After recently gaining recognition as the first professional Santa Claus with Down syndrome in the US, Bradley Carlisle has already gotten a lot more than the traditional serving of milk and cookies that is usually left out for Father Christmas each year.That is because the 37-year-old community theater actor from suburban Atlanta landed an honorary induction into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame upon completing one of the largest Christmas performer schools in the US in late August – a distinction meant to recognize the important represehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/05/first-professional-santa-claus-downs-syndrome-hall-of-famentation his emergence on the holiday scene has brought, according to his supporters.
As his mother, Debbie Chadrix, told it, Carlisle’s path to his unique place among what she called the Claus family began at the 2023 holiday party of the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta (DSAA). Chadrix said the organization’s executive director approached her during the gathering and remarked: “We need a Santa with Down syndrome who looks like the kids” who had been invited to the party as the guests of honor.