Lego Advent Calendar: Star Wars or City?

lego advent calendar star wars 2014

Lego is one of the go to toys in our home!  The language and learning possibilities are literally endless.  As I discussed in a previous post Lego is a great toy to work on problem solving, cooperation, fine motor skills, language development, etc.  Therefore, when I first discovered that Lego made advent calendars I was extremely excited!

My kids got their first Lego Advent Calendar three years ago and were thrilled with it.  At the time, they weren’t really into Star Wars so we went with the Lego City Advent Calendar.  There is also the Lego Friends Advent Calendar which is geared towards girls, but don’t get me started on that. In my opinion there is no need for gender specific toys.  A toy is a toy and is meant to be played with by any child!

Lego Advent Calendar: Star Wars or City?

Personally I think that these are both great advent calendars.  If your child(ren) is younger and not familiar with Star Wars then I would suggest going with the Lego City calendar.  However, if you have a Star Wars enthusiast or an older child, then the choice is pretty obvious.  Both calendars contain small pieces so if your child is under 5 make sure they are supervised.  You know your child best, so it is up to you to determine if a Lego advent calendar is age appropriate.

lego advent calendar star wars 2015Lego city advent calendar 2015

What is in each Lego Advent Calendar: Star Wars and City?

Star Wars Calendar

With the Star Wars themed calendar you will get vehicles such as a sand crawler, millennium falcon, star destroyer, Jabba’s sail barge and a sleigh, just to name a few.  There are also accessory pieces such as a catapult, a gun turret, an Ewok weapon rack and a few more. The box also includes a Star Wars themed play mat.

lego advent calendar star wars

These were the pieces in the 2014 calendar.

Lego City Calenar

The Lego City calendar is more general and revolves around a city, just like all of the Lego City products.  In this calendar you will receive figures (Santa, Snowman, and various people) as well as accessories such as Santa’s backpack, ice skates, a pie, a camera, a cake, a pretzel and a few others.

Lego advent calendar city 2015

These are some of the pieces from the 2015 calendar

Lego comes out with new advent calendars each year, however it really doesn’t matter which year you get.  Unfortunately the year is not on the calendar.  The only way to know is by doing an online search for the numerical code.  For example, the 2015 Lego City advent calendar has a code of 60099 and the Star Wars one is 75097 (75056 is the 2014 version).

Why you SHOULD purchase a Lego advent calendar instead of a traditional advent calendar

1. No Junk Food – It can be challenging making sure your children are making healthy food choices especially around the holidays.  Most advent calendars contain waxy chocolate that doesn’t actually taste much like chocolate.  I think it is nothing more than melted sugar with chocolate flavoring.  Or you can splurge on a Lindt Chocolate Holiday Advent Calendar for about $30.  Although Lindt chocolate is amazing, it is still not all that healthy.  And, if you are getting this for your children, $30 is a lot for chocolate.  The Lego calendars range in price from $29 to $39.


 

2. A Lego Advent Calendar Is Re-usable – Yes, if you are careful you can use this calendar again, many years in a row.  Make sure that you carefully fold open the play mat (do not rip the box open) to reveal the numbers (1-24).  Each day, carefully open a door. lego advent calendar star wars 2015 Encourage your children to keep each item in a safe spot (a resealable plastic bag or small box with lid would work well) so they can all be kept together.  That way the items can be played with on the play mat.  Once your children have grown bored with the calendar (usually after they have opened their actual Christmas gifts) gather all of the items along with the calendar box and store it until next year.   The doors can all be opened again. You can also change the order of each item.

However, as your children get older, they will start realizing that Lego comes out with new calendars each year, and soon enough they will be asking for a new one.


 

3. These Advent Calendars Will Encourage Play – Children can use their imaginations while playing with their advent calendar.  With a traditional chocolate advent calendar the only thing that will happen is eating some chocolate.  However, with any advent calendar you can focus on early language such as:

  • “open“
  • “close“
  • “open the door“
  • “close the door“
  • “I pick“
  • “My turn“
  • labeling the item that is found (this goes for chocolate or Lego items)

Encourage story telling with a Lego Advent Calendar.  The play mat that comes with the calendar is a great addition to encourage language and imagination.  Talk about each item as you find it and how it might pair well with an item that was found on a previous day!


 

If you are already partaking in the advent calendar tradition, why not try a Lego calendar!  And if you are able to save them to re-use, they may become collectors items one day.  I noticed that the Star Wars calendar from 2013 is retailing for $99 on Amazon!

To purchase either of these Lego calendars click here.  If you are in Canada click here for a list of Lego Advent Calendars available on Amazon.

Don’t wait to get one of these as they have been know to sell out mid November!

Do you think you would switch to a Lego advent calendar?  Have you purchased any of them in the past?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

10 Comments

  1. Ilyssa

    This is seriously cool! My kids are pretty crazy for Star Wars and I don’t think it would be hard at all to get them involved if I had something like this. It is amazing how my daughter has taken to reading as long as the books include Chewbacca! I love that this is reusable also, making it well worth the cost. This is a great find and something I did not know was available.

    Reply
    1. Tanya (Post author)

      Hi,

      Thanks for your comment! Yes, Lego advent calendars really are great. My kids love them and play with them year round. Unfortunately you will have to wait until the fall to get the 201`6 ones.

      Reply
  2. judithshaw20@gmail.com

    Wow – Lego is truly an amazing company. My son, who is now 36, spent many hours playing with lego sets back in the 80’s. We still have them stored away in a box of boyhood memories.

    But there were no advent calendars back in the ’80’s. If I understand correctly, these calendars are a bit different from the regular lego sets. Are they basically 2d, with the 3d objects found behind each door.?

    I love your recommendation of how to save it so that a family can use it again for a few years.

    Reply
    1. Tanya (Post author)

      Hi Judith,

      I think every child has played with Lego at one point or another as it is such a great toy with so many possibilities. My husbands parents also kept some of his Lego and now our children are playing with it. The sets in the 80’s were quite a bit different than they are now, and you are correct there were no Lego advent calendars back then.

      The calendar itself is a Lego box that looks similar to the boxes that the Lego sets come in. But when you carefully open the front flap (the play mat) you will see the numbered doors. Behind each door is a lego figure or accessory. Some of them require you putting the pieces together to make the finally product.

      I hope that answers your questions.

      Reply
  3. Natalya

    Hi Tanya! What an awesome post! I just love the idea of such an Advent Calendar! Lego is a favorite toy for many children and definitely a better choice vs chocolate. I wonder if there are similar Advent Calendars in different themes (not Lego)? Also do you know how long the shipment takes? Thank you again for this very original early Christmas gift idea 🙂

    Reply
    1. Tanya (Post author)

      Hi Natalya,

      Yes, there are some non Lego advent calendars. I know that Playmobile has some. You can see all of the different varieties here. Shipping times vary depending on where you live and where the product is being shipped from. If you find the calendar that you want to get from the link above it will give you an estimated shipping and arrival date.

      I hope this helps!

      Reply
  4. steve

    Lego never ever goes out of fashion. I’m 33 and played with this as a kid and absolutely loved it. Now my kids play with it and that means I can now play with it again…… Love the Lego advent calendars! I’m going to get some for my kids – they will be chuffed. I have never seen these in shops. Great article!

    Reply
    1. Tanya (Post author)

      Hi Steve,

      Lego advent calendars make a great surprise gift! My husband is also a Lego fan. He got our son his first Lego set when he was 3, pretty much just so he could have a reason to play with Lego again. Kids love when their parents can be kids again right next to them. I am sure you and your kids will like these calendars!

      Reply
  5. Andres Santos

    This is a great idea. It’s a good alternative to the older traditional calendars. Like you said, it gets the kids involved and helps with their development. The pricing is not to bad, since they can be used year after year. Are these the only ones available? I’d like a third, one for every grand child.

    Reply
    1. Tanya (Post author)

      Hello Andres,

      Giving these Lego Advent Calendars as gifts is a great idea! There are some mega blocks advent calendars (meant for younger children) as well as Playmobile ones (these are not Lego, but still quite good). Other than that it seems to just be the Star Wars, City and Friends ones. You can see all of the Lego/Megablocks/Playmobile advent calendars here.

      Reply

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