Bob and Irene Traggiai display their Christmas collectibles Saturday at their home in Cabot. The collection, which includes more than 100 houses, takes up an entire room.

WINFIELD TWP — A fateful stop at a famous Christmas store sparked a holiday passion for one couple.

Bob Traggiai, 66, and his wife, Irene, 67, bought their first Department 56 model houses at the now-defunct America's First Christmas Store in Smethport almost two decades ago. They grew attached to the houses and began expanding the collection in their own home.

“It started out upstairs on the buffet. Then it moved from the buffet to the tables, and now it's in my spare room downstairs,” said Bob Traggiai, better known as “Barber Bob” from Traggiai's Hair Styling Center in Butler.

“It fills up a whole room, probably 15 by 16 (feet). It's completely filled about three feet up the wall.”

Bob said their collection boasts more than 100 houses, all part of the company's Original Snow Village series.

“And that's just the houses,” Bob said. “That's not the pieces that go with them. They're all that type.”

Over time, Department 56 retires houses from the collection, causing those houses to gain value, Bob said. The series launched in 1976.The Traggiais bought most of the pieces themselves, although their daughter and neighbors have given them a few as gifts. All of the houses light up, and some even have moving parts.Irene said it's impossible to choose a favorite of all the pieces in their collection. “We like them all,” Irene said. “We only buy the ones we like.”Bob said he completes the display with a train, cars and a waterfall.“It's a hobby. The wife and I get the whole house decorated,” Bob said. “We just get into Christmas.”

Bob and Irene Traggiai have collected the miniature houses and figures in their display for nearly 20 years.