wow, that's not what I'd imagined at all, in a good way though, I was worried about a rehash of the skating part of the Bakery set.

I don't like those hockey sticks though, why not use the ones from http://brickset.com/sets/8804-8/Hockey-Player

Not a bad little set. Good collection of trans tiles.

Wow. That's uncreative pile of bricks. LEGO can use the ice skates but can't use the hockey sticks?

That's really cool! I love the slide, the lamp, and the inclusion of the goalposts.

And I agree @Shib, I'm glad it's not too similar to the ice rink from the Winter Village Bakery, which I thought it might at first. This will go nicely in my Winter Village.

Can we get this in the UK? Can't see it in the shop nor online?
Cheers

Sorry to take the opposite tack, but I actually agree with the Green Brick Giant, upthread. I don't much like this at all, actually. I much preferred the skating scene from the Bakery set. This one just looks like a pile of white bricks (and yeah, the hockey sticks are a bit of a let-down). It seems too small for itself, you know?

dcblego - will be - but not available until nov/dec orders

Shib- China/CMF related issues would be my guess.
Dcblego- This was sent out in error.

i really like it would want a few of them so i could make it bigger

Those Hockey sticks are making me mad.

I really like that!

Is it meant to be Ice hockey, or is she curling?

If it was curling I'd really expect brooms/brushes and no goal.

Available for three days? Sheesh.

Maybe the child just didn't have a hockey stick, so decided to make its own, as kids are wont to do.

At last - it's great to finally see what the set is meant to look like. I can understand the frustration from people over the hockey sticks, when they could have used the prefab element from Series 4 - normally I would share in that minor gripe, but I actually like these and think I know why they've done it.

Let's assume that the Winter Village is in a bygone era that isn't year specific like a cross between a European Christmas town and a Thomas Kinkade postcard. Well this scene could be from years ago when people improvised to make things. Maybe they're poor or maybe Hockey sticks weren't readily available (or been invented). So in the way they used to make old ice skates, these kids have gone to get bits of wood and probably carved them and attached them with a bit of rope/string.
This shows the kids creative mind which is essentially what Lego is about. Inspiring!

This might seem like a long winded load of waffle, but for this reason I've embraced the use of brick built sticks, rather than ready-made ones. If it bothers you that much, just take the one from your series 4 minifig!

Looks ok to me, but nothing I would place an order for just to get this set. It contains a few nice parts, but overall the assembly is a bit 'ad-hoc' I'd say. And the sticks look weird indeed.

She is curling.

Quite honestly CCC, I'd say 'a small frozen lake with two minifigs in skates' would have looked worse than this. I'd guess the blue brick is ice from the compacted snow.

You are too spoiled by non-brick made Hockey sticks :)

I kind of agree with CCC two kids both skating or playing ice hockey or even tobogganing would have been neater than this.

But I will still get it for the wife.

Yes it should have been two kids playing hockey, with hockey sticks on a bigger pond, or two kids sledding down a hill. As it is there is just too small to do both.

Why they don't have hats?

I have the first set and feel 'obliged' to get this set to complete the collection but, meh, it's awful! To think we got that pick up truck last year which was really nice, this time we get a jumble of white bricks and a dark red arch - Wahooo!

^^ You say that, but next thing you know they'll be a female hockey player CMF...

I'm really happy that this got leaked - with the double VIP points in October going on, I'm not going to wait to buy some things in November. It just doesn't fit with my Christmas vignette. Double VIP is more important than this set for me.

Not bad.. But i think i'm happy enough with the Toy Workshop :)

This is okay, but not good. The torsos and hair are annoyingly overused. Why are there so few City pieces used in the Creator sets? The whole set is okay, but not great. I'll probably pass.

That looks great! Hopefully will have the chance to pick one up, gotta scheme what to get after Thanksgiving.

Hm. While I was going to wait and get Santa's Shop next month in order to get to the threshold for this set, I think it might be a better overall deal to get it now while I can get the double VIP points, 'cause as much as I love the seasonal Christmas stuff, this one is just sorta... there. It's not in an of itself ugly or bad or anything, but it's not exactly inspiring or memorable either.

It's a little underwhelming. I agree with the other person above. Last year I saved some stuff to buy in November to get the 2nd free set, but this year I think I'm just going to cash in on the double VIP points instead. Also, "Ice Skating" seems like an odd name for this set. "Ice Hockey" would have been better.

Agree with 8BrickMario that the torsos are way overused for winter fans and it means there is no reason I could not make this set with the parts I already have.

It's smaller than I'd hoped for but still IMO a very cute set. One can always expand it to make the toboggan run longer or the hockey/curling area larger, and to separate them from each other. It might also be fun to combine with the earlier skating scene!

And I'm always up for another lamppost. Useful things, lampposts.

Pretty nice. Has more parts than most of the other holiday sets. Why aren't there hockey sticks?

Yeah. It's that boring I can only say that. Not exactly motivated to shop on Black Friday for that...

Thank you for the early sneak peak on this free set. I am skipping this freebie, instead I picked up two free Elf Workshop sets when I bought Winter Market and Santa's Workshop this month. They are a much better value because they add on to the Santa's Workshop house.

Has anyone figured out how to attach the freebie to the Santa's Workshop?

I laughed in agreement with thehornedrat's comments, and appreciate what bezley wrote. Waffle away fellow bricksetter because your words express what LEGO is about - creativity.

Remember everyone, 'tis for free.

^ Not really free when you have to spend £50 on full price lego when you can get it less in other shops but if you are planning on getting a big D2C last year black Friday had a free box to fill at a later date the free Christmas set and 10% off if you spend over £100 so it be a good time to get that D2C.

I don't mind the brick-built hockey sticks, because I know that it is a Creator "thing" to make accessories this way whenever possible.

Alternatively, don't think of it so much as Ice Hockey; more like Ice Croquet. Imagination, people!

Meh, as my Lego budget is already stretched, I am happy I chose to order the Santa's Workshop this month and get 2x VIP and the free workshop add-on rather than this. It isn't bad (especially as it is an add-on set rather than its own set), but doesn't really do a lot for me. If I were already placing an order then I would be happy to get it, but won't go out of my way to acquire it.

^ You said it rodiziorobs. I was wondering whether the Part 2 holiday set would be better the Part 1 with the elves and workshop extension. I think my Santa's Workshop purchase will be better put towards the current promotion. Glad the image for the set was released before the end of October.

The staff in The LEGO Store in Milton Keynes, UK
said this set should be given out on "Brick Friday"

lego should just sell these , i mean they don't accept pay pall and we don't have credit cards over here and they don't take bank transfers etc. so i don't have a lego shop account. there by come that most of those Christmas sets are to expensive or not cool enougthe to buy. but last years christmas tree seller i liked and this i like so why not just sell them. i got a set of ebay last year and these will be going there to i bet. so they will be sold anyway so just sell them at a fair price :-S

@PrincessBricks "Has anyone figured out how to attach the freebie to the Santa's Workshop"

I don't think there's really a wrong way to do that. Other than that, I'd say "with LEGO".

@thexfile, u can choose to get a credit card, or ask a friend with one to order for you. Problem solved?

Did the person actually get the set?

Dear fellow AFOL's
Please remember this set is not designed for you.
It is designed for kids, and my kids will love this - it will add a lot of playability to our annual Winter Village we build. It is "free", it is fun, and it is not aimed at you!
Minifigures will be queuing for the slide and everyone will be involved in the "hockey". No doubt Xmas Darth Maul will play against Xmas Yoda at some point.............! Our household will LOVE this set.

ya more Christmas

This is a quite cute set!