Shirley Orr adores Christmas. And her Santa Claus collection is proof, amassed around the hearth and mantelpiece of her Springvale home.
Mrs Orr has been collecting the Santas for 10 years and there are about 85.
"A friend once told me that one of the pleasures of Christmas for her was the chance to buy something for my collection. I really liked that."
The Santas are not an essential part of Christmas, last year they were not taken out of their boxes.
"It was just too much hassle."
But this year they are part of Shirley and her husband David's Christmas - an assembly of red and white, chubby and skinny and bearded bearers of goodwill congregated in the lounge.
Mrs Orr has been collecting the Santas for 10 years. They are handmade and commercially manufactured - wood, plastic, ceramics, wool and metal. There are snow globes, babushka dolls, a pig Santa, a train set of Santas, one on a tractor and half a dozen that wind up and sing a few lines of a carol or a Christmas greeting. One of them has a pelvic thrust which would make Elvis proud.
Shirley has cross-stitched one piece in the display, starting the embroidery in May and taking about six months to finish.
The oldest and perhaps the most precious is one that looks a little like the Munch painting The Scream and a little like a gnome. David gave it to his mother when he was 8. They have also inherited some others.
Only two of the Santas are the same and Shirley thinks she will continue till the collection reaches 100.
Friends and family buy the pieces but Shirley says she's not necessarily collecting Santas. Most belong to her but one or two are owned by other family members.
Shirley and David have three children and nine grandchildren. Children enjoy the display without any problems with breakages - there are some that can be given more of a rough time than others.
Most are bought in New Zealand.
"I looked for a few in Australia but they didn't really have any nice ones over there."
As collections go it's not expensive - none of the pieces cost more than $30.
It wouldn't really work if they did - they are inexpensive, small treasures for Shirley and David.
Through the summer holidays the Chronicle will profile a number of local people with a passion for collecting. If you know someone who would be suitable to feature in this series, contact the newsdesk on 06 349 0728 or email news@wanganuichronicle.co.nz