Could we have a Playmobil and Lego advent calendar review please?

[gregssausageroll]

Last year was the Playmobil post office. This year winter wonderland. He is 4.5.

Post office very good. Still playing with bits a year on. Wonderland not so. Too many tiny pieces. I can see most of it ending up the Hoover. Will have to be moved out of sight when younger family visit next week due to small pieces. Would not recommend this one.

DS2 (6) got the Star Wars Lego advent calendar. He has been really pleased with it and it's kept him amused. It's his first so he didn't know what to expect, he got quite a lot of figures, finishing with snowman R2-D2 today and Santa Darth Maul coming tomorrow so it works out reasonable value. I heard that last years was better but can't comment as we didn't see it. I'd get it again but save up nectar points or clubcard vouchers to go towards the cost as it is a bit steep (I used clubcard points for this one).

Oh, and he has enjoyed going online and activating the codes.

DS 4.5 has had the Lego Star Wars this year and has really loved it. Only realised about the code thing yesterday so haven't done that.
DD 3.5 has had the Lego Friends and its been crap! Too many really small things no imagination in it and just shrugged this morning when she got her 4th crappy little parcel thing! Christmas tree yesterday has been the best thing - hoping for greatness tomorrow.
Think I'll be getting her the Lego city next year.

Agree Lego Friends is crap - parcels, flowers and a sled. Only thing that really needed built up was a fireplace. Lego City one was ace in comparison

Well. This is the first year I've bought these. Playmobil for DS2 and Lego Christmassy one for DS1.

Not happy. I assumed the calendars were made of tough plastic which could be used year after year, just needing to refill the little boxes with new Lego/Playmobil. There is no way I'm spending £20 odd every year on new calendars.
Bloody ridiculous.
I'm going back to good old fashioned paper ones with chocs next year. 2 for fiver.

This is the first year I've bought them, DD has the playmobil post office and loves it, DS has the playmo dinosaur hunters one, I wasn't keen because it didn't seem Christmassy enough but he loves it. I think they'll both be played with a lot.

We have Lego City, paid £5 for it (vouchers and sale in Argos) I am glad we didn't pay any more for it put it that way. Lots of crappy 'snowballs', 5 bog standard mini figs, a quad bikey thing, a couple of really odd walls and an awful lot of spanners. Oh and a bad Christmas tree. Am presuming we will get a Santa mini fig tomorrow.
Worth £10 absolute max, certainly not £20 it was originally selling for. Lego obsessed kids unimpressed.
Ooh I sound really grumpy, am not really

me - lego friends - 2/5 not very impressed
dd - lego city - 4/5 far better than the friends one

i had the lego star wars last year and it was fab - 5/5, lots of brill mini fighters and a santa yoda! deliberately went for the girly one this year but will be back to the star wars one in 2013

This is all good as I will keep an eye out for good ones in the sales or with discounts.

DS not so impressed with the excessive number of boxes having letters in playmobil post office and think the sleigh came too late he didn't really get why there were all these random boxes and toys and no where really to put thrm

blibblibs it's not too late for the codes, all the figures interact with each other and I think they may do something tomorrow all together.

We had the lego friends one this year following 3 playmobil years (winter wonderland, pony stables and a fairy one last year) and dd has been a bit disappointed, particularly with the repeating of things like presents and sleighs and with the lack of more mini-figures. Next year I will encourage her to choose a different playmobil one or lego friends.

Playmobile last year 4/5
Lego City thus year 2/5- not christmassy at all!

What's the code activation thing?

I got ds2! the imaginext one and sa1 the Lego city one, both have loved them, however the imaginext one is fab.

We have the Lego friends one. I am not impressed with it and won't be buying it again next year.

Just got the lego friends one for a fiver from sainsbos - glad I didn't pay any more now!

We have the older playmobil forest friends one, and you do re-make the boxes and re-fill it year on year

I read a good idea on here. Buy one of those advent stocking things and buy a good playmobil set and then just fill the pockets with bits of it for every day. Sounds better than some of these imo

We have the Playmobil Winter Wonderland.
I absolutely agree about the small pieces, and to me it looks rather messy, but the children seem to like it (they're excited about getting the angel tomorrow, the only piece left).

We have the play Mobil post office this year and DD is very happy with it
Before that we had play Mobil elf workshop for DS - it lasted for 10 years and is still complete in its box
It had numbers on the scene to show where to put each piece - I had a panic this year when I found out the new ones don't have numbers as a guide
I am amazed you buy new ones each year - feel like a cheap skate now

DS had the Lego Star Wars one last year and I found half the bags still sealed halfway through the year!

Three years ago he had the PM town square which was a huge hit. The following year I bought a newer PM one which didn't have the reusable boxes so planned to go back to using the original PM one until I found it water damaged under a leaking boiler .

This year we have a winter scene which everyone has been a little unenthusiastic about...think we're getting too old for advent calendars .

I'd like to add that each one I've bought (except the Lego Star Wars) has been reduced on eBay part-way through the year!

We had playmobil pirates last year and despite being utterly un-festive it was great. Playmobil post office this year and it's good, but too many small toy/letter repetitions. Not quite as good as pirates. I was also disappointed that the boxes aren't reusable (last year's pirate boxes got ripped in excitement, was planning being careful this year to be able to re-use). I think I will save the backdrop to the post office and make my own fabric pocket advent calendar next year, and add in a few more bits/alternate with chocolate coins so not as much repetition.

Probably a daft question but would it be worth me buying one of these, taking the pieces out and putting them in DDs fabric Advent Calendar or would that ruin it?