Embracing A New Tradition - 24 Days of Lego Fun
Written: Jan 10 '02 (Updated Jan 11 '02)
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Pros: 24 days of fun! 3 different Santa's to build, wide variety of sets.
Cons: No instructions provided, plastic tray gets damaged easily.
The Bottom Line: With a little care, this set can provide years of fun. A great way to reward you little Lego fanatic for almost an entire month.
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO - Count Down to the Holidays Calendar |
Imagine my surprise when I found this set on clearance at KB Toys a few days ago. It’s rare to find Lego’s on sale, let alone clearance – so needless to say; I bought every last set I could find. In the perfect world this would be called The Advent Calendar [which is what it is called on the box] but due to everyone wanting to be politically correct – it’s now called Lego Count Down To The Holidays. Wouldn’t The Grinch be proud?
As I mentioned, this was on clearance. The suggested retail price ranges from $24.99 to as low as $19.99 depending on which set you come across, how it is packaged and how old it is. These started out at $24.99, reduced to $14.99 then to the $10.00 bin. Even then, there was an additional 40% taken off at the register so I ended up paying $6.00 per box, plus tax. Now do you understand why I was hopping around like a five year old after a venti from Starbucks?
The sets I picked up were the second in the series of holiday calendars [#1298]. There are some very important things to know before you tear it open and start building. First, there is a cardboard sleeve that covers the box; slice through the two protective tabs on the end to release this. This comes in handy when you want to store the unit for future uses. Next, you see the front of the calendar – but look close, the dates are not in order. The numbers are scattered all over the place. I am assuming they did this so that the child wouldn’t get bored opening one door after another.
Each day has one small door [cardboard] that needs to be punched in to get to the Lego set. I really suggest that if you plan in keeping this set for upcoming holidays that you assist small children so the doors and surrounding panels don’t get completely ruined. Behind each door is a small packet of Lego’s – be careful when opening the bag because there are no instructions provided so you will be building on the fly [from the design on the bag that is]. Again, I suggest that you cut the top of the bag open and save it. This way you can keep them as a reference for following years if this is how you plan on using it. I stick the bags in a manila envelope and tuck it inside the box until they are ready to tear down their trees. The boys disassemble each piece and put it back into the small plastic sections with the appropriate bag in each compartment. Sure it might take a little extra time to do this, but the next year they don’t have to try to figure out which set they are trying to build and find the corresponding bag.
My boys have had these for a few years now and love building the small items then hanging them on their own trees in their bedrooms. Each one of them have their own fake tree that they decorate to their own liking. It’s easy to turn them into ornaments with some fishing line or yarn [I prefer fishing line – yarn scares me]. Each day they pop open one of the doors, build the piece and hang it on the tree. Pretty cool huh?
But What Is It?
Every person has his or her own unique definition of the holiday season that arrives in late December [January for those of other faiths]. I will certainly not be bold enough to make a statement saying that this is perfect for every child no matter what religion [if any] the family unit chooses to follow. This is one of the main reasons that Lego has decide to call it the Lego Count Down To The Holidays over Advent Calendar or Christmas Calendar. While I hate to think they are trying to broaden the spectrum to make more money, I choose to think they are trying to appeal to a large consumer base.
The Lego Count Down To The Holidays is rather large in size. Most of it is wasted space but then again, if it weren’t designed in this manner, you wouldn’t have the joy of paper cuts [resulting from punching in the doors], missing Lego bags and pieces and my personal favorite – having to hunt through a million Lego pieces to find the one little piece that accidentally got intermingled with the others. INTERLOPER!!!!
There are 24 individually packages Lego sleeves inside the box. Each are hidden behind a door that is perforated and needs to be carefully punched in. As I said before, smaller children might need help with this if it is going to be used more than once. When you remove the calendar from the outer sleeve you’ll see a playful scene of Lego figures and characters. These are not a direct indication as to what is behind the door so don’t get your hope up. Each door measures about 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches with the top, right and bottom sections being those that are to be punched in.
The sets include Christmas trees, Santa, airplanes, snowmen, assorted animals, cars and other goodies. Most of them range from 8 – 22 pieces and are relatively easy to build – providing that you keep the Lego bag in once piece. In this set there are three different versions of Santa – I think they ran out of small designs and decided to pad the box with these little guys. My own personal favorite is the bunny rabbit but the sailboat is a close second. I would estimate that 22 out of the 24 sets could be made from the Basic Lego Tub if you care to expand the collection.
Things To Know
If you are lucky enough to encounter these in the ‘off season’ you will need a little more information to determine the actual value of the set. To date there have been three different sets released – they are listed below with the dates and Lego titles. Beware of boxes that are not sealed on both ends, they may have some packages missing [usually Santa or the Christmas Tree].
Set 1298 released in 1998 [218 pieces]
Lego Listed Name: Advent Calendar
Not that rare, can usually be found at smaller toy stores that have a large back stock. No instructions are provided with the ones sold in the United States but they are available online through various Lego fanatic websites.
Set 2250 released in 2000 [234 pieces]
Lego Listed Name: Holiday Advent Calendar
A ‘new and improved’ set that features a stronger plastic section – the other sets had compartments that would dent and rip easily. While this is still not up to my own standards of what Lego should be putting out – it is an improvement over the other two sets in this respect.
Set 1760 released in 1990 [231 pieces]
Lego Listed Name: Advent Calendar
~ Released in Europe. Has a few different pieces than the US sets. The ones released in Europe come with a small instruction booklet, instructions on how to combine all the pieces into a large ‘holiday scene’ and a coloring book. Believe it or not, the coloring book sells for between $50.00 - $75.00 depending on the condition.
Hard to find is an understatement. Originally priced at $14.99, these sets can go for as much as $90.00 if they are in ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ condition. Tack on another $40.00 - $50.00 if they are still sealed with a perfect box [no shelf wear, price tag residue etc].
What About That Tradition Thing?
As I said in the title, a tradition has to start somewhere. I am hoping that this will be something that my sons will embrace every year and if I am lucky enough will pass on to their own children. I think I’ve gone off the deep edge; this is starting to sound like a Hallmark commercial. I try to carry on a few of the things that my family has been doing for years [making ornaments, baking butter cookies on Christmas Eve [and Boxing Day], gifts for all the animals etc] – and with the boys love of Lego’s, I’m hoping that this will be a something we’ll be able to share for many Christmas’ to come.
Visions of Sugarplums Danced In Their Head
I’ll admit it, I am a die-hard Lego fanatic. I’m not sure if I passed this along to my boys or if they developed it of their own accord. As soon as Thanksgiving is over [a holiday we just started celebrating] they all start asking when they can break out the Christmas Lego’s. December 1st marks the day when we all get our sets out [myself included] and try to resist building them all the first day.
I highly recommend this set to Lego fans over the age of six since there are a tremendous amount of small pieces that could present a choking hazard. For smaller kids, they can have a visual and creative way to lead up to the ‘big day’, counting each day by opening another door. While these sets are small, simple and slightly silly – they are a great way to reward your little Lego lover everyday.
I have my own set that I cherish. I build them – one a day – and put them on the tree in the television room. This year we made over 40 additional Lego ornaments for the tree and while friends and neighbors rolled their eyes at them – it was good quality time spend making them with my brood. And after all, that is one of the true meanings of the season. Taking the time to remember those that you love and loving the memories you are creating.
The Stats
Set Name: Lego Count Down To The Holidays
Family Set: None, individual
Lego Set: 1298
Number of Pieces: 218 pieces, 24 sets
Age Recommendation: 5 12
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 3 – 5 minutes per set
Cost: $6.00 [sale]
~ Retail prices vary from $18.99 - $21.99
~ This price varies according to location.
As Always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 6.00 - sale
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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