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NATCHEZ — Originally from Arkansas, Brad Yarbrough said he had never before experienced anything quite like a Natchez Christmas until moving to Natchez 33 years ago to help his father Charles Yarbrough run the Ford dealership.

When he moved back to Natchez in 2001 to run the business so his father could retire, Yarbrough immediately joined the Santa Claus Committee that hosts a Christmas parade each year.

However, his wife Jaki, who grew up in Natchez, remembers being on the “other side” of the annual Santa Claus parade on Christmas Eve.

“Most of her life, she supported the Santa Claus parade like the thousands of other children do every year, from her front driveway, waking up to a bunch of sirens and watching the parade go by on Christmas Eve morning in hopes of catching candy. When I moved back here, I got involved in the Santa Claus committee right away, so I’ve never been on that other side. … It’s very unique. I think we’re the only small town that does anything like the Santa Claus parade that I’ve ever heard of. And I think that makes us unique. And you know, not all towns have really cool traditions, but Natchez has some really cool traditions. And one of those really cool traditions is the Santa Claus parade, and it’s uniquely Natchez, and it’s been going on for 97 years.”

On Tuesday, Yarbrough will have his first-ever experience of the Santa parade dressed up as Santa Claus and will be riding in the Rudolf position of the motorcade of Santa Claus Committee members in regular vehicles as they drive through Natchez neighborhoods.

As a dealership owner, Yarbrough has been asked many times what sleigh Santa plans to ride in this year.

“It’s gonna be a Red Ford Mustang convertible on loan from Natchez Ford,” he said. “Why a Mustang? Besides the obvious reason, when I was 17 and finally able to drive, the first car I had was a Ford Mustang. That was 40 years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.”

Yarbrough recalled having childhood Christmases like most others.

On Christmas morning, he and his older brother would plot out the ways they could get to their presents before 6 a.m., he said. Most of all he remembers the anticipation before Christmas morning, having given his list to his parents in hopes that they would give the list to Santa. He almost always got everything that he wanted, he said.

“I had the greatest parents, and so I was very fortunate. I had really good Christmases. … But it’s not that way for everybody,” he said.

One of the greatest experiences of being on the Santa Claus committee is the collaboration with the Natchez Children’s Christmas Tree Fund to give out toys to hundreds of families who might not otherwise get any. This tradition takes place Christmas Eve at the Braden Administration Building, one of the few stops in the Santa Parade.

“I’ve lived in five or six areas in my life, and by far this is the most giving community I’ve ever seen,” Yarbrough said.

He recalled his first time experiencing the vast number of children at the Christmas Tree Fund’s toy giveaway.

“I was blown away,” he said. “I knew that not everybody had a good Christmas, and I was totally aware of that, and I just didn’t know what to do about it or how to help. And when I saw that happening at Braden the first time I was involved in the Santa Claus Committee, I thought, somebody had similar thoughts as me and put that thought into work, and they created this way of making sure those kids also get a gift. It’s incredible.”

The somebody was Capt. James Lambert, former publisher of The Natchez Democrat who in 1903 started the Children’s Christmas Tree fund.

Through the support of generous community donations and the Santa Claus Committee, the efforts lasted over 120 years and are still coordinated today by the descendants of the Lambert family.

“There are certain kids in the group that just kind of catch your eyes,” Yarbrough said.

Whether it’s seeing that their shoes don’t quite fit right or they don’t have a warm coat, Yarbrough said it becomes pretty obvious that those children might not have any other presents than the ones they get from the Christmas Tree Fund. The families also get a Christmas ham or turkey, so they will have both gifts and dinner on Christmas day.

“That’s one thing that stuck with me,” Yarbrough said.

One of the things Yarbrough said he is most excited for is getting to play Santa Claus.

“I mean, who gets to do that? I never have before,” he said.

Yarbrough said that strong traditions like the Santa Clause parade and the giving nature of the community are what made him fall in love with Natchez.

“When asked by the Santa Committee to be their Santa for Christmas 2024, I was blown away. I felt so humbled and honored to accept. It’s just an honor to be part of an organization of such charitable people. … But I want to say, this Santa job is bigger than any one person. And Santa is not the heartbeat of this event. It’s all of you that come out every year to donate your time and money for the benefit of the underprivileged children in our community. This includes our local police among many others that help.”