Santa collector puts the ho-ho-ho in holidays

Every holiday season, when many folks trim a tree and place a few festive knickknacks here and there, Dan Cashman goes big.

One by one, he hauls about three dozen plastic tubs and boxes up from his basement, carefully unpacks his collection of Santa figures, then arranges them throughout his southwest Minneapolis bungalow.

Hundreds of Santas. Vintage Santas, Asian Santas, blue-and-white Dutchmen Santas from the Netherlands, Santas skiing, snorkeling, hiking or just bearing bags of toys. Cashman groups them by type or country of origin — if he knows. "I can't even remember where some of them are from," he admitted.

By the time he's finished decorating, his collection covers just about every surface in his living room, dining room, bedroom and office. Even his kitchen is decked with Santas made from gourds and Santa cookie jars.

Why so many Santas? "It's what Christmas is all about," he said, then admitted that "I don't know what got me into it." All he remembers is that the collection started 10 or so years ago when he went to an after-the-holidays clearance sale — and came home with close to 80 decorative Santas.

"If I buy just one, you're not going to notice it," he reckoned. A bunch of Santas, on the other hand, would be hard to overlook.

Soon Cashman was searching far and wide for Santas. As an independent contractor who works in textbook sales, he has a flexible schedule and typically takes two overseas trips a year.

"Everyone likes Santa. He's pretty much the same around the world," Cashman said. While Santa may take on some of the features prominent in a certain part of the world, Cashman has discovered that Santa is "a universal figure," whether he's carved from native wood or sculpted with clay.

Cashman's love of Santa even inspired one of his travel destinations, to Finland two years ago. "I picked it because they have Santaland," he said. But Santaland proved to be a disappointment. "It wasn't quite what I thought it would be. It's a touristy type thing — to try and attract people to Finland. It worked. At least I got to meet Santa."

Cashman collects other things, in addition to Santas, such as wood carvings, South American masks and even, for a while, snowmen, which he displays on his second floor during the holidays. But his snowman stage was short-lived. "Now I'm strictly sticking with Santas," he said.

At this point, he's picky about what he adds to his collection. "They have to be special, something unusual. I don't buy in mass anymore because I don't have space."

Even if he's not buying, his collection is still expanding. "People know I collect them and give them to me," he said. And he does draw the line at doubles. When he ends up with a duplicate Santa, he gives it to one of his nieces or nephews.

Some years, Cashman invites friends, family and acquaintances to a holiday open house, where people can tour his collection, have a holiday snack and make a donation to the Aliveness Project, a nonprofit that provides meals and other services to people living with HIV/AIDS. (Cashman serves on the organization's board of directors.)

He has decorated for Christmas as early as Nov. 1, but this year his collection went up late because he only recently returned from a trip to Africa. He brought back a small metal Christmas tree — but no new Santas. "We were out in the bush, and I never saw Santas to buy," he explained. "I finally found a place where there weren't any."

Kim Palmer • 612-673-4784