REVIEW: Advent calendar 24 December 2021

We’ve made it to the final door of the advent calendar. So Christmas is just around the corner. But before we embark on the celebrations, which hopefully haven’t been too affected by COVID, let’s see what the calendar had for us…

As today’s model was shown on the box, I don’t think many got surprised.

24 December model

Today we got the spinner for the game. Being built from 19 bricks (no spares today), it is a decent sized model – and I like how the four house colours feature.

Here is how you build it (though it isn’t as complex as some of the previous models).

It spins really well, and you can now (at least) actually play the game. Spin the spinner and see how far you can move forward (though there is a risk you may move backwards too. I assume you start in front of the Privet Drive sign and moves onto the spaces on the game board if you get a 3 or 4. You then have 24 spaces to move. That’s a good number for an advent calendar, but it is not clear if you win by getting first to the last space or you need to move one longer to get to Hogwarts. If you play anyone, agree on this first.

As for the game, having played it once, it is probably okay for kids, though I’m not sure it will keep them interested for that long.

Summary

It may be a personal thing, but I really like an advent calendar to finish with something impressive; a larger model – or a particularly festive model. A spinner is not one such thing, and I think it should have been included early on, so the game could have been used almost from the beginning. I guess LEGO put the “silhouette” of the spinner on the door for the 24th, so those who wanted to play the game earlier could do so. But then you wouldn’t have a model to open on 24 December of course.

But that aside, the spinner is a nice model, well designed, and colourful – showing the colours identifying the four Hogwarts houses. So I will award it four out of five house points.

It will be a bit strange with no door to open tomorrow. But I will make a post covering my overall thoughts about the calendar as a whole in the next few days (meanwhile, remember you can revisit all the daily posts on the advent calendar review page). I should also remind about our “A Merry Potter Christmas” MOC competition. Check the competition post for details – entries are due 4 January, so you have plenty of time to build something. I have a few other posts planned as well for the blog, so stay tuned.

Till then, Build the Magic…

… and Merry Christmas!