One of the most treasured children's gifts for Christmas (or, to be exact - pre-Christmas) has to be one of the Lego Advent Calendars. This terrific gift idea gives a child twenty-four individual Lego gifts, opened one each day, starting on the first of December and continuing to the twenty-fourth of December - the day before Christmas. Lego offers two different editions of the Advent Calendar this year: one of which is based on Star Wars, and the other based on the popular City theme. This is the first time a Star Wars theme calendar has been available. In previous years, their calendars have had a variety of themes including Pirates ,Castles, and Kingdoms. The most common theme in the last several years has been the City theme.
The Advent Calendar is a concept that dates back to the first part of the 19th Century. It began among the German Lutherans when they started the practice of counting down the days leading up to Christmas, starting on December 1st. Initially, the calendar might have consisted of nothing more than marks on a door or wall. Sometimes it was more elaborate, for example it might have taken the form of a series of lighted candles.
Later, the idea morphed into a printed calendar with each day noted in some special way. That idea then became a multi-part calendar consisting of 24 doors, covering each day on the calendar, with a religious picture or other token behind it, such as a piece of candy or a bible verse. As time passed, the idea spread and became a secular tradition as well as a religious one, and today there are many different varieties of Advent Calendars available.
The Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, which is designated as Lego 7958, has quickly become ranked as one of the top 100 toys in the Amazon toy catalog this year - in fact it is often in the top 10. The calendar consists of a plastic tray that has been molded into twenty-four separate compartments. Each sealed compartment holds a Lego toy based on the Star Wars theme; it might be a small group of bricks fore assembling a toy, or it could be a mini-figure, or it could be a special Lego part that is an element of the theme.
The toys in the Star Wars Calendar are all very well designed, and quite detailed. Included among the 9 mini-figures in the calendar are a Clone Pilot, a TIE Pilot, Nute Gunray, Chewbacca, and Yoda wearing a Santa Suit! In the calendar there is also a veritable fleet of 11 different ships, including an Imperial Shuttle, the Millennium Falcon, star cruisers, a TIE Fighter, and a Y-Wing fighter.
The City version of the Lego Advent Calendar, designated Lego 7553, continues a well-established theme for the Lego Advent Calendar, going back as far as 2005. The twenty-four compartments in this year's calendar contain a total of 232 elements, as Lego calls them (or more simply, "pieces"). With this calendar, some of the toys are assembled from pieces that are revealed over a period of several days. For example, the pieces for the Police Station come over four different days - days 4, 5, 11, and 12. The Police Car arrives in three parts, on days 15, 16, and 17.
The City Advent Calendar also contains a variety of mini-figures - eight in all - including a crook, several policemen, and a Police Dog with a bone. In addition to the minifigs and structures, there are several vehicles, including a Police Car, and a Snowmobile. Like the Star Wars version, this set is recommended for children over the age of 5, because of the presence of small pieces.
If you have one or more children on your Christmas gift list, a Lego Advent Calendar is bound to be a huge hit. Not only is it a great gift in itself, but by stretching out over the first twenty-four days of December, it helps to pass the time leading up to the Big Day. Whether your child is a hard-core Star Wars fan, or just enjoys building with the Lego City theme sets, this gift is bound to be received with great delight on December first!
The Advent Calendar is a concept that dates back to the first part of the 19th Century. It began among the German Lutherans when they started the practice of counting down the days leading up to Christmas, starting on December 1st. Initially, the calendar might have consisted of nothing more than marks on a door or wall. Sometimes it was more elaborate, for example it might have taken the form of a series of lighted candles.
Later, the idea morphed into a printed calendar with each day noted in some special way. That idea then became a multi-part calendar consisting of 24 doors, covering each day on the calendar, with a religious picture or other token behind it, such as a piece of candy or a bible verse. As time passed, the idea spread and became a secular tradition as well as a religious one, and today there are many different varieties of Advent Calendars available.
The Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, which is designated as Lego 7958, has quickly become ranked as one of the top 100 toys in the Amazon toy catalog this year - in fact it is often in the top 10. The calendar consists of a plastic tray that has been molded into twenty-four separate compartments. Each sealed compartment holds a Lego toy based on the Star Wars theme; it might be a small group of bricks fore assembling a toy, or it could be a mini-figure, or it could be a special Lego part that is an element of the theme.
The toys in the Star Wars Calendar are all very well designed, and quite detailed. Included among the 9 mini-figures in the calendar are a Clone Pilot, a TIE Pilot, Nute Gunray, Chewbacca, and Yoda wearing a Santa Suit! In the calendar there is also a veritable fleet of 11 different ships, including an Imperial Shuttle, the Millennium Falcon, star cruisers, a TIE Fighter, and a Y-Wing fighter.
The City version of the Lego Advent Calendar, designated Lego 7553, continues a well-established theme for the Lego Advent Calendar, going back as far as 2005. The twenty-four compartments in this year's calendar contain a total of 232 elements, as Lego calls them (or more simply, "pieces"). With this calendar, some of the toys are assembled from pieces that are revealed over a period of several days. For example, the pieces for the Police Station come over four different days - days 4, 5, 11, and 12. The Police Car arrives in three parts, on days 15, 16, and 17.
The City Advent Calendar also contains a variety of mini-figures - eight in all - including a crook, several policemen, and a Police Dog with a bone. In addition to the minifigs and structures, there are several vehicles, including a Police Car, and a Snowmobile. Like the Star Wars version, this set is recommended for children over the age of 5, because of the presence of small pieces.
If you have one or more children on your Christmas gift list, a Lego Advent Calendar is bound to be a huge hit. Not only is it a great gift in itself, but by stretching out over the first twenty-four days of December, it helps to pass the time leading up to the Big Day. Whether your child is a hard-core Star Wars fan, or just enjoys building with the Lego City theme sets, this gift is bound to be received with great delight on December first!
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