Christmas Tree Building Block Advent Calendar, 701 Pieces, 10.5 in with USB LED Lights

Description

This is a building set disguised as an advent calendar, and it is the better half of both ideas. Twenty four numbered compartments each hold a stage of the build. Open one a day, snap the pieces on, and the model grows through December instead of arriving finished. By the twenty fourth you have a complete decorated tree instead of an empty cardboard box.

What you end up with

The finished model is 26.7 centimetres tall, which is 10.51 inches, standing on a base of 17 by 19 centimetres (6.69 by 7.48 inches). The tree is built in green bricks with coloured studs for baubles, candles and small gifts, and a white snowflake star on top. The base carries a Santa, a sleigh, a gift pile and a length of track. A string of roughly 30 warm white LEDs, 175 centimetres long, threads up through the model and runs from a USB plug, so it lights from a phone charger or a laptop and there are no batteries to replace.

Pieces and age

There are 701 pieces. The supplier recommends ages 3 to 6, and we think that is wrong in one direction and right in the other. The pieces are small, and 701 of them is a real choking hazard population for a three year old. Our honest read is that a six to ten year old will enjoy this with an adult nearby, and that an adult building it alone will enjoy it too. Small parts, not suitable for under threes.

Practical notes

The bricks are standard compression fit plastic, so you need a flat surface and somewhere the day’s work can sit undisturbed until the next morning. A detailed manual is included. Once it is built it stays built, and it packs away to be rebuilt next year, though at that point it is a model rather than a calendar.

Order it before December

The whole point of this one is that it starts on December 1, so it has to be in the house before then. Handling is 1 to 3 business days and transit is 5 to 9 business days, which means ordering in the third week of November. Do not use our general December 7 Christmas cutoff for an advent calendar; it is too late.