The 2025 range of LEGO advent calendars is out now, but which ones are worth counting down to the holidays with? We've gone hands-on to find out...
This year's LEGO advent calendars cover Star Wars, Disney, Friends, City, Harry Potter and the newcomer, Minecraft. This selection offers a wide variety of seasonal builds, within which are a handful of exclusive elements and minifigures – but which should you prioritise this Christmas? Beware: spoilers lie ahead...
LEGO Star Wars 75418 Advent Calendar
Release: Sep 1, 2025
Retiring: Dec 31, 2025
Price: £29.99 / $44.99 / €34.99
Pieces: 263
Minifigures: 2
The 2025 LEGO Star Wars advent calendar is light on minifigures, but it offers enough exclusive content to justify purchasing the annual seasonal Star Wars model for the right audience. There's no escaping the fact that Babu Frik is the star of the show in the 75418 Advent Calendar, making his LEGO Star Wars debut with an exclusive element that perfectly portrays the character's small stature.
A red-eyed C-3PO with arm and leg printing and a Jawa with a Christmas jumper make up your two exclusive minifigures, while you'll also find droid figures of a snowball BB-8, a BD unit, one of the new Super Battle Droid figures and more to bolster the droid workshop concept that underlines
This concept has been executed well, sometimes to the detriment of the overall impression of
Take a closer look at 75418 Advent Calendar in our full review here.
LEGO Disney 43273 Advent Calendar
Release: Sep 1, 2025
Retiring: Dec 31, 2025
Price: £29.99 / $44.99 / €34.99
Pieces: 231
Characters: 5
LEGO Disney's 2025 advent calendar turns away from an overall princess theme to focus solely on Frozen, which is an appropriate subject matter for the festive season. This model is specifically inspired by the 2017 Olaf's Frozen Adventure special, offering the designers an opportunity to include some fantastic printed parts that won't be found anywhere else.
These include Sir Jorgenbjorgen, the plush penguin, some fruit cake, a drawing of Olaf, and a gingerbread Arendelle castle. These are amazing details for fans of Frozen to recognise, and we haven't even mentioned the adorable pair of kittens wearing mittens. The LEGO designers behind this advent calendar are clearly fans of the Frozen franchise and have been able to run wild with references.
LEGO Friends 42668 Advent Calendar
Release: Sep 1, 2025
Retiring: Dec 31, 2025
Price: £19.99 / $34.99 / €26.99
Pieces: 237
Mini-dolls: 5
LEGO Friends' 2025 advent Calendar veers away from last year's prequel setting for a current-day Christmas sleepover. Aliya, Leo, Liann, Autumn and Nova are staying over at someone's house for a festive bash, complete with activities, toys and gifts around the tree. The exclusive mini-dolls feature some cute designs that relate to each character's hobbies, but it's unfortunate to see that Paisley, Leo and Zac weren't invited to this party. The set covers just five of the eight current LEGO Friends group, while this year's Harry Potter advent calendar manages to include eight minifigures.
Beyond the mini-dolls, the 24 doors include a fair number of builds, from wooden horse toys to a karaoke machine and an exclusive variation of the new plush toy piece. They offer some fun play opportunities related to the Christmas season, but it's with the animal figures – and their accompanying accessories and habitats – where this calendar really sparkles.
These remind us of the older Pets series sets that debuted early in Friends' lifespan, and that's quite the compliment considering the small number of elements used in each of them. The 2025 LEGO Friends advent calendar is a great way to catch up on the reboot's best animal figures in one purchase. Overall, 42668 Advent Calendar is a solid seasonal set for a LEGO Friends fan, or a decent source of parts for those not into LEGO Friends.
LEGO City 60475 Advent Calendar
Release: Sep 1, 2025
Retiring: Dec 31, 2025
Price: £19.99 / $34.99 / €26.99
Pieces: 186
Minifigures: 2
The 2025 range of LEGO advent calendars may have some strong contenders, but few can rival LEGO City's seasonal instalment. This year's advent calendar mixes familiar favourites with some new concepts for one of the strongest selections in the 2025 range.
Across the 24 builds, a good number are the usual miniature toys, including a few based on the recent LEGO City space sets. They call back to one of the best subthemes in LEGO City so far, which is always a welcome sight. The rest of the models are decent too, but it's the minifigures where
Santa has been a mainstay in the LEGO City advent calendars, but recently, he has been joined by Mrs. Claus. The duo return in
These include a reindeer and a polar bear, both of which we've seen before, alongside a printed Christmas tree costume that's new and exclusive to the 2025 LEGO City advent calendar. It's the cherry on top of this advent calendar, and as much as it has a lower piece count compared to the rest of the 2025 selection, it still offers good value overall.
LEGO Harry Potter 76456 Advent Calendar
Release: Sep 1, 2025
Retiring: Dec 31, 2025
Price: £29.99 / $44.99 / €34.99
Pieces: 278
Minifigures: 8
This year's LEGO Harry Potter advent calendar turns away from the focus on a specific location or scene in the Wizarding World, instead aiming to recreate various items and creatures in a cute style. This concept has been executed well, but it's a stark departure from the LEGO Harry Potter advent calendars of years gone by.
While we miss the likes of benches and Hogsmeade signs, a miniature Chocolate Frog or Butterbeer stein is more fun day by day. These builds will have little use beyond a small display piece after the festive season, but the joy of recognising the item being built when you open the door is more pleasing in the short term than furnishings or food.
Despite the unusual departure,
LEGO Minecraft 21280 Advent Calendar
Release: Sep 1, 2025
Retiring: Dec 31, 2025
Price: £29.99 / $44.99 / €34.99
Pieces: 300
Minifigures: 7
Although we have not had the opportunity to get hands-on with the first LEGO Minecraft advent calendar just yet, it's clear that the theme is coming out swinging. It features seven minifigures, among which are three exclusive variants, including a Santa villager and Steve and Alex in festive sweaters – but they're just a small part of an impressive package for LEGO Minecraft fans.
The contents of
The selection of miniature Minecraft biome depictions included in
It also presents more value than the other licensed offerings in the 2025 seasonal selection, with the highest piece count, therefore leaving a great first impression.
On balance, the stand-out calendars for 2025 are easily Minecraft and City, but there are things to enjoy about each one – so no matter which you pick this festive season, you really can't go wrong.
These LEGO sets were provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes.
Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO via one of our affiliate links. Thank you!
Comments
Be the first to comment!