For more than 15 years now, Christmas lover and Santa enthusiast Noël Audet has been proudly collecting Santa Claus figurines and now owns upwards of 700 Santas.
“When the Santa Claus figurines first arrived, we forgot all about the Christmas trees. The Santa Clauses are nicer!” said Audet.
“I just bought two more just five days ago. I didn’t want to buy any more but I figured I don’t smoke. I even bought two more about 15 days ago and it was only $20.”
The figurines range in size, style, and price, with some costing more than $200 a piece. They are neatly organized and maintained by Audet himself when he comes to admire them and get his dose of holiday spirit.
“When I come down the stairs and arrive in the room, it’s red everywhere, I love it,” he said.
And if having hundreds of Santa figurines wasn’t enough to show his devotion to Christmas, he even embodies the historical figure himself when he dresses as Santa Claus for local kids.
“On Dec. 20, I’m going to be Santa Claus at the multiethnic community centre here in Montreal North. There should be around 130 kids this year, we’ll see. I’ve been Santa Claus for them for six or seven years now,” said Audet.
At the end of the holiday season, which for Audet is usually around mid-January, all of the hundreds of figurines come down from their allocated spot on the shelf to be stored safely for the remainder of the year.
“It takes a minimum of 15 hours to put away the Santas here. I make shelves and nail holes in the walls, so it doesn’t fall. I also must look for the boxes and bring them up.”
