The Columbia of yesteryear will come to life once again when the National Christmas Center opens its doors at its new location. One of the attractions of the center, which highlights the religious and secular aspects of the holiday, will be a replica of storefronts from Columbia.

"Columbia is my hometown, so we're doing an area that will feature Columbia, its shops and businesses," said David Abel, who purchased the National Christmas Center's contents in 2018 and plans to house the new center at Stone Gables Estate in Elizabethtown.

The center is scheduled to open in the Barns of Belmont, 1 Hollinger Lane, in a few years. In the meantime, the public will have a chance to see the work-in-progress in its temporary location in Middletown during the Christmas season later this year.

"We will be having private viewings by ticket that are open to the public starting at Christmastime," Abel noted. He anticipates it will take two years to build the center's new home in Elizabethtown and two years to set up the contents.

The original National Christmas Center was located in Paradise for almost 20 years until owner Jim Morrison announced its closing in early 2018.

"I had visited the National Christmas Center years ago with my children, and I was really sad when I heard it was closing," Abel stated. "Then I met Jim Morrison, and that got the ball rolling. I believe God ordained that meeting and guided me to make the Christmas Center part of Stone Gables Estate. Our mission is to tell the true meaning of Christmas, so this fits perfectly with that."

In an office building off of Route 230 in Middletown, Abel is busy working with a team of contractors, along with co-curators John Enterline and Morrison, to not only set up the items originally housed in the Christmas Center, but also expand its offerings.

"The original National Christmas Center was 20,000 square feet," Abel noted. "The new one will be 40,000 square feet."

Along with items and displays found in the original center, including a life-size reproduction of a Woolworth store, a vast collection of Santas and scenes depicting the birth of Christ, the new center will feature a boys' toy store full of models, trains, toy soldiers and more, as well as a girls' toy store featuring elaborate oversized dollhouses dating to the 1800s. Rooms will be dedicated to Lancaster County history as well.

Abel will be overseeing construction of the center in Middletown, which will be built in a way that makes it easy to take apart and transport to Elizabethtown once the new site is ready.

"I am a visionary," he said. "I can see it, but I can't build it." Still, he knows what he envisions will touch the hearts of visitors.

"We want to highlight the awe and wonder of Christmas and its traditions," he noted. "People want nostalgia. We are doing this to bring out the joy Christmas brings to children. We want to bring out the joy in the child in everyone, no matter how old they are."