The Bristol Santa House opens for the 2025 holiday season

BRISTOL, R.I. — The James D. Rielly Foundation announced that the Bristol Santa House™ will officially open for the 2025 holiday season on Saturday, November 22, from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m.

The annual Santa Claus’ Party marks the start of the holiday season in Bristol and invites families to gather for an evening of festive fun with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Guests can enjoy outdoor music, entertainment, seasonal treats, and a chance to tour the Bristol Santa House.

“Every child deserves a little magic at Christmastime,” said Michael Rielly, founder and Chief Merriment Officer of the James D. Rielly Foundation. “The Bristol Santa House was created so every family, regardless of ability, could share in that joy. Seeing the wonder on a child’s face when they meet Santa reminds us why we do this”.

Launched in 2022, the Bristol Santa House was designed as a free, inclusive holiday experience for children and adults with disabilities and their families. Staffed entirely by volunteers, the attraction has quickly become a beloved Rhode Island tradition and has earned national recognition. Thanks to continued support from donors and community sponsors, the Bristol Santa House offers a warm and joyful destination for families throughout the holiday season.

The event will take place at 240 High Street, beside the historic Bristol Statehouse.

The Bristol Santa House opens for the 2025 holiday season. For the complete 2025 schedule, details on volunteering, or more information, visit www.bristolsantahouse.org.

The namesake of the foundation, James “Jim” Rielly, Rhode Island’s beloved “Santa Claus,” first donned the red suit in 1927 at age 19, visiting a family of 13 living in an abandoned chicken coop during the Great Depression. For more than six decades, he spread holiday cheer to orphanages, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, churches, charitable organizations, military bases, and the Rhode Island State House.

Traveling by helicopter, plane, ship, and sleigh, Rielly brought joy to hundreds of thousands of people without accepting payment. His only condition was that his appearances remind others of the true meaning of Christmas: love and kindness, particularly to children with mental and physical challenges.

Rielly received numerous honors for his dedication. In 1970, Bristol named Rielly Lane after him, and in 1975, “Jim Rielly’s Bench” was dedicated in Rockwell Park. In 1979, the U.S. Senate recognized him in the Congressional Record as “James D. Rielly, A Truly Remarkable Santa Claus from Rhode Island.” In 2010, he was posthumously inducted into the inaugural class of the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame in Santa Claus, Indiana.

Today, an oil painting of Jim Rielly greets visitors at Bristol’s Town Hall, celebrating his legacy as the town’s unofficial ambassador and Rhode Island’s cherished Santa Claus.