Pricing and availability

As with previous years, 2024’s Advent Calendars were released on the 1st of September and will retire at the end of the year. If any interest you, make sure to pick one up before they are gone!

This year marks the first year where we see the brand new Disney Advent calendar hit the shelves. With this addition, we have a total of six themes, four of which are licensed and two unlicensed, giving you a large selection to pick from. Licensed sets can be purchased for $44.99 (34.99€ / £29.99) and unlicensed sets for $32.99 (26.99€ / £19.99). The TWO unlicensed sets saw a price drop of $2 this year which was a welcome change.

Looking Back?

Want to compare this year’s Advent calendars to those of past years? Our previous mega reviews can be found below!

• Review: 2023 LEGO Advent Calendars
• Review: 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars
• Review: 2021 LEGO Advent Calendars
• Review: 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars
• Review: 2019 LEGO Advent Calendars

#42637 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar

Review by Tom Alphin.

#42637 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar

#42637 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar is $32.99 (26.99€ / £19.99), 272 pieces, ages 6+. The set comes to 12.1c (9.9c / 7.3p) per-piece at the MSRP price. While not great for a regular LEGO set, this is pretty good for an Advent Calendar

Initial Impressions

This year’s LEGO Friends advent calendar features a cozy family scene on the front of the box featuring a family celebrating with musical instruments ant toys for the holidays. It’s a very heteronormative White family featuring a guitar-wielding redheaded mom, a brown-haired dad at the piano, a redheaded girl, blond boy, and a baby swaddled in a purple blanket. Putting aside the lack of diversity, it is an inviting scene.

Top 4 Mini Builds

LEGO Friends – Piano, Christmas Tree, Stacking Blocks, and Mixer.

• Piano – This model features a contemporary 322Medium AzurMedium Azure piano with an angled shape and some holiday garlands on the corner, which comes with a small stool. This adds to the strong tradition of music in the family.
• Christmas Tree – This is a more streamlined form than most LEGO Christmas Trees, evoking a 70’s plastic tree vibe. (It employs 2×2 Round w/ 4-Petals (part 15469) for the flaring base.)
• Snow Castle Blocks – This one’s a bit weird, since we build stacking blocks by covering the studs normally found on a LEGO brick with tiles. The instructions recommend building a snow castle.
• Mixer – This is a fun little scene with a red mixer on the left and ingredients on the right. I’m still waiting for my holiday cookies.

Minidolls

A bit more research about the people featured in this set reveal that the young boy Olly is actually a neighbor and the baby’s name is Ella. I also discovered that by the time the LEGO Friends show takes place, the mother (Rose) has passed, passing the love of guitar quite literally to her daughter Paisley. For fans of the show, it’s not quite as simple of a family situation as it appears on the front of the box.

LEGO Friends – Paisley and Rose.

• Paisley – The two children are re-created as Minidools in this set, because the scene takes place when they were younger than they appear in the show. Paisley comes with a cute 5Brick YellowTan bunny.
• Rose – Paisley’s is not part of the show, but we find her here in a button-down holiday sweater, and holding the guitar that Paisley will eventually learn to play.

Conclusion

This is a charming set which feels like it captures a single scene across the many mini builds. While I don’t care for microdolls, they make sense for the kids since they represent much younger versions of themselves. My only main critique is that choosing this family means that there’s not a lot of diversity in this set.

Not to worry, #42637 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar easily earns a Recommended (4/5 star) rating because it’s got decent mini-builds and a very coherent overall theme.

#60436 LEGO City Advent Calendar

Review by Koen Van Der Hoeven

#60436 LEGO City Advent Calendar is $32.99 (26.99€ / £19.99), 195 pieces, ages 5+. The set comes to 16.9c (14.2c / 10.2p) piece at the MSRP price. Although the price of the Advent Calendar dropped this year, the number of pieces followed suit, dropping by a whopping 60 pieces!

#60436 LEGO City Advent Calendar

Initial Impressions

It’s easy for price to shape first impressions, and I was pleasantly surprised to see this Advent Calendar drop by $2 this year. However, my excitement quickly faded when I noticed a significant drop of 63 pieces compared to last year. While piece count isn’t the sole measure of a set’s success—especially given that Advent Calendars often struggle to provide great value for money—City sets are known for their impressive builds, and this one was no exception!

Top 4 Mini Builds

The #60436 LEGO City Advent Calendar is packed with delightful builds that perfectly capture the essence of Christmas and city life. The variety of high-quality builds made it easy to determine the top 4. I should mention that I assembled this set right after the disappointment of the #76293 LEGO Spider-Man Advent Calendar, so my initial low expectations may have made these builds seem particularly impressive by comparison. Even after reassessing a few days later, I stood by my original choices.

LEGO City – Reindeer with Sleigh, Toy Soldier, Snowman, and Snowmobile.

• Reindeer with Sleigh This miniature Reindeer-pulled Sled is a gem. It’s incredible how much detail can be packed into such a small build. Even with just a few pieces, it’s instantly recognizable and beautifully detailed—truly a testament to LEGO’s ingenuity!
• Toy Soldier Nutcracker When it comes to instantly recognizable builds, the Toy Soldier Nutcracker is a standout. With just 8 pieces, this Toy Soldier Nutcracker beautifully captures its real-life counterpart. The way LEGO designers encapsulate the essence of larger scenes in these tiny models is consistently impressive.
• Snowman A snowman is a classic for Advent Calendars, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Its proportions are spot-on, and the details like the scarf and arms add a lot of charm. A carrot nose would have been a great additional touch, however I understand why it was not feasible to include. Let’s hope LEGO keeps these wintry builds coming in future calendars!
• Snowmobile The minifigure-scale snowmobile strikes a perfect balance between simplicity and detail. The rear wheel threading and the ski capture the vehicle’s essence beautifully, making it instantly recognizable and charming.

Minifigures

This set boasts an impressive 7 minifigures and 2 animals, making the Advent Calendar lively and engaging. The standout feature is the themed sweaters on the minifigures, each reflecting different facets of LEGO City. This thoughtful detail adds a delightful touch to the overall experience. Among the many standout minifigures, I’ll focus on just two for this review.

LEGO City – Mrs. Claus and Labrador with Christmas Sweater.

• Mrs Claus Mr. Claus frequently graces Advent Calendars, but in the #60436 LEGO City Advent Calendar, we get to see both Mr. and Mrs. Claus. The exquisite printed details on Mrs. Claus’ torso and skirt truly make this minifigure stand out, making her a great addition to this set.
• Christmas Sweater LabradorAdding a dog to any set is already a win, but a dog in a Christmas sweater? That’s just brilliant! This exclusive molded dog definitely earns its spot in the top 4. It’s those little touches that make these sets so much fun!

Conclusion

City Advent Calendars rarely let us down, and this year is no exception. Bursting with fantastic builds and a diverse array of minifigures, there’s truly something for everyone. The only downside is the price point relative to the number of pieces. However, the excellent building techniques employed here demonstrate that piece count isn’t the be-all and end-all.

All in all, #60436 LEGO City Advent Calendar earns a Good (3/5 Stars) rating, making it worth considering as a gift, or for adding to your collection.

#75395 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar

Review by Amy and Tom Alphin.

#75395 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar is $44.99 (34.99€ / £29.99), 368 pieces, ages 6+. The set comes to an staggering 12.2c (9.5c / 8.1p) piece at the MSRP, which is pretty good for an advent calendar, especially for a licensed calendar containing 6 minifigs.

#75395 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar

Initial Impressions

In our 5 previous years reviewing LEGO Advent Calendars, Star Wars has an average of Good (3/5 star) across those five years. (One year was a little better, and one year was a little worse.) My first impressions of this year’s set based on the box alone suggested that this one looks good too.

Top 4 Mini Builds

Iconic ships are at the center of the Star Wars universe. We were pleased to see that this year’s calendar also focused on ships, including ones across the wider galaxy.

LEGO Star Wars – Yoda’s Ship, AT-AT, Minikit, and Jabba’s Sail Barge.

• Yoda’s Jedi Starfighter – While recognizable when compared to source images, we had to think about this one a bit before correctly identifying this as Yoda’s ship. It is a pretty decent model despite the small size.
• AT-AT Walker – The iconic four-legged bad-guy vehicle is immediately recognizable. It’s easy to imagine it on Hoth, matching the wintry theme of the set.
• Star Wars Videogame Minikit – One of the few departures from the theme of vehicles is the ‘minikit’ which represents the iconic hidden treasures inside the LEGO Star Wars video games.
• Jabba’s Sail Barge – I’m sure The LEGO Group was well aware of their plans to release a giant version of this set earlier in the year, making the tiny version into the world’s smallest advertisement for #75397 Jabba’s Sail Barge.

Minifigures

LEGO Star Wars – Luke with Holiday Sweater and Ahsoka.

• Luke Skywalker – The holiday sweater featuring the moisture-farming homestead of his childhoold is one of my favorite LEGO holiday sweaters yet.
• Ahsoka Tano – I can’t think of anyone in the Star Wars universe that is less likely to wear a holiday sweater. That’s why Ahsoka is dressed as usual, ready to destroy the patriarchy.

Conclusion

This is a solid interpretation of the LEGO Star Wars universe as an Advent Calendar. There’s a nice mix of immediately recognizable ships and deeper cuts here, sure to keep casual Star Wars fans like us on our toes.

It’s also a pretty decent deal, which is why #75395 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar earns our Recommended (4/5 star) rating.

#76293 LEGO Spider-Man Advent Calendar

Review by Koen Van Der Hoeven

#76293 LEGO Spider-Man Advent Calendar is $44.99 (34.99€ / £29.99), 246 pieces, ages 7+. The set comes to an staggering 18.3c (14.2c / 12.2p) piece at the MSRP price, making it the most expensive of all advent calendars by quite a bit.

#76293 LEGO Spider-Man Advent Calendar

Initial Impressions

First impressions can be deceiving, but “disappointing” sums up my initial thoughts on this set. LEGO’s decision to center the Marvel Advent Calendar around Spider-Man this year just didn’t hit the mark. The calendar, without revealing too many surprises, feels like a hasty collection of random builds, filling space rather than delivering a cohesive experience. With a theme like Spider-Man and Christmas in New York City, the possibilities were endless, yet the result falls short. Many builds are split across multiple doors, which feels unacceptable for a set of this price.

Top 4 Mini Builds

Building this set made it easy to choose the top 4 mini builds since many were quickly disqualified by being split across multiple doors. The overall assortment of builds, though they fit the theme, felt lackluster and relied on lazy construction methods, leading to a rather dull experience.

LEGO Spider-Man – Fireplace, Electrified Tree, Spider-Ham Snowman, and Robot.

• Fireplace A fireplace may not scream Spider-Man, but it’s a charming addition to any LEGO Advent Calendar. This one sticks to the tried-and-true design we’ve seen before—why fix what isn’t broken? The angled stockings are a nice touch, adding a cozy, homely vibe to the scene.
• Electrified Christmas Tree Continuing the trend of subtle nods to Spider-Man’s foes, the electrified Christmas Tree gives a clear nod to Electro. Its simple design stands out, making it a unique addition compared to the more traditional trees we’ve seen before.
• Spider-Ham snowman The Spider-Ham snowman straddles the line between a build and a minifigure. With its 7 parts, it fits snugly in the mini builds category. The standout feature is the head, exclusive to this set, featuring a mini Spider-Man face print that doubles as a snout. While the bar may be low, this snowman shines as one of the highlights among the mini builds.
• Robot The standout build in this set is the Robot, with its intricate design. Though its origins are unclear, the horn at the top suggests it could be a robotic version of the villain Rhino. This build is not only posable but also impressively detailed, thanks to the multitude of small pieces used, making it both fun and engaging despite its compact size.

Minifigures

Minifigures are usually the highlight of Advent Calendars, but this set falls short with just five included. That’s two fewer than last year’s Marvel Advent Calendar and the lowest count among any Advent Calendar this year. Despite the low count, this set features several exclusive prints and unique minifigures, and we’ll spotlight two of them in the review.

LEGO Spider-Man – Venom and Miles Morales.

• Venom Although Venom isn’t exclusive to this set, it’s still a fantastic addition. The torso and head prints beautifully capture his menacing persona. Adding a festive touch, the figure includes a scarf and a hot dog, perfectly fitting the Christmas in New York City theme.
• Miles Morales One of the gems in this set is the exclusive Miles Morales minifigure decked out in a Christmas sweater. This figure captures Miles’ essence beautifully. I do wish they had included an unmasked version, maybe with an alternate head, to give it that extra touch.

Conclusion

It pains me to say this, but this Advent Calendar might be the worst one I’ve ever assembled. Given that we often get to pick and choose which sets we review, it’s usually easy to hand out high ratings. However, #76293 LEGO Spider-Man Advent Calendar earns the unfortunate distinction of my first-ever 1/5 (Not Recommended) rating.

The small number of pieces, lazy builds, and lack of minifigures make it hard to recommend at the steep price LEGO set for this kit. I foresee this set lingering on shelves and eventually hitting clearance aisles. If you’re keen on the minifigures, you might want to wait for a sale. Let’s hope LEGO steps up their game with future Marvel Advent Calendars, because this one was a real letdown.

#43253 LEGO Disney Advent Calendar

Review by Tom Alphin

#43253 LEGO Disney Advent Calendar is $44.99 (34.99€ / £29.99), 253 pieces, ages 5+. The set comes to an staggering 17.8c (13.8c / 11.8p) piece at the MSRP price, making it an unusually terrible value.

#43253 LEGO Disney Advent Calendar

Initial Impressions

#43253 LEGO Disney Advent Calendar is a new addition to the LEGO Advent Calendar lineup for 2024. From the photos on the box, I can see the The LEGO Group and Disney decided to focus on female protagonists. This mirrors what they have focused on in the Disney Princess sets, which use minidolls instead of minifigures and are typically found in stores next to the LEGO Friends sets (and often in a separate aisle from LEGO sets ‘for boys’).

This set doesn’t even feature minidolls per-se… what we have here are five microdolls — even smaller figures that have arms and legs that do not move, and hands that can not hold normal minifigure accessories. Within the Friends lineup, these smaller figures are used for young children and not for the teenage protagonists of the five films featured in the set. I am not saying that this won’t appeal to some fans, but I find the lack of full-size figures dissapointing, and hope the mini-builds make up for it.

Top 4 Mini Builds

I decided to focus on the days which relate to Elsa and Frozen because this leaves the mini-models based on the other four princesses as a surprise. If I really stuck with my four favorites, they would have been the scenes or castles inspired by each character.

LEGO Disney – Elsa’s Castle, Snowgie’s Seesaw, Sled, and Dreidel.

• Elsa’s Castle – Each of the five princesses has a mini-build based on an iconic location from their respective movies. Elsa’ Ice Castle is about average in quality across the set, featuring some nice pieces with opalescent texture.
• Snowgie’s Seesaw – The character on the see-saw is based on characters which debuted in an animated short. I did not recognize them but Amy did.
• Sled – The small sled is not all that noteworty, save for the user of hockey sticks for skis.
• Dreidel / Game Top – The four colors on the Dreidel correspond to colored spots on a gameboard that comes with this set. The simple rules are implied by the box art – simply advance to the next spot in the color which you spin, and the first person to the end wins. This boring little game might have some appeal to really young kids.

Microdolls

As noted, there are no minifigs or minidolls in this set. Instead, we get five microdolls which can not be posed and have hands that can’t hold much. The following are my favorite two from the bunch.

LEGO Disney – Micro-Elsa and Micro-Sven.

• Micro-Elsa – While microdolls are usually used to represent young children, the five characters in this set are portrayed as their young adult selves but compressed to microdoll size. That’s apparent here, with Elsa dressed in her frosty best.
• Micro-Sven – Sven brings so much whimsy to the movie that it’s hard not to love an even tinier version. I think this is the best part in the entire overpriced set!

Conclusion

As I’ve already explained, I am not pleased with the choice to use microdolls instead of minidolls for the five characters featured in this set. Despite this annoyance, we do have a few decent mini-models in this set, including at least one building/scene inspired by each of the five characters. I also really liked Micro-Sven, and have mixed feelings about the small Disney Castle model that you build over the course of four consecutive days.

The real killer for this set is when you compare the price to what you get – $45 for just 253 pieces five microdolls and a couple animals is atrocious, even by licensed Advent Calendar standards. That’s 115 fewer pieces than this year’s Star Wars advent calendar which costs the same amount. That’s why this set only manages an “Acceptable” (2/5 star) rating – I hope you are able to find it on sale!

Closing Thoughts

With the calendars retiring at the end of the year and there always being a strong demand as it nears retirement it is worth picking up a copy you would like sooner rather than later, or risk missing out.