Friends Advent Calendar - Day 24
Posted by MeganL,
Day 24! Christmas Eve! We're at the end of what is arguably the best Friends advent calendar out of the 10 years they've been produced. For the first time, we've had all five Friends (albeit in microdoll form), good builds representing each Friend, and some terrific seasonal builds. To finish this excellent calendar we'll take a look at Day 24, see how the builds come together and take an overview of the last 24 days.
Not surprisingly, we have the second half of the sled today. It's laden with presents, and has an adorable teddy bear. I love the pink and green accents on each side of the sled.
Put together, it makes for a very nice build, and a very satisfying end to the calendar.
As with all Friends sets, snacks always attract extra companions.
Note: sloths were not included in this set. But how many sloths are in this picture?
Overall thoughts
As mentioned earlier, I think this is the best Friends advent calendar yet. For many years the parts count for Friends calendar lagged behind City and other calendars - the exceptions being the years where the calendar was composed entirely of ornaments. This year, the parts count is slightly higher than City's calendar, and the builds were outstanding. I do have to wonder why it took so long to get a calendar of this calibre.
Another first was that we had all five Friends, even though they were all microdolls. If having microdolls is what it takes to get parity with the City calendar for people, I suppose we'll take it, but my one quibble is that I'd like to have a calendar that has as many minidolls as City has minifigures. However, the microdolls are very cute and the prints on their dresses were absolutely adorable.
There were some stellar builds over the course of the calendar. My favourite builds were the soldier and ballerina from Day 17. Other noteworthy builds were the piano from Day 14, the robot on Day 2, the feast on Day 22, and hearth on Day 18.
All of those builds produced a lot of spares! My favourite build (Day 17) also produced the highest number of spares (10), while there were at least two days that had 8 spares. All totalled, there were over 90 spare pieces included into this calendar. I've never counted, but that has be a record of some kind! Another bonus was that there were none of the dreaded accessory packs.
It's been a pleasure sharing this calendar with you, and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. I've certainly enjoyed all of your comments, and some of them made me laugh out loud.
Merry Christmas!
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22 comments on this article
Note: One sloth per row is not included in the set?
Thanks MeganL, I loved your coverage of the calendar this year.
While I have not bought the set myself, I do think it contains a great selection this year.
"how many sloths are in this picture?"
Four!.. I think. I checked all the gaps in the calendar doors to see if any more were hiding.
Thanks for the reviews this year : )
Excellent review of what appeared to be a great calendar. Well done you and well done Lego!
Thanks for the reviews, @MeganL and happy holidays to you too!
It had been years since I got a Friends calendar, but I'm really glad I did. Great calendar indeed!
Many thanks!!. Such a lovely reviews as microdolls. Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas.
4 sloths
I think this was an absolutely brilliant calendar. Agreed that my favourite individual gift was the Soldier and Ballerina, but actually, I really like today and yesterday's models as well.
The soldier and ballerina build from Day 17 is a perfect match with the Day 20 Hulkbuster toy from the Avengers Calendar, so I would be interested to know the designers behind these and their thoughts. Perhaps an interview now all the days are revealed?
Hands down the best of the calendars this year, I think. Good builds throughout and I don't think there was a poor day.
Happy Christmas - Brilliant review of a brilliant Advent calendar.
Thank you for your daily pics and thoughts on the Friends advent calendar. I've really enjoyed the calendar and checking out everyone's reaction each day has been fun. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone:)
Builds like this calendar as a whole make a fantastic calendar, the 2020-2021 City calendars were too microscale focused but I loved the 2019 City version.
Indeed the best Friends calendar was this year's. Best AC calendar I think, with Harry Potter as second. Thanks MeganL, and Merry Christmas to you.
How many sloths are in the photo? All but one. And that last one is so eye-gougingly bright that I’m pretty sure it’s not hiding behind anything.
BTW, there’s one green sleeping bag that’s hanging by its toe. The red one should move to the left and take its place. Purple can stay where it is or move to the center. The green one can then rotate 90° clockwise and fill the empty spot.
@Rimefang :
That doesn’t seem like a fair fight, even 2-on-1. Hulkbuster fights several weight classes above the others, and if it’s true that soldier only has one leg, he’s getting tossed in the fire before the ref can spit out his whistle.
After a few year of not being impressed with Lego Advent calendars, we were thinking about taking a break this year. We came across this calendar for a good price, and had to grab it. So glad we did.
Hands down the best calendar this year, and near the top of all the calendars of the last few years. Branded calanders might be fun for those that love the source material, but we think like the fun, festive builds.
What we would really love is a Creator calendar, something like the calendars of two decades ago but with modern parts and building techniques.
Merry Christmas everyone.
I hope next year we will get same ammout of microdolls! So cool
The calender was a great one this year! Personally I would like to see a photo of all the builds without the box, as the background imagery makes it difficult to distinguish the things you actually get. Such a photo with a plain background beside the box photo's would be ideal :)
thank you for the revues. I enjoy them so much
@Binnekamp said:
"The calender was a great one this year! Personally I would like to see a photo of all the builds without the box, as the background imagery makes it difficult to distinguish the things you actually get. Such a photo with a plain background beside the box photo's would be ideal :)"
Isn't that what's exactly shown on the calendar product images? All the builds with a white background, minus spare pieces.
[spoilers]
https://images.brickset.com/sets/large/41690-1.jpg?202102131016
Looking at those images will spoil things but it can then serve to determine if a calendar is worth getting (for myself)
Especially as Friends can have christmas tree ornaments one year, or now microdoll scale things this year.
@TeriXeri:
I do the same, early on when they’re first revealed, and then try to avoid checking up on them throughout the year. I recall the ornaments were actually popular at the time, but I don’t know how that calendar has aged since. It may have been a reaction in comparison to how weak the previous calendars had been, more than actual enjoyment for that year’s itself.
But even peeking at the contents doesn’t tell you everything. As the comments reveal, other people have different insights into the various models that any one person might not be aware of until it’s posted. I thought the first HPAC looked very repetitive, but about two weeks in I ended up hunting one down to cram through in the last eight days (three models per day), and then picked up ten more copies on clearance.
Thank you very much for your excellent reviews of this AC! I enjoyed every day of it.