the holiday season with Turtle Power. Throughout December, I'll be featuring a slew of seasonal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles items from past to present. In The Sewer Den's 5th year running, Cowabunga Christmas will be brimming with festive creations, wacky discoveries, and plenty of pizza! Get merry.
OOZING WITH HOLIDAY SPIRIT
This is better than pizza.
I’ve seen a lot of Ninja Turtles merchandise. A lot. From high-quality to bottom of the barrel, the franchise has offered fans a bit of everything. But, it’s the custom stuff that really shines. Fans taking initiative to spawn their own creations is far more exciting than mass-produced cash grabs. Occasionally these things are so awesomely outlandish they grab your attention & don’t let go. Call it holiday spirit, call it inspiration - my pal Sammy Hain & his family’s self-made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Christmas tree is festive, gnarly & puts a goofy Michelangelo-like smile on my face.
NAUGHTY OR NICE?
I’ve seen a lot of Ninja Turtles merchandise. A lot. From high-quality to bottom of the barrel, the franchise has offered fans a bit of everything. But, it’s the custom stuff that really shines. Fans taking initiative to spawn their own creations is far more exciting than mass-produced cash grabs. Occasionally these things are so awesomely outlandish they grab your attention & don’t let go. Call it holiday spirit, call it inspiration - my pal Sammy Hain & his family’s self-made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Christmas tree is festive, gnarly & puts a goofy Michelangelo-like smile on my face.
NAUGHTY OR NICE?
From top to bottom, the tree is a sewer success. It’s a Where’s Waldo-like activity looking over this thing. I had a blast hunting down all the objects, scanning each branch with scrutiny. Maybe this can be a new holiday tradition? An annual game of “Find the Merry Mutants?” See if you can spot all the details:
COWABUNGA CONCLUSION
- TMNT holiday ornaments
- A star made up of 2 sai!
- Random pairs of nunchucks tossed in for good measure
- McDonald’s TMNT Happy Meal toys repurposed as ornaments
- New action figures from the 2012 series
- Old school action figures upcycled (here’s looking at you, Ace Duck!)
- An epic Michelangelo mask with eyeballs peeping to “see you when you’re sleeping”
COWABUNGA CONCLUSION
Being pals with Sammy, I have some weird sense of pride when it comes to this tree - like knowing the brains behind the operation somehow makes me cooler. When you’ve been covering Ninja Turtles for decades, shock and awe comes in limited supply. Even if you love it, there’s been SO much TMNT to take in over the years - a never ending barrage of products & reboots. But, even when you’re feeling desensitized to your favorite fandom, there’s still room for surprise & delight. Toys & collectibles might not always do that, but it’s awesome that a Turtle-Powered family living in Arizona can. Grab a glass of eggnog & let’s toast to that!
Big shout out to Sammy for stoking the TMNT holiday fire and his wife, Cory, for snapping photos exclusively for The Sewer Den. Although Cory noted "Sammy's the one that should get credit for putting that monstrosity together, dude." Sammy, you and your family deserve all the pizza.
Big shout out to Sammy for stoking the TMNT holiday fire and his wife, Cory, for snapping photos exclusively for The Sewer Den. Although Cory noted "Sammy's the one that should get credit for putting that monstrosity together, dude." Sammy, you and your family deserve all the pizza.
Check back for more holiday hijinks all December during Cowabunga Christmas!
As soon as I glanced at this post the line that caught my attention was forgiveness is divine but dont pay for late pizza. The chirstmas trees are so beautifully decorated. They are mind blowing. Thank you for the post.
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