30105 Mailbox Review

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This polybag set consists of MiniDoll figure Stephanie, a mailbox with letter, and an outdoor market vendor cart selling flowers, candy and/or cupcakes.

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The mailbox is very similar to the one from Day 17 of the advent calendar.  The only differences are the mailbox top which comes to a tapered point and the letter itself which has different graphics.

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In my opinion, the highlight is the street market cart because it certainly feels like an early reference to Valentine’s Day…with the huge red heart hanging above and the obvious display of flowers and treats.  I think this could be a preview of more sweetness to come!

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Amazon Has All New Friends Sets In Stock

Well, the holidays are over and while we had a blast, it’s time to get back to running this site. If you have holiday money to spend and are looking to get some LEGO Friends sets, Amazaon may have just what you’re looking for. They have all of the newest sets, some even on sale. If you’re looking for the cute animal packs though, you’ll need to go to LEGO Shop@Home for that one. Links are below:

3316 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar Day 24: Vanity Corner

day24Finally, saving the best for last…a cute little vanity corner table with two large cosmetic/perfume jars and a perfectly coiffed plastic wig!  I’ve never owned a wig before so it’s hard for me to imagine if this would be a common item found in a girl’s repertoire of beauty tricks.  It’s definitely a bit odd to me, but it’s all fun so it doesn’t matter anyway.

LEGO Shop@Home Puts Friends on Clearance

LEGO Shop@Home is putting most if not all of the earlier Friends sets on clearance. They are all seeing a 20% discount. Now the sad thing is is that all of the sets are already marked as “sold out” or “retired”. The exception to that is that 3938 Andrea’s Bunny House will be restocked on January 12, 2013. The good news is that if you live near a LEGO store, the clearance discount will apply on the sets they still have in stock. The sale starts on December 25th online and on December 26th in store.

3316 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar Day 23: Another Gift Box

day23Yes this is yet another gift box with the same gift tag/card element as the gift box from advent calendar Day 18.  Aside from being blue and white, this one has a tapered top made up of four little sloped pieces.  I’m a bit disappointed with this one because there has already been two other gift boxes.  I was really looking forward to something different.  Oh well…just another gigantic gift to put under the miniscule holiday tree from yesterday.

3316 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar Day 22: Holiday Tree

day22Decked out in four red ornaments and a golden star, this holiday tree boasts a whopping total of 17 pieces!  Just seems like a lot of pieces for such a small tree.  Being a very inexperienced novice builder, this little tree stumped me a bit with the green branch elements and the brown circular tree trunk parts.  I finally figured it out without asking for help.  Woohoo!  Happy to learn something new…no matter how insignificant.  This is what my kid must feel like all the time because everything is new to her!

3316 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar Day 21: Fireplace

day21This fireplace is made up of 21 pieces including what I can only assume are holiday mantle decorations.  I like the use of the brown opaque round element as the fire log and the clear orange round pieces as the glowing fire and embers.  I can just imagine relaxing in front of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate and a pair of warm fuzzy slippers…cuz baby it’s cold outside!

LEGO Friends: First Year Controversy

As many of you may already know, this first year of LEGO Friends has generated some heated debates about practically every aspect of these sets…the pastel color palettes, the introduction of named MiniDolls, the mostly female-populated make-believe environ of Heartlake City, and the myriad of professions targeting young girls who may someday aspire to be such professionals.  Whether these sets are hated or loved, one thing is for sure – they’ve got people from both sides engaged in an ongoing dialogue.  This post from the site The Brothers Brick pretty much recaps the year’s key points regarding this debate.

My own initial reaction to LEGO Friends was lukewarm at best.  Our house leans heavy on the testosterone-driven themes of Star Wars and the like (thanks to my husband being the avid collector), so LEGO Friends did pique my interest only because it was different from the usual standard fare.  I had always hoped for a girl-driven LEGO collaboration such as with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty (and yes I know about Mega Blocks Hello Kitty sets, but Mega Blocks doesn’t stand a chance in comparison to LEGO on so many levels and I still can’t imagine how Sanrio contracted with them in the first place).  Anyway, my initial ho-hum reaction to the LEGO Friends sets steadily grew and became a sincere appreciation for their creativity, diversity and playability.  Our daughter is still young and currently loves building with Duplo and I know that she will enjoy playing with the Friends series even more so.  And if our now infant son grows up and wants to play alongside his sister with LEGO Friends, I would have absolutely no problem with that.  I agree with many other parents in this regard…the gender specificity of LEGO Friends doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore because it’s all about building, creating and stimulating imagination and growth.

3316 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar Day 20: Flower Arrangement

day20This holiday flower arrangement consists of eight pieces featuring a set of red poppy-looking flowers, a leafy green element and a set of white something or other (another type of flower that grows straight out of the ground or perhaps rocks?  I have no idea).  But it’s all very cute nonetheless and would look great as part of a larger outdoor landscape or even as part of an interior tabletop decor.

LEGO Friends Turns One!

LEGO-FRIENDSOne year ago from today, LEGO Friends was released to the world and we are thrilled to be officially launching this site in celebration of this momentous occasion!  If you’re already a regular visitor, we thank you and hope that you are enjoying all that we are sharing with you so far.  And if you’re new and just checking us out, we hope that you like what you see and plan to re-visit often…especially since we’ve got lots of fun things in the works including contests and giveaways!  And with that being said, we’re having our very first giveaway right now!

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