Another year, another set of LEGO®️ Advent Calendars. It’s not the holidays without them honestly. This year sees the return of all five previous themes. So once again we are getting calendars for Friends, City, Marvel, Harry Potter and Star Wars. Last year brought only the second Marvel themed calendar. That coincided with the release of the Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special. Never underestimate the appeal of popular minifigures or characters in ugly holiday sweaters. It’s honestly adorable. This year is no exception. Our usual assortment of minifigures and small builds will reveal themselves over 24 days. And happily the pricing has not increased as it did in 2022. Let’s take a look at what to expect on September 1st.
FRIENDS ADVENT CALENDAR
- SET #: 41758
- COST: $44.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 231
- MINI-DOLLS: 2 + 8 animals
- RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2023
- COST/BRICK: $0.19 CAD (moderate value)
- BRICKS/FIG: 115 (great value)
This year’s Friends Advent Calendar continues the animal-centric theme common in the system sets. Only two mini-dolls feels a little on the sparse side though. But it is offset with several animal models, and that’s not too shabby. And to be fair 2022’s Advent Calendar also had 2 mini-dolls (and 2 micro-dolls). So it’s still somewhat on par. If you’re more into animals though, then it’s a total win. Young builders will definitely enjoy helping Leo & Autumn celebrate the holidays.
STAR WARS ADVENT CALENDAR
- SET #: 75366
- COST: $55.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 320
- MINIFIGURES: 6 + 2 droid builds
- RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2023
- COST/BRICK: $0.19 CAD (moderate value)
- BRICKS/FIG: 53 (excellent value)
This year’s Star Wars advent calendar is pretty on par with last year’s. Like the Marvel calendar, it was themed around the Star Wars Holiday Special. While Marvel’s was a live-action special, that was done in LEGO®️ animation. For this year, we’re getting repeated characters from already released sets. Palpatine and the adorable snow Ewok get this year’s ugly sweaters. Full disclosure, I am loving the silliness of this albino Ewok. The mini-builds look good as do the brick-built droids. I am a little surprised that this year’s calendar wasn’t based on Return of the Jedi for the 40th anniversary.
HARRY POTTER ADVENT CALENDAR
- SET #: 76418
- COST: $59.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 227
- MINIFIGURES: 6
- RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2023
- COST/BRICK: $0.26 CAD (expensive value)
- BRICKS/FIG: 38 (excellent value)
This season’s Harry Potter advent calendar doesn’t bring as much interactive fun as last year’s. 2022’s calendar allowed you to play a simple board game with the full 24 items. Despite this lack of bonus content, the figs and builds look cute. We get repeats of a couple of people, and we also get the first Aberforth Dumbledore minifig. But he basically looks like a repurposed headmaster Albus. Tell me I’m wrong? haha. I do like the hair/hat molds quite a bit. Those will be fun for minifig building.
CITY ADVENT CALENDAR
- SET #: 60381
- COST: $44.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 258
- MINIFIGURES: 7
- RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2023
- COST/BRICK: $0.17 CAD (OK value)
- BRICKS/FIG: 34 (excellent value)
There’s not much to highlight with the City advent calendar. Santa’s back, as are some random seasonal city folk. Fun additions include the ice sculptor, carol singer and the TikTok fan. Welcome to modern city life folks. I do love Mrs. Clause hitting the slopes on her snowboard, that’s a hilarious touch. This theme will always be a staple of the holiday offerings and easy gift for any brick fan.
AVENGERS ADVENT CALENDAR
- SET #: 76267
- COST: $59.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 243
- MINIFIGURES: 7
- RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2023
- COST/BRICK: $0.25 CAD (expensive value)
- BRICKS/FIG: 34 (excellent value)
For this year’s Marvel advent calendar we get very little in the way of ‘new’ prints. Doctor Strange, Captain America, Okoye, Wong and Iron Man are all reused minifigs. Spider-Man and Black Widow get to enjoy some ugly Christmas sweaters this go around. Branding on this year’s calendar is the Infinity Saga. It’s also interesting to note the proper set name is the Avengers Advent Calendar and not simply Marvel.
Happy Holidays
The Advent Calendars are always a fun staple of the shopping season. I usually get one or two each year. Like many of you, I’m just after any exclusive or fun minifigures. I can’t say I’m all that hyped for any of them however. Most figs are repeats of existing prints so there’s less of a draw. But it’s still fun to open each little box and get a surprise. What do you think of this season’s sets? Are you excited for any of these 5 themes? Is there a theme you want to see make it into rotation? Have you already started your shopping? Comment below and in all the usual places. Thanks as always for reading and until next time, keep on brickin’. 🧱
– Frank
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