Standing in the entryway of her Kenmore home surrounded by mostly small, mostly red-and-white figures, Mae Wood, 75, wasn’t sure when she got serious about her collection. But technically, the first piece arrived when husband, William, who will be 89 early next year, was in the first grade.

William doesn’t recall making the heavy paper Santa with the hinged arms and legs. He assumes his teacher provided a pattern or two and he cut out the pieces and put it all together. William also is not sure how the Santa survived all these years.

“I really don’t know,” he said. “It just never got destroyed… I had it somewhere in my junk.”

No matter how the Santa stayed in one piece, it obviously inspired something in Mae Wood. William’s Santa takes center stage in her collection, but that collection of Santa figures now numbers around 1,500.

“I tried counting them once,” Mae said, but shaking her head, she admitted she gave up after a while.

Just like young William’s creation, a Santa must include some moving parts to make it into Mae’s collection. Many arms, legs and heads move, of course, but some Santas pop up and down, or spin. At least one has a head mounted on a long accordion-like neck. Others are bell-shaped with dangling legs, while some have strings that make them move. Most of the Santas are small, an inch or two in height. There are a few larger ones, such as a lighted, puppet figure, suspended on strings, that moves at the throw of a switch.

Christmas apparently has always been a time for some serious decorating at the Wood household. Mae Wood said she used to spread the Santas out in her living room near a big, nicely decorated tree. But as the collection got bigger and bigger, Wood said she gave up on spreading the Santas out. Nowadays, they are gathered together in that entryway. One of the Woods’ children came up with the idea of hanging the Santas from large, framed pieces of rabbit wire. Those frames lean against the entryway walls and are filled with Santas. Other Santas are piled high on a shelf above the entryway. While Santas cover plenty of space, William noted some of the collection wasn’t even out yet on this particular day in mid-December.

According to Mae, she’ll keep the Santas up for three or four months after Christmas, just because she and others like to see them. She doesn’t spend a lot on the individual Santas, buying many at dollar or discount stores. Still, she says some clerks know her by name, set aside items for her and she invites them to stop by the house and see the collection for themselves. Wood also said the Santas are a big hit with the youngest among her six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Having played modified games of “I Spy” with the Santas, the Wood grandchildren reportedly quickly can pick out the Santas with the longest arms, legs and so on.

Wood said she doesn’t have a favorite from among her collection, that the one she likes best is usually the newest. For now, that’s a Santa with a puppy in his toy sack. The ornament was a gift from one of Wood’s daughters-in-law and family members, not including William, are a reliable source of Santas for Mae. William admits he’s never bought his wife a Santa.

“This is her thing,” he said by way of explanation.

Locals might remember Mae from the days when she and a friend owned and ran the Twice is Nice Boutique in the same building as what was until recently the Bothell American Legion Hall. The boutique was a consignment store that specialized in women’s clothing, according to Kelly Wood, who added the store represented his mother’s dream job.

Mae admits she has fought her way through various health problems, including cancer, but she doesn’t want to talk about those problems.

“I don’t think about it,” she said, preferring to concentrate on more pleasant things such as her Santas.

“They make me happy, they make me laugh,” she said. “They’re all smiling and you look at them and you can’t help but smile.”