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Lego Advent Calendar, A Daily Gift for Kids

By Carlton T Driver


One of the most wanted gifts for Christmas is the Lego Advent Calendar. This fantastic gift idea consists of twenty-four different Lego gifts that can be opened, one per day, starting on December 1st and continuing to December 24th - the day before Christmas. This year Lego has provided two different versions of their Advent Calendar: one based on the Star Wars theme, and the other based on the Lego City series of building sets. This is the first time a Star Wars themed calendar has been produced, in the past, other calendars have been based on a variety of themes including Kingdoms, Castles, and Pirates. The City theme has been the most consistent thread in the last several years.

The concept of an Advent Calendar dates back to the early part of the 1800's. It started with the German Lutherans as they began to follow the practice of counting down the days as they lead up to Christmas Day. The countdown started on the first of December. In the beginning, the calendar probably consisted of little more than marks made on a door jamb, or a wall. Later on, it became more elaborate, for example it could take 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 various toys included in the Star Wars version of the Calendar are all well designed, and very detailed for their size. Among the 9 mini-figures in the calendar are Chewbacca, a Clone Pilot, Nute Gunray, a TIE Pilot, and Yoda dressed in a Santa Suit! The calendar also includes a fleet of 11 different vessels, among them a TIE Fighter, the Millennium Falcon, star cruisers, an Imperial Shuttle, and a Y-Wing fighter.

The Lego Advent Calendar based on the City theme, designated Lego 7553, resumes a popular theme for the Lego Advent Calendar, going back to 2005. The gifts in this year's calendar add up to a total of 232 elements, as Lego calls them (or more simply, "pieces"). In this calendar, some toys are assembled from pieces that are presented over a period of days. For instance, the Police Station comes over four days - days 4, 5, 11, and 12. The Police Car is assembled from three sets of parts - on days 15, 16, and 17.

Also in the City Advent Calendar is a variety of mini-figures - 8 in all. They include a crook, some policemen, and a police dog complete with his bone. In addition to the mini-figures and structures, there are several vehicles, including a Police Car, and a Snowmobile. As is the case for the Star Wars version, this set is not recommended for children under the age of 5, because it contains small pieces.

If there are any children on your Christmas list, a Lego Advent Calendar is certain to be a big surprise. Because it stretches out over the first 24 days in December, leading up to Christmas Day, it helps to make the waiting easier. It won't matter if your child is a major fan of Star Wars, or enjoys the process of building with the Lego City theme kits, the Advent Calendar is certainly going to be received with lots of excitement on the first of December!




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