December is here, and for LEGO fans, that means one thing: time to start opening Advent Calendars! Here at The Brothers Brick, we’ve been sharing daily reveals since 2015, served with hot mugs of spicy commentary and plates of silly side builds. This year, the spoiling duties are being shared by three accomplished builders who you might recognize from our Minifig Monday series. Harry Potter and Frozen calendars are being covered by Fool’s Figures, who also provided the cover image below. ExpansionBricks is launching Star Wars and Friends. And beyondb0nes is digging into Minecraft and City.
6 themes, 24 doors, 144 gifts. It’s going to be a wild ride! Starting tomorrow, in addition to the daily spoilers, our intrepid advent adventurers will also be creating alternate builds with the day’s parts and pieces that came before. Now it’s on to door number 1!
Fools : We begin the Harry Potter calendar with the titular character featuring a house-themed holiday sweater! The sweater depicts a snowy Hogwarts skyline, with evergreen trees underneath. The Gryffindor version has Hedwig front and center, toting a candy cane.
Bones: This year’s Harry Potter sweaters really caught my eye. The colors are vibrant, the designs are cute, and they’re probably the number one reason to get this calendar to redecorate one of the many Hogwarts sets with a Christmas theme!
Jake: Harry on day 1? Shocking! It’s nice that Harry finally gets to join Vader and Tony Stark in the ugly sweater club.
Fools: The inspiration for this journey, “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” is a Frozen Christmas special that first aired in 2017. In it, Elsa dons a dark blue snowflake-spangled dress with a fur collar and a white cape. This outfit has never been made in LEGO form. On the other hand, the included micro-figure has an outfit that is seemingly LEGO’s own design.
Bones: This puffin plush print is adorable!
Jake: I thought it was some sort of monstrous Porg with a beak.
Bones: We start the Minecraft calendar with Alex and a really big present. Even if Alex is a pretty common Minecraft minifig, the highlight here is that beautiful torso with the Creeper head on it. The bright green color with a bit of orange makes it a visually appealing minifig overall.
Fools: This present is tantalizingly close to the festive re-texture given to chests in-game during the holidays. A missed opportunity, I think.
Jake: What is Alex holding? Whatever it is, it looks like it could make a nice petri dish for a lab display.
Bones: I’m pretty sure those are supposed to be wheat seeds. Since they’re obtained by breaking grass, I suppose it makes sense to add this in day 1! Now that you mention it, it does look like Alex has been “hitting the grass,” if you know what I mean.
Bones: We start the City calendar with a cute polar bear costume. It’s not actually a new headgear mold, it was already seen in the City set 60363, but it’s still a nice and accessible addition for costume collectors, and the torso print with the snowflake scarf is pretty cute.
Fools: A cute figure that keeps in line with the simplistic printing we typically see on animal-costume figures.
Jake: Adorable! No notes. So fun to see a costumed character on day 1.
Bones: Maybe its a way to prepare ourselves for the rumored next CMF series.
Jake: I don’t think Alex recognizes that unpixilated pop as food!
Expansion: Day 1 kicks off with what’s likely the biggest draw to this calendar for a lot of people – Lil Babu Frik. An brilliant new mold with perfect printing. 5/5
Bones: Obviously an exclusive mold is included to give consumers a little motivation boost to buy this calendar.
Fools: Babu Frik is a fairly iconic character, and Disney seems to like reusing the design with multiple creatures of the same species appearing in several other instances throughout Star Wars. I foresee this piece becoming available in future sets, diminishing this calendars value.
Jake: Based on the trailer, Babu Frik comes back in The Mandalorian and Grogu, so you may be right.
Bones: Have people already forgotten Episode IX enough to feel nostalgic about it?
Jake: I forgot about Episode IX as soon I left the theater.
Expansion: This is my first dive into the Friends theme. There is a Christmas Eve sleepover vibe to this mini doll with an exclusive pajama print and a a pink sleeping bag build. A charming start to the calendar. 4/5
Jake: Now you’ll have some minidolls to use in next year’s Friendshiptember!
Fools: I really like the present-themed patch pocket, very clever.
Jake: It looks like a red cross, should Aliya need to go undercover as a nurse.
That’s it for Day 1. Join us tomorrow for 6 more spoilers and our first alt builds!