Altona resident Wolf Graf will bring about half of his $200,000 Christmas decoration collection to Altona Homestead for a ‘Christmas in July’ celebration.
Mr Graf, who has up to 20,000 items of decoration including antique items from the 1920s and ’30s, says his Christmas obsession stems from his childhood in Germany.
“It started when I was a child because of my grandparents. We always set up a nativity scene and a Christmas tree.
“We’d go foraging in the forest and cut some moss, old tree roots and branches and set the whole area up. The whole two- to three-square-metre display was meticulously landscaped with hills and valleys, a stable with bark walls, straw roof and sand for paths to accommodate the main protagonists of this spectacle – almost 100 figures and the tree.”
Among prized decorations to be displayed at Altona Homestead next month will be a vintage Santa face from Macy’s department store in New York, which will hang above the hearth.
“I went to auctions in New York with my former boss and he caught the Christmas bug even though he was Jewish,” Mr Graf said.
“We literally had some bidding wars at our auctions sometimes, not realising that he was actually buying the ornament for me.”
One of Mr Graf’s favourite items is a limited-edition, Polish glass finial by famous US designer Christopher Radko, which will rest above the main tree with 1600 LED lights on it, in the front window of Altona Homestead.
Christmas in July starts with afternoon tea, featuring Christmas trimmings and poetry recitals at Altona Homestead from 11am-4pm on Sunday.
The display, including a Nutcracker exhibition, will be at the homestead all month. For afternoon tea bookings, phone 0409 822 076.
