While Ralphy father is working downstairs in the basement and Ralphy is eating, Ralphy Mother goes to water the plants. All of a sudden you hear a glass breaking noise and the Father runs up and asks Ralphy what it was. When the Father goes to check it out, the lamp in the shape of a leg had been broken but as the Father was holding it, you could clearly see that the lamp was made out of plastic. I guess they couldn't make a loud enough noise of plastic breaking for the father to hear it from down stairs.