West metro man boasts growing collection of Dayton's holiday display figurines

(FOX 9) - Many people have fond memories of Christmases past, but stepping into Bill Ewald's living room is like taking a step back in time.

"I love to do it. I mean, it was important to me as a child, and it's important to me to keep the tradition alive," said Ewald.

Back in 2020, Ewald told us how he grew up going to the holiday displays in the eighth-floor auditorium of the Dayton's in downtown Minneapolis.

When Macy's closed the store in 2017, he bought and restored a dozen characters, including a half dozen animatronic figurines, to recreate some of that Christmas magic in his own home.

"I wanted as many animatronic pieces as I could get because I loved the movement as a child and I love it as an adult," Ewald told us at the time.

Since then, Ewald has more than doubled the number of Dayton's figurines in his house, and his holiday hobby of refurbishing them has turned into a year-round pursuit.

Some of the newest additions include characters from "A Day In The Life Of An Elf", Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", and "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", which has spilled over into his bedroom.

"I have no more room here, but I will still add to it if you come out next year, there's going to be more. There's really no end in sight," said Ewald.

The goal of Ewald's labor of love is to spread some holiday cheer to family and friends, and he hopes to continue growing his collection of characters for many Christmases to come. 

"It's magical. It brings me back to when I was a child. I'm still a kid at heart at my age, and I always will be. And I'm thrilled every time I get a new piece that I can work on and put life back into them," said Ewald.