Baby Buggy^® receives $10,000 on Gellar’s behalf from the Family Theme Park!

CARLSBAD, Calif. (Dec. 1, 2014) – Emmy award winner Sarah Michelle Gellar and her family came to play at LEGOLAND^® California Resort’s Holiday Snow Days and Winter Nights and then helped Santa pull the switch to light the 30-foot tall LEGO^® Christmas tree during the 12th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in Carlsbad, California.

Gellar, a mother of two and married to actor Freddie Prinze Jr., is most known for her popular role as Buffy Summers in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and as Daphne in the movie “Scooby-Doo and “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.” In honor of both Gellar and Prinze who are big Star Wars fans, plus Prinze stars as the voice of Kanan Jarrus in the Disney XD animated series Star Wars™ Rebels, LEGOLAND California Resort’s Master Model Builders created 15 LEGO Star Wars Death Star ornaments to help decorate this year’s tree. The ornaments also represent the Resort’s recent announcement of its new LEGO Star Wars™ Miniland Death Star opening March 5, 2015. Each LEGO Star Wars Death Star ornament is made up of more than 1,000 LEGO bricks.

“When LEGOLAND asked me to light the tree and at the same time do it as a way to raise money for Baby Buggy, which is all about children in poverty, it’s marrying my two favorite holiday traditions,” said Gellar.

At the ceremony, LEGOLAND California Resort presented a check for $10,000 on behalf of Gellar to Baby Buggy Inc. which works with a network of over 100 community-based organizations throughout the country to distribute new and gently used essentials such as cribs, diapers, strollers and clothing to families.

“A donation like this can help us provide more than the equivalent of 110,000 diapers to families in need,” said Director of Baby Buggy in Los Angeles Carly Harrill.

Gellar, her daughter Charlotte(5) and son Rocky (2) joined Santa on stage to help pull a magical switch connecting  the power to set off thousands of lights and a twinkling LEGO star, followed by snow showering Park guests and a fireworks show to officially kick-of the winter holiday. Following the ceremony, Gellar and her children raced to the ice skating rink at the entrance of the Park next to LEGOLAND Hotel to enjoy the rest of the evening skating.

Created out of more than 245,000 green DUPLO^® bricks, the 30-foot tall Christmas tree is adorned with more than 400 LEGO ornaments and illuminated with more than 11,000 LED lights while towering over the theme park’s Fun Town winter wonderland. The tree lighting ceremony is part of LEGOLAND California Resort’s coolest holiday celebration ever, Holiday Snow Days and Winter Nights. Now through January 4, 2015, the Park transforms into a winter wonderland featuring more real snow than ever before with a tubing area for kids to slide down and, new this year, guests are invited to ice skate as an upgrade. Guests can enjoy festive entertainment plus nightly fireworks Dec. 26 through 31 and will conclude with San Diego’s biggest Kids’ New Year’s Eve Party on Dec. 31. All Holiday Snow Days and Winter Nights activities located inside the Park are included with regular Park admission. Tickets for the ice rink, located between the ticket booths and LEGOLAND^® Hotel, are sold separately.

LEGOLAND^® California Resort includes LEGOLAND^® California, SEA LIFE^® Aquarium, LEGOLAND^® Water Park and LEGOLAND^® Hotel. All are geared for families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. At LEGOLAND California, you’ll find more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including LEGO Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display, Pirate Reef and Dino Island.  SEA LIFE Aquarium is home to more than 5,000 living creatures and incorporates LEGO^® models into a child’s voyage to the depths of the ocean featuring play zones, fun facts and quiz trails. LEGOLAND Water Park features more than seven slides, sandy beaches and the unique Build-A-Raft River. New this year, LEGO Legends of Chima Water Park presented by Cartoon Network where guests splash about in a Lion Temple Wave Pool, slide out of a crocodile’s mouth and race LEGO boats. The nation’s first LEGOLAND Hotel features 250 rooms, all themed either as pirate, adventure, or kingdom plus more than 3,500 LEGO models throughout the three-story hotel. For more information, visit  www.LEGOLAND.com or call (760) 918-LEGO (5346).

MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS plc is the leading name in location-based, family entertainment. Europe’s number one and the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin now operates 104 attractions, 10 hotels/3 holiday villages in 22 countries and across 4 continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its almost 60 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and more than 20,000 employees.

Merlin has twenty three attractions and one hotel in North America  – including two stunning LEGOLAND Resorts – LEGOLAND Florida with its theme park, water park, and LEGOLAND California theme park with water park, SEA LIFE Aquarium and themed hotel; Madame Tussauds celebrity wax attractions in New York City, Washington D.C., Las Vegas; Hollywood; and San Francisco; LEGOLAND Discovery Centers in Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Kansas City Missouri, Atlanta, Boston; Westchester and Toronto, Canada; a Dungeon in San Francisco; and SEA LIFE Aquariums in Phoenix, Arizona; Kansas City, Missouri; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, the Mall of America in Minneapolis and Charlotte underlining the company’s position as the world’s biggest global aquarium operator.  Visit www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information.

About Baby Buggy
Baby Buggy^®, founded by Jessica Seinfeld in 2001, is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing families in need with essential equipment, products, clothing, and services for their infants and children up to age 14. With an extensive network of community-based organizations throughout the Unites States, Baby Buggy has donated almost 8 million items to hundreds of thousands of children throughout the country.  Baby Buggy has been rated Four Stars by Charity Navigator.  In 2013, 91 cents of each dollar raised went directly to programs. For more information, visit www.babybuggy.org or follow on Twitter or Instagram @LoveRecycled.

Tony Hawk Foundation
A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income communities throughout the United States, and other causes overseas. Since then, the Foundation has awarded over $5.2-million to help build more than 500 skateparks in all 50 States. In almost every case, the new skatepark becomes the most popular recreation facility in town. The Foundation works with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building parks.
The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.tonyhawkfoundation.org.