Santa fulfills grieving father's Christmas wish in special way

Actor Caleb Ryan Sigmon dresses up as Santa each year to spread holiday cheer at a mall in Georgia. This year, he was able to spread more than cheer -- he fulfilled the wish of a grieving father. Sigmon shared his story on Facebook. %shareLinks-quote="A man walked in today holding something in his arms. 'I have a request,' he said, turning around this picture frame. He took a moment. 'My son passed away, last year.' He choked up and couldn't finish his sentence. The entire photo set was silent." type="quote" author="Caleb Ryan Sigmon" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday="false"%The boy in the picture, Hayden Daniel, passed away from a rare heart defect last year before he was able to meet Santa or celebrate Christmas with his family. His father Kyle Daniel also shared the picture online writing, "We are forever grateful to him for doing this for us. Thank you Caleb for making a hard situation easy for me."

SEE ALSO: Father turns daughter's tragic death into Christmas miracle

"I walked up to Santa and said, 'I have a request, my son passed away last year.' I started to get choked up," Daniel told TODAY Parents. "He reached out for Hayden's picture and said, 'Absolutely.' I had a wave of relief come over me. It was hard to walk in and ask that. In just one word, he made a situation easy."

See Hayden's pictures with Santa.

Sigmon shared his experience with TODAY Parents as well. "People ask Santa things they just don't tell other people — not just children, but grown-ups, too," said Sigmon. "I've had more adults ask me for jobs this year than ever...I've been asked by boys and girls to bring their father home, or keep their parents together. I can't do these things, but what I can do is pray for them...my job as Santa is about sharing love. This is what it's about."

See Sigmon's Facebook post below.

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