Review: LEGO 10267 Gingerbread House

December 22, 2019 | 11

There are two things that make it Christmas for me – counting down the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar and building the seasonal LEGO Winter Village set.

In 2019, LEGO flips the formula on the head once again with a whimsical fantasy build, with the delightfully charming Gingerbread House.

The last time LEGO veered from your typical Winter Village build was with 2014’s Santa’s Workshop, so this kind of feels like we get a fantasy build every 5 years.

Personally, I have a weakness for all things gingerbread so this definitely hits the (sweet) spot for me, and after a few kinda average years seems like LEGO definitely has stepped up their Winter Village game.

LEGO must’ve done something right as the set has been sold out for weeks now, which speaks to how well its been received by LEGO fans.

Let’s sink our teeth into this set and see if it’s worth the hype.

Name: Gingerbread House
Set Number: 10267
Pieces: 1477
Price: AU$159.99 | US$99.99 | £84.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AU] [US] [UK] [Amazon]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com / LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Creator Expert / Winter Village Seasonal
Release Date: 1 October 2019

So the main question – does this set belong in LEGO’s Winter Village theme? Aesthetically it does, but it does raise a concerning thought that humanoid Gingerbread People living side by side with regular minifigures.

In my head, yes, it does fall within the theme as I view this set as an actual Gingerbread House in a Winter Village home, lovingly baked and set up before being devoured by a hungry family at Christmas.

Let’s meet the Gingerbread family! We have Mr Gingerbread, with a very respectable dad moustache, and Mrs Gingerbread who sports a gingerbread skirt.

They’re based off the same Gingerbread Man mould from LEGO Minifigures Series 13, with a few small cosmetic changes such as the aforementioned facial features, but also red candy buttons on their bodies.

Mr and Mrs Gingerbread have certainly been a busy pair of cookies, with an utterly adorable Baby Gingerbread included as part of the family.

It’s kind of a shame that LEGO didn’t modify the baby mould and turn it into some infant gingerbread monstrosity, but the printed gingerbread baby tile is still adorable as anything.

I also love that the designers included a pram for the Gingerbread bub, and a bottle of milk as well. The pram has some neat little details such as chocolate bars for decoration, and also chocolate cookie-rimmed wheels.

The Gingerbread House build begins with a staple of any Winter Village set – a brick-built Christmas tree and presents. I quite like this year’s tree design which is a lot narrower and taller, with a standout 4-pointed star.

I like the variety of the toys and presents – standouts include the steam train, rocking horse and that one gift with a pretzel ribbon, but the standout is the little tanker truck for its simple yet effective design!

The next minor build before we get to the actual house is this little snow blower. For a small build, the designers managed to pack in a ton of cute little details, like a lollipop on the side, the ice cream part being used to make it look like globs of snow being blown out, and the little gears in the front.

Here’s a look at the completed and wow, the end result is such a beautiful, unique and eye-catching model.

The concept of a Gingerbread House translates amazingly well to the LEGO form factor, and the aesthetics also fit in seamlessly with the wider Winter Village sub-theme.

The size of the LEGO Gingerbread House, and all its other accompaniments make this seem like great value for the pricetag. It’s not the largest set, but because there’s so much going on with the design, it feels substantially larger than it really is.

Speaking on the aesthetics of the LEGO Gingerbread House, I don’t think its hyperbolic to state that this is one of the best designed sets in the entire Winter Village theme.

I absolutely love the roof on the gingerbread house, which gives this model its signature look. It mimics the look of icing on the gingerbread house which also doubles as a heavy cover of snow.

Also, I love the sprinkles on the roof which gives it a fun pop of colour.

The Gingerbread House looks great from nearly every angle – unlike most buildings which have plain sides to allow you to focus on the front and back.

On the house’s right side is an alternate entrance, complete with candy cane pillars. There’s also an outdoor picnic table, which has bits of ice/icing (man, I love the double entendre in this case) hanging off the edges.

Out the front of main entrance, are two candy canes with the Gingerbread House’s Street Name – Candy Lane, which is a stickered tile.

While we’re looking at the main entrance, there’s also a welcome mat with the sickly sweet pun “Home Sweet Home” printed on it.

The architectural details of the Gingerbread House are astounding, and it seems like I discover little design flourishes, such as the railings beneath the windows.

Speaking of windows, I also love the use of speckled purple and magenta bricks. The reflective speckles are not only eye-catching but gives the entire build this feel of whimsical magic – something you’d expect from a living family of Gingerbreadpeople.

Here’s the Gingerbread House from the back. Like most Winter Village structures, the back is completely exposed, much like a dollhouse.

There are two levels, a bedroom and bathroom on the upper level, and a living area downstairs with everything you need to raise a Gingerbread family.

The upper level bedroom has quite a few fun little design flourishes. The bed looks like a bar of white chocolate, and there’s a cotton candy (fairy floss for you Aussies) lampshade as well.

As the Gingerbread Baby is still an infant, he/she (it?) is still co-sleeping and has a cute little crib set up right next to its parents’ bed.

There’s an ensuite bathroom, complete with a bathtub and toilet.

It does raise a few questions. Firstly, it’s good to know that Gingerbread people poo just like us, but more importantly, what is the bathtub filled with? Don’t they get soggy if Gingerbread gets soaked in water?

The living room raises more disturbing questions. Firstly, the fireplace does heaps in helping create a really cosy environment, and I also like the chocolate bar lounge chair. 

Like most Winter Village sets, a Light Brick is included in the set, to light up the fireplace by pressing down on the chimney.

The stockings hanging on the fireplace, and the family portrait suspended above it is a really nice homely touch.

Next to the lounge chair is a cabinet with lollipop handles (cool) but what lies atop it suggests something more sinister with this family…

There’s a mug of milk and a cookie, presumably left out for Santa. Totally innocent right?

Until you realise that these Gingerbread people are cookies themselves.

Do they practice cannibalism? Did they hunt down and serve up a rival chocolate chip faction? Is this an offering to Gingerbread Santa who can only be appeased by the doughy flesh of the unworthy?

If serving up parts of their kin isn’t sinister enough, it seems like this Gingerbread family also use cookies as decorative elements, as handles on a kitchen cabinet.

Jokes aside, the kitchen is compact but has the whole package – a sink, cabinets, a stovetop and an oven. Speaking of ovens… is this where Baby Gingerbread was conceived?

I have so many questions about this house and the mechanics of Gingerbread reproduction.

What I liked:

• This is an iconic design that’s destined to be a classic
• Exudes fun and holiday cheer in one neat package
• One of the best designed Winter seasonal sets
• The icing on the roof is inspired
• Interiors make great use of space
• Gingerbread Baby is heaps cute

What I didn’t like: 

• Could maybe use more minifigures
• maybe the availability issues, but that’s due to the incredible demand for the set

Final thoughts: After the less-than-spectacular last few years of Winter Village sets, LEGO have managed to hit it out of the park with the Gingerbread House.

The design evokes such strong festive vibes with its amazing design. The design is just outstanding, and LEGO have really captured the whimsy of an actual Gingerbread House so well.

The build was also really fun and I was engaged throughout, despite some repetitive sections building the slopes roof, but I really loved seeing it all come together.

Apart from being a stunning display piece thanks to the highly detailed roof and decorative icing, I also appreciated the play features baked (heh) into the set.

The icing on the cake (heh) is really the dollhouse design and inclusion of plenty of living areas which allows you to setup so many different scenes for the Gingerbread family.

LEGO have another classic Winter set on their hands with 10267 Gingerbread House, and it’s not an understatement to call this one of the best Winter Village sets of all time.

While the price might be a little higher than what most people are used to, I think the pricetag is entirely justified and I’m actually glad that LEGO didn’t cut any corners with this set to give us the full Gingerbread House experience.

I highly recommend picking this set up if you haven’t already. It’s a one-of-a-kind display piece and makes for a great interactive playset that’ll complement any Christmas or festive display.

By letting their designers’ imaginations run wild, LEGO have yet another hit on their hands with the Gingerbread House, easily making it one of the standout sets of 2019.

LEGO 10267 Gingerbread House receives a rare 5/5 rating, only the third perfect score I’ve issued this year.

Rating: 5/5

The LEGO Gingerbread House is available for purchase from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Brand Retail Store.

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set for this review. 

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review! Did you manage to buy the LEGO Gingerbread House and have you built it? I’d love to hear that you thought of the set in the comments!

To everyone celebrating Christmas or just content to bask in the holiday spirit, I wish you a very merry LEGO-filled Christmas!

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