I never said they took place before, I said they take place from a few days before Christmas through to NYE
April is leaving on college for winter break in #5 so at absolute latest that's Christmas Eve (which admittedly works best for Raph getting his Sais for Christmas) but more likely few days before that.
The Raph micro then takes place in the week between Christmas and New Year (and I think Bobby admitted they goofed a bit with it not looking like winter back when the issue came out), with the Mikey micro taking place New Years Eve.