The saddest Santa photo

A mall Santa shared the photo of a special request from a young father. Photo / Facebook

A baby's first picture with Santa is breaking hearts around the world.

It's the closest Hayden Daniel will ever come to sitting on Santa's lap because he passed away just before Christmas last year, aged six months.

His father, Kyle Daniel, wanted to create some semblance of a moment his son will never experience.

Daniel took his baby's framed photo into a mall in Georgia in the US and approached the setting where Caleb Ryan Sigmon was dressed up as Santa.

Sigmon, who has been documenting his experiences as Santa on Facebook, noted Daniel was in tears as he explained: "My son passed away, last year."

Sigmon wrote that he understood exactly what Daniels was after "without having to say a word".

"He handed me the frame and I placed it on my knee. I didn't ask any questions, but I am guessing that this is his first photo with Santa.

"The camera snap was the only sound I could hear through the entire mall...it was absolutely silent.

"After a handful of clicks, we walked over to the screen and he pointed, saying 'That's the one.'"

As Daniels fished out his wallet, explaining the pictures were a gift for his wife, Santa and his crew told him the pictures would be their gift to him.

Sigmon said Daniel's "grabbed my hand and pulled me in and hugged me".

Of his post, which has been shared over 54, 000 times, Sigmon wrote:

"I'm sharing this to remind us all that Christmastime is unbelievably hard for some families,

"Pray for the brokenhearted. Smile at people. Just be kind. Love one another."

Daniel wrote that he and his wife, Sasha, were "amazed" by the response to the photo and their story and put forward a request for the people touched by it.

"All we want is for you all to do something nice like Caleb did for us," he posted on the Facebook page Hayden Daniel's Hope, created by the couple for their son.

Kyle and Sasha Daniel's son Hayden suffered from Hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Photo / Facebook

"Just be there for a random stranger this holiday. You don't have to do something big.

"Sometimes all it takes is a smile, and a hello."

- nzherald.co.nz