The Collector: Joyce Hansen’s Nativity sets are a global family celebration

It will take Joyce Hansen another week or so to pack away her Christmas decorations. Sorting, boxing and storing 217 Nativity sets isn’t a weekend job.

Unpacking and displaying her collection is quicker and much more fun.

“Around Thanksgiving, my grandson brings 20 13-gallon totes up from the basement,” Hansen said. “It takes me about five days to set up.”

And she doesn’t have to fight with anyone for the privilege.

“When I was a kid, we always fought over who got to set the Nativity up.”

Rediscovering items that she hasn’t looked at in a year is part of the joy.

“I get excited seeing them again,” she said. “I say, ‘Oh! I forgot I had this one!’ ”

Her collection began in 2009 when she spotted a colorful resin crèche at a thrift shop.

The crowded scene includes a donkey, an angel, a shepherd and a couple of sheep gathered around the holy family. Then she found a tall white ceramic version – its simplicity, a stark contrast to the first one she picked up.

“They are so beautiful,” she said.

Those two items launched a collection of more than 200 – each of them unique. Hansen purchased the majority of them at thrift shops. She doesn’t keep a spreadsheet or list, yet she has no duplicates.

“Somehow, I remember,” she said.

Though she purchased most of them locally, the Nativities represent countries around the world. There’s one from Switzerland with the Alps in the background, a set of Russian nesting dolls and one from Nigeria with figures made of brown clay. Another African-themed crèche features thatched huts and exotic animals like a lion, a zebra and a giraffe clustered around the manger.

In addition to different countries, Hansen’s Nativity sets come in different forms, like a ceramic cookie jar with a rooster perched atop the stable. The rooster serves as the lid’s handle. Or a star-studded wooden cabinet with hinged doors that open to reveal the holy family within. Shepherds painted on the doors’ interiors keep watch.

“I got it from Goodwill this year,” she said. “I paid $10 to $12.”

It came in the original Macy’s box with a price tag of $70.

She found a metal Nativity Advent calendar at a Union Gospel Thrift Store. It’s framed with numbered doors that open to reveal magnetic figures that can be added one by one to the stable.

“My granddaughter loves it,” Hansen said.

Another child-friendly version is made of fabric and comes with removable cloth dolls.

Several music boxes depict the sacred scene, including a retired design from the San Francisco Bay Music Co.

Her crèches vary from traditional to whimsical.

For instance, an igloo serves as the stable in an Alaskan Native-themed set. Mary and Joseph wear fur-trimmed parkas while a polar bear, penguin and a harp seal crouch around the manger. A Native American version includes a teepee, and Baby Jesus resting in a traditional basket.

“I call this my cartoon movie nativity,” she said, pulling a ceramic crèche from a shelf. “Santa is Joseph, Lucy from Peanuts is Mary, and there’s the dog from the Grinch.”

One crèche gives nod to redheads with each figure having red hair.

Another that makes her smile is a straw-covered stable holding figures clad in cowboy boots with the baby wearing a ruffled bonnet.

A shelf in her living room holds three with special significance. The Nativity figures are clustered around the words faith, hope and joy.

“Those are my granddaughters’ names,” Hansen said.

In one of her favorites, Mary hovers over the babe, her hand stroking his forehead.

“The reason I love this one is because she’s so tenderly touching him.”

Many of her Nativities are lighted. Glimmering stars, glowing angels and stables lit from within add extra warmth and beauty to her displays. It’s no wonder she’s loath to pack them away.

“At night, I turn all the lights off except for the Christmas lights,” she said. “Just looking at them brings me peace and joy.”