Actress Stana Katic from ‘Castle’ lights the Lego Christmas Tree at Legoland California

Actress Stana Katic and her 5-year-old niece Sophia helped Santa pull the switch to light the world’s largest Lego Christmas tree at Legoland California Resort.

The Lego Christmas tree stands 30-foot tall, is created out of more than 245,000 green Duplo bricks, features more than 400 Lego ornaments and sparkles with more than 11,000 LED lights. In honor of the new Castle Hotel breaking ground in January 2017, Master Model Builders created 15 new Lego castle ornaments that hung from the enormous Lego Christmas tree. This was the 14th annual tree lighting ceremony at Legoland California.

Katic, known for her starring role on the ABC series “Castle,” spent the day enjoying all the attractions at Legoland with her niece and said she was thrilled to be a part of the ceremony and to see the new hotel.

“I hope we get an invite to come back and be one of the first to visit the Castle Hotel,” said Katic.

At the ceremony, Legoland California Resort donated $10,000 on Katic’s behalf to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a nonprofit pediatric academic medical center dedicated to creating hope and building healthier futures for children.

Guests at the ceremony were not only treated to a sneak peek of the new Lego Ninjago rooms coming to Legoland Hotel next year, but also saw new renderings of the Castle Hotel breaking ground in January and, of course, had a visit from Santa.

The tree lighting ceremony is part of Legoland California Resort’s winter celebration, Holidays at Legoland California. Now through Jan. 1, 2017, Heartlake City has been transformed into a winter wonderland for guests to enjoy. Kids can sing and dance as they watch the Lego Friends live holiday show and join in building activities in the Heartlake City stables. Occasional snow flurries and a traveling brass band playing festive bluegrass music will fill Heartlake City with the feeling of winter.

Guests can also enjoy character meet and greets with Lego Santa and a Lego toy soldier and collect holiday inspired pop badges. Plus, families can ring in 2017 with San Diego’s biggest Kids’ New Year’s Eve Party on Dec. 31. All Holidays activities are included with regular park admission.