Holiday Displays Drive Traffic and Community Connection for Two Do it Best Retailers
Santa’s full-body display still features its original mechanical charm—his arm gently rises and falls, and he slowly turns at the waist, just as he did nearly 80 years ago when he first greeted shoppers in Mercer County, Ohio.
Two Do it Best retailers—Coldwater Hardware in Coldwater, Ohio, and Choice Hardware & Home Center in Nephi, Utah—are showing how holiday creativity can spark community engagement and draw new foot traffic at the busiest time of year. Both stores leaned into local tradition and visual storytelling, producing very different displays rooted in history, renovation and a strong sense of place.
At Coldwater Hardware, an 80-Year-Old Santa Returns Home
Coldwater Hardware co-owner Bradley Niekamp expected the store’s World War II-era mechanical Santa to resonate with longtime residents. What he didn’t expect was the depth of nostalgia, storytelling and foot traffic that followed.
“A lot of customers grew up seeing this Santa,” says Bradley Niekamp, owner of Coldwater Hardware in Coldwater, Ohio. “Now they get to relive those memories—and their kids get to see something nearly 80 years old still working.”
The Santa’s origins stretch back to Heckler Hardware in Celina, Ohio, where he first appeared after WWII as a way to boost store traffic during a period when appliance production remained limited. Purchased later by Wes and Vera Myers when they acquired the business, the Santa followed the family from Celina to Cridersville, appearing in their stores for decades before moving into storage during the 1990s. The figure returned to retail life only after Brad and Elizabeth Niekamp—granddaughter of Wes and Vera—purchased Coldwater Hardware in 2024.
“Santa was restored by my wife’s family,” Niekamp says. “He’d been part of several hardware stores in the region, and last Christmas my wife’s uncle said, ‘It’s time for him to come home to a hardware store again.’ ”
The Santa just needed a fashion update with a new suit; the original hand-painted face looked new and mechanical arm and waist movement still function. “We plugged him in and he came to life, waving just like people remembered,” Niekamp says.
The display immediately drew customers who recalled seeing him in Celina or Cridersville decades ago. “A lot of customers grew up with him,” he notes. “Younger customers get to marvel at something that’s 80 years old.”
The local newspaper’s coverage drove even more traffic—some visitors arriving simply to see the Santa, then browsing the aisles.
“We’ve had people come in who weren’t looking for anything to buy right away,” Niekamp says. “But once they’re here, they realize we’re a small family-owned hardware store with a lot to offer.”
For Coldwater Hardware, their holiday display reinforced the store’s identity. Niekamp adds that the team continues gathering stories and archival details from customers who remember earlier versions of the display.
“It’s opened our doors to more people and helped them reconnect with something meaningful,” he says.
Built by the lumber team and inspired by the store’s recent redesign, Choice Hardware’s miniature storefront became a standout feature in Nephi’s Christmas Village.
Choice Hardware Builds a Miniature Store to Showcase a Major Redesign
More than 1,600 miles west, Choice Hardware & Home Center took a different approach—building a detailed miniature replica of the newly redesigned store as part of Nephi’s annual Christmas Village.
Nephi’s annual Christmas Village began when the city invited local businesses and residents to create miniature holiday displays, and that invitation sparked the idea at Choice Hardware. Owner Dan Peel brought the letter to a team meeting, where the group quickly decided to build a miniature replica of their newly redesigned store instead of a traditional gingerbread scene.
“Most people do gingerbread houses,” he explains. “We had just finished a store redesign, so we thought—a perfect miniature replica of the store would be a fun way to celebrate that transformation.”
The redesign itself was significant. Peel purchased the building next door—formerly a movie store and dental office—and spent months opening up walls, rebuilding interiors and creating a 20,000-square-foot retail space. Exterior upgrades followed this spring, supported throughout by Do it Best store designers and project managers.
Choice Hardware’s debut entry in Nephi’s Christmas Village featured a handcrafted miniature of the redesigned store—complete with tiny Milwaukee toolboxes, bags of animal feed and Christmas trees displayed in the front window.
Peel credits his lumber team with bringing the Christmas Village concept to life.
“My lumber manager and salesman, Wayne Roy, built it, and the other guys pitched in,” he says. “We included the red canopy, windows with products, bags of animal feed, Milwaukee toolboxes—even Christmas trees.”
The project took three days and immediately drew enthusiasm from residents.
“The community is happy and excited about it,” Peel says. “People are realizing how much we carry, and it’s definitely brought more traffic into the store.”
One recent interaction stood out: “A gentleman came in who said he’d lived here for two years and always gone to the competition across the street,” Peel recalls. “He walked around and said he was amazed at what’s in the store.”
Peel hopes the Christmas Village display becomes an annual partnership with the city, showcasing the team’s creativity and craftsmanship while keeping the store visible during the holiday season.
