A graduate of East Lansing High School and MSU, Spartan flags and insignias float high around the outsides of her house in Holt. She met her husband at MSU during their freshmen year. Their first date was to see "Apollo 13" in a screening by Campus Center Cinemas. She worked at MSU for many years following graduation, but later had kids and decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Her husband, however, has worked in the College of Veterinary Medicine for years.

But, on Oct. 15 and 16, Malinowski's Spartan-clad house became jam-packed with something she also loves: Santas. 

"My mother had been collecting Santas since the early '70s," Malinowski said. "She started in 1971. When we counted them up last night, we counted nearly a thousand in her collection. We had 14 crates full."

Last year, Malinowski's mother and father died three months apart. Until recently, her family couldn't bring themselves to open the storage closet that held all of their old belongings. It was a hard hit, Malinowski said. 

"My mom used to put these all out every year," Malinowski said. "It was never very hard to find her a Christmas present, because she was always happy with getting another Santa. Once they figured it out, people were always bringing her new ones."

Malinowski's mother was featured by the local news, WLNS, in the mid-90s for her Santa collection. Back then, she said she only had approximately 600 and was planning on scaling back. Malinowski said she laughs at the interview now. 

"Clearly, she didn't cut back," Malinowski said. 

Malinowski said it usually took months for all the Santas to be put away in her house growing up. Her father was Jewish, she said, so the family also packed away menorahs while they packed away Santas. 

"Dad was never as much of a collector as mom was," Malinowski said. "But we celebrated it all. It was never weird to us."

On Saturday, Malinowski said selling her mother's collection was hard — it holds a lot of sentimental value to her family. But she found rest in the idea that in selling the Santas, her mother's legacy could live on somewhere else. Some of the oldest Santas will also be headed to the Detroit Children's Museum to be showcased for years to come, she said. 

"We're keeping about 100 of the Santas for close friends and families," Malinowski said. "But the rest we're trying to sell. Mom wouldn't want them to sit in a box forever, so we're hoping to find them some new homes."