After several years of inviting visitors to Nativity collection, Austin couple says this is the last year
Published 7:08 pm Tuesday, January 14, 2025
The Holder home is filled with a variety of versions of the Nativity. Eric Johnson/eric.johnson@austindailyherald.com
Helen Holder stands among just a small selection of the Holder’s over 900 Nativity sets. The couple has announced this will be the last year they open the display to the public. Eric Johnson/eric.johnson@austindailyherald.com
Nativities from different countries are available for viewing in this final run of the Holder’s annual viewing. Eric Johnson/eric.johnson@austindailyherald.com
A colorful stained-glass Nativity occupies a window sill at the Holder home. Eric Johnson/eric.johnson@austindailyherald.com
One of the smallest Nativity scenes the Holders own was carved into a cherry pit. Eric Johnson/eric.johnson@austindailyherald.com
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What started as a personal collection in 1968 and ballooned to yearly display of faith, will now be coming to an end in Austin.
This year marks the final time that the Nativity collection of Helen and Bill Holder will be open to the public for viewing.
Since 2002, the couple has been welcoming people to their home to witness the over 970 scenes depicting Christ’s birth.
“I paid $180 for the (first) Nativity,” Helen Holder said and added: “If I spend $180 for one Nativity, I’m going to give myself one every year.”
In the years prior to when they started the open houses, the couple would invite friends and family to tour the collection, which features Nativities from around the world featuring a large variety of visual presentations.
Then the Holders began becoming more public and in 2020 they were publicized for the first time by Discover, Austin! And for Helen, the display has largely been about sharing the meaning the scenes depict.
“It is just so fun to see their reactions,” she said of the visitors. “The memories they share about the Nativity is part of the fun.”
Just as important has been the declaration of faith the Nativity represents and the broad appeal it has had from around the world.
Several of those themes are represented within the collection itself.
“Part of the Nativity is what did this designer, artist do to make them personal to them?” Holder said. “To me, it says Christ came for all people.”
However, the time has come to bring the display to an end — a display so big that it takes a month to both put up and take down.
Helen said, the reality about continuing it has sunken in.
“The physical exertion; getting boxes up stairs and reaching up,” she said. “We’re getting old.”
Helen said she hopes that perhaps there is a place that the collection might be displayed together, but in the meantime, she’s opened up the door for the couple’s children to pick the scene they would like to take home to their own families.
That family connection has been an important part of the collection’s history. In particular, it’s a piece that each member of the family contributed to that will always have a place in their heart.
“I can say, that’s my favorite,” Helen said, adding: “It’s been lots of fun.”
The collection will be up probably through the end of January. Anyone wishing to see the collection should call Helen at 1-507-433-2643 and leave a message to arrange a visit.
