Saturday, October 29, 2011

The Lego Advent Calendar - A Daily Dose of Fun for Kids

By Carlton T. Driver


One of the most enduring children's gifts for Christmas (or, more exactly - pre-Christmas) must certainly be the Lego Advent Calendar. This wonderful gift idea provides 24 different Lego gifts that can be opened, one each day, beginning on December 1st and continuing to December 24th - one day before Christmas. This year Lego is offering two different editions of the Advent Calendar: one is based on a Star Wars theme, and the other one is based on the Lego City theme. This is the first year a Star Wars themed calendar has been offered; previously, their other calendars have had different themes including Castles, Kingdoms, and Pirates. The City theme has been the most common theme 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.

Over time, the idea grew into a paper calendar, in which each day was denoted in some particular way. That idea then grew to become a multiple-part calendar, with 24 small doors. In this case, one door covered each date on the calendar. Each of those doors had a religious picture or other object behind it, for example it might be a piece of candy, or it could be a verse from the bible. As time passed, the idea grew and became more popular; it became a secular practice as well as a religious one, and now there are a wide variety of Advent Calendars to choose from.

The Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar, which is listed as Lego 7958, has rapidly become ranked in the top 100 toys in the Amazon toy catalog this year. The calendar is basically a plastic tray that has been formed into twenty-four compartments. Each compartment contains a Lego toy which is based on the Star Wars theme; it can be a small set of bricks that can be assembled into a toy, or it might be a mini-figure, or some 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 theme Lego Advent Calendar, labeled as Lego 7553, continues a popular theme for the Lego Advent Calendar that goes back to 2005. The toys in this year's calendar contain a total of 232 pieces. In this year's calendar, some of the toys are created from pieces that are revealed on different days. For example, arts of the Police Station are received on four different days - days 4, 5, 11, and 12. The Police Car is put together from three days worth of parts - on days 15, 16, and 17.

Also included in this year's City Advent Calendar is a variety of eight mini-figures. 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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