No room for new Saint Nicks?
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Barbara Bush in her home with her son, Rodney Bush, and his wife, Von
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Santas on the mantel
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The entryway of Barbara Bush’s home in Houston
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Some of the first Santas collected by Barbara Bush. The one on the left is the first in her collection.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Santas decorate the living room and dining room of Barbara Bush’s home in Houston.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Animated Santas and Mrs. Clauses line a window inside Barbara Bush’s home.
It started more than 20 years ago with a Santa Claus brought to her home poking out of the roof of her son’s 1989 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
That large Santa that was once part of a Christmas display at Washington Mall has grown to a collection of more than 200 in all shapes and sizes on display in Barbara Bush’s Chartiers Township home.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The living room in Barbara Bush’s house in Houston
“A friend worked at the mall and they were getting a new display, so he asked if I wanted it,” said Rodney Bush, Barbara’s son. “The Santa was about four feet tall. I had to take the T-top off the roof of my car to get it to my mom’s house.”
The Santas that are part of Barbara’s collection have come from a variety of locations, many given to her as gifts from Rodney and his wife, Von, and other members of the family.
They also come in all shapes and sizes, including a tapestry wall-hanging of a pleasantly smiling Santa found by Von. Some of the Santas move. Barbara said one of the Santas bears a close resemblance to her late father.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Santas cover the Christmas tree inside Barbara Bush’s Houston home.
“She tries to get us to tell her what we got,” Von said. “On Christmas, we eat dinner and then open gifts. But no one else can open a gift until mom opens her packages with the new Santas.”
And the latest in the collection won’t be put back in the box.
“I display it on a table,” Barbara said. “Then my mind starts working, thinking about where can I put it next year. I always make sure that I find room.”
Rodney usually starts shopping online in August, when he can pre-order new items from some of their favorite collections, such as Possible Dreams and Clothique. He likes to order the Santas early because the artist will sign them. But not all Santas are bought online.
“Every time we go shopping or go to a Christmas store, we see if there is one she doesn’t have,” Rodney said.
“They start to look the same after a while,” Von added.
And then there are the trips the trio make with Rodney’s sisters, Shelley and Kim Bush, to Amish country. They go in the spring to Sugarcreek, Ohio, and in the fall it is off to Lancaster, where the shopping experience includes stops at different Christmas stores.
“We come back with the vehicle filled to the top,” Barbara said. “We have such fun!”
Rodney and Von also check out shops when they vacation each year in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Santas line shelves inside a room at Barbara Bush’s home.
The display in Barbara’s home, which varies each year, takes four days to put together, starting right after Thanksgiving. She has to first put away plates and other items usually in curio cabinets or on shelves that are displaced by Santas. Those are put in a spare room Barbara refers to as the Christmas room. She starts putting the Santas away Jan. 2.
“She has an eye for style,” Von said of her mother-in-law. “She will add different touches like a little train set. She really has a vision for this stuff.”
Barbara said she added a new cabinet with shelves for the ever-growing display.
“The Santas are in every nook and cranny of my first floor,” she said.
“I think she is at about 100 percent capacity,” said her son. “But she has no intention of stopping anytime soon.”
And if you happen to be driving through her neighborhood, you can see some of the larger Santas that light up and are on display in the back window of her home.
That first Santa is now in the Daisytown home of Barbara’s brother, Daniel Miller. It also spent time on display at the LeMoyne Center in East Washington.