'Tis the season for family, gingerbread cookies, and a bit of magic: Honda brought the enchantment of the holidays to patients at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC Children's) through virtual reality.

In the automaker's Candy Cane Lane virtual experience, a Honda sleigh pulls the viewer along a snow-covered neighborhood filled with sparkling holiday light displays.

The further you travel, the more extravagant the decorations become, ending with a fireworks display and an appearance by Santa and his reindeer, flying overhead.

"This year Honda has the unique privilege of transporting children at CHOC Children's to a virtual winter wonderland that brings the festive spirit of the holidays to the kids directly," Susie Rossick, assistant vice president of Honda auto marketing, said in a statement.

Wearing an Oculus Rift headset, the kids were able to escape the ward for a minute and a half—riding through falling snow to the sounds of bells and harps. And, just as Old Saint Nick drops a wrapped present into the viewer's virtual lap, a real gift was placed into the sick children's lap in the hospital.

"Seeing the kids' heartfelt reactions to the experience and being able to bring magic to their hospital stay is especially meaningful during the holidays," Rossick said.

In an effort to generate awareness for the company's program, Honda shared a short, documentary-style video of the children's reactions to their VR experience (below) on Facebook. For every "like" or "love" the clip received, Honda donated $1 to CHOC Children's and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (up to $100,000).

For more, check out Honda's annual Happy Honda Days drive: four TV spots and three Snapchat filters, among other print, digital, social, and radio ads.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. ET to clarify that Honda's Facebook campaign is still operating.

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