LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2021 – Daily Countdown
December 1, 2021
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Hello there and welcome to the Jay’s Brick Blog Daily daily countdown of the 2021 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar!
I’m back to doing a Friends Advent Calendar countdown, mostly because my 5 year old daughter is obsessed with LEGO Friends, and this year seemed a little different with the little kiddie versions of the 5 main Friends characters – Olivia, Mia, Stephanie, Andrea and Stephanie.
The 2020 Friends Advent Calendar was quite an underwhelming experience, but I’m confident that this year will be slightly better!
This year, in addition to Friends, I’ll be counting down 3 other Advent Calendars – Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Marvel.
You can check out each countdown here
- 2021 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar
- 2021 LEGO Marvel Avengers Advent Calendar
- 2021 LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar
- 2021 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar
How does this work?
If you’re new here, I do daily updates on each window of the 2021 Friends Advent Calendar. I usually post updates in the morning, but sometimes if I get too busy at work, updates will be posted in the evening. I’ll update this post each day, as I don’t really enjoy the practice of creating new posts for each day as it keeps it so much cleaner.
Unlike other sites, I’m actually opening each window as I go, and I’ve been able to be relatively spoiler-free to be as surprised as I can get. All reviews, thoughts and reactions are live as we go along, there are no pre-planned photos or thoughts, unless I happen to be travelling or away from home.
Do note that I’m based in Melbourne, Australia (GMT +11) so we’re ahead of most of the world (except New Zealand) so to avoid spoilers, try to come back to this post after you’ve opened your window and built the daily model especially if you’re located in other timezones like the US or UK.
PS: If you’re planning to buy any LEGO for Christmas and would like to support the blog, please use these affiliate links if you’re shopping on Amazon, Amazon Australia or LEGO.com!
I receive a small commission if you purchase something, which goes a long way in paying for equipment and server costs, and of course LEGO I purchase for content. All my advent calendars are purchased myself!
To make it easier for you to check out each day’s section, as this post is going to grow longer with every new window, all you have to do is click on the Day you want, and you will instantly jump to the corresponding section.
- Day 1 – Little Olivia
- Day 2 – Snowman Robot
- Day 3 – Little Emma
- Day 4 – Cat Painting
- Day 5 – Snowglobe
- Day 6 – Christmas Tree
- Day 7 – Little Stephanie
- Day 8 – Snowboard
- Day 9 – Stand Mixer
- Day 10 – Rolling Pin and Cookies
- Day 11 – Milk, Cookies and Stove
- Day 12 – Dog and Kennel
- Day 13 – Little Andrea
- Day 14 – Upright Piano
- Day 15 – Chico
- Day 16 – Armchair, Book and Mug
- Day 17 – Clockwork Toys
- Day 18 – Fireplace
- Day 19 – Little Mia
- Day 20 – Snow Slope and Sled
- Day 21 – Postbox and Lamp Post
- Day 22 – Christmas Dessert Feast
- Day 23 – Snowmobile
- Day 24 – Toy Sled
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To follow along, it’s best to bookmark this post to check back each day. You can also find a link to this post from the home page via a link in the top navigation bar. If you’re on mobile, you have to expand the burger menu (the button with the 3 lines) to find it.
Like all advent calendars, the back of the calendars fold out, to form a little playmat of sorts where the little daily mini builds can be displayed.
I really like the illustration on the windows, which features a cosy family home with kid versions of the Friends girls scattered around the house. Some of the builds are revealed here, which I think is fine, as it does make sense in this context.
As always, the instruction of each day’s builds are printed on the inside of the doors, so be careful and try not to rip them out!
Without wasting any time, let’s get started with the 2021 Friends Advent Calendar countdown!
Day 1
Day 1 starts of with a mini-Minidoll, with an adorable version of Olivia! She’s dressed in a long pyjama dress, with a gold gingerbread man printed on it, which is super cute.
Olivia is the tech wiz of the Friends group, and is all about science, as well as being a talented engineer, coder and inventor. She invented Zobo, a companion robot that features in the sets and friends TV series.
In Day 1’s window are 2 smaller builds – a yellow present, and a red stocking as well, which is almost the same size as little Olivia! She also comes with a bow, which can’t be affixed to her hairpiece unfortunately.
If you’re wondering how Olivia stacks up next to her full-sized “grown up” version, here’s a comparison photo. The little Olivia minidoll is super cute, and I’m glad to see them retain most of her feature, but it is a bit off that she doesn’t have glasses on – maybe her eyesight was still good as a kid!
A pretty good start for Day 1, so check in tomorrow to see what Day 2 will bring! Hopefully some gadgets or gizmos for Olivia to interact with!
Day 2
Day 2 of the Friends Advent Calendar gives us this delightful Robot Snowman, with a pink controller! It follows on nicely from yesterday’s Olivia, so it can be assumed that this Robot Snowman is one of her own original designs.
The Snowman looks great, with a brick-built hat, a small orange button nose and printed eyes on the side. There are 4 wheels, which is how he gets around.
I was very delighted to get this pink video game controller, which is quite a rare colour variant, as it has only shown up in 41450 Heartlake Shopping Centre, so I’m quite pleased to add a pink variant to my collection!
That’s Day 2 so far, and I’m quite pleased with what we have – it’s a shame that Olivia can’t quite hold the controller (in fact, the controller is about half her height!), but I am enjoying the thematic build of Day 2.
Check in to see if we get more clever inventions from Olivia tomorrow for Day 3!
Day 3
The 2021 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar continues to impress, and Day 3 gives us another microdoll – a little version of Emma!
Like Olivia from Day 1, Emma is dressed in a cute seasonal dress, this time with an adorable Christmas tree with a smiley face on it!
Accompanying her is also 2 more gifts, a Christmas stocking, and wrapped gift – I’m starting to see a pattern here, that each Friends microdoll comes with their own stocking and gift.
Here’s a comparison with a full-sized adult Emma, from the 2020 Friends Advent Calendar. Really cute, and it really captures the kid version of Emma well.
That’s it for Day 3 so far – I think its brilliant that it’s only Day 3 and we already have 2 main characters – Olivia and Emma already! Olivia is of course very pleased to have some company.
I think it’s also safe to assume that Day 4’s build will correspond to Emma’s talent and interest, so check in tomorrow to see what we get!
Day 4
As predicted, Day 4’s build gives us a little something for little Emma – a cat painting, and paint palette! The cat’s name is Chico, and belongs to Emma – a fact that I wasn’t aware of until my daughter pointed it out to me! (she’s in charge of the Friends Advent Calendar builds).
It’s a delightful build, and I like the printed tile cat painting, as well as the paintbrush included.
That’s Day 4 so far, and I am thoroughly enjoying the variety of the builds in this year’s Friends Advent Calendar, and it’s only Day 4!
Check in tomorrow to see what else we might get!
Day 5
Day 5 nets us a delightfully festive build – a Snowglobe, which has a trans-blue heart element a transparent dome, along with a sprig of Holly on the side.
It’s a simple enough build, but looks distinct and attract, with the colours really pulling their weight here.
My daughter said her favourite part is the leaf, and blue heart!
That’s it for Day 5 so far, and it’s great to get the first really festive build! Check back to see what we get in Day 6 tomorrow!
Day 6
Day 6 of the Friends Advent Calendar continues to deliver, and we get this very tall Christmas Tree! It’s quite tall and lanky, and I also like the use of pale green baubles, which complement the green slopes used as leaves.
My daughter said it was quite a tough one to build, as there are so many small pieces, and she found it challenging attaching the studs to some parts of the tree, especially the slopes.
That said, the Christmas Tree does inject some much-welcome Christmas cheer, to an already festive lineup, and stands tall ready to welcome Christmas in, and serve as a home for the presents!
Have I mentioned how great this year’s Advent Calendar is? LEGO have took feedback from previous years to heart, and I genuinely can’t wait to see what Day 7 brings!
Day 7
Day 7 treats us to yet another microdoll, with Little Stephanie joining Olivia and Emma! Stephanie has her blond hair tied in pigtails, and her dress has a cute smiling reindeer on it.
She comes with red and green gifts, a stocking and a ribbon bow.
And here’s a comparison with a full-sized Stephanie!
That’s 3 out of 5 Friends girls so far, and we’ll likely see something related to her interests tomorrow in Day 8’s window. Maybe something sports related? Check back tomorrow to see what we get!
Day 8
As predicted, Day 8 gives us a Snowboard for Stephanie, whose primary interest is sports! The snowboard also comes with a pink helmet, and a little snow slope for Stephanie to conquer.
You can pop the helmet on Stephanie, attach her on the Snowboard and pop her up on the snowy slopes before she takes off!
Not too bad, and looking at the pattern, I’m guessing we’ll get another Friends main character tomorrow? Check in to see what we get behind Day 9’s window!
Day 9
Day 9 is another delightfully detailed min-build – a Stand Mixer! Using an attractive teal colour, on a pink table, this stand mixer is charming, and I love the use of an actual bowl!
My daughter remarked that she would love to use it to bake little cakes for the Little Friends, which is where the Chef’s Hat also comes in handy!
This is probably the best build out of the Friends Advent Calendar, and once again, I am thoroughly impressed with just how great each day has been this year! Can’t wait to see what we get in Day 10! Hopefully another microdoll!
Day 10
Day 10 continues the cooking theme, this time with a table, with a rolling pin, and some cookies! There’s also a chair included, which bumps up the piece-count nicely.
The building technique for the rolling pin is quite clever, especially since a proper accessory doesn’t exist.
I do like the extra pieces here -you get an extra printed cookie, as well as an extra cup which is a win win.
Day 11
On Day 11, more of the kitchen continues to come together, with a Stove! You get a frying pan for one of the burners, and I do like that the stove is situated atop an oven, with a transparent door – perfect for baking these delicious cookies.
As an added bonus, and to prepare for Santa, a bowl of chocolate chip cookies, and a carton of milk are also included.
That’s Day 11 so far – really love seeing so much of the kitchen come together, and the Friends Advent Calendar continues to impress with the generous builds – a big improvement over previous years!
Day 12
The 2021 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar continues to deliver, and now, we have the cutest orange puppy to add thanks to Day 12’s window. These puppies were included in some of the Friends Cubes, which had randomly inserted colour variants of popular Friends animals.
She also comes with a little red and white kennel, with some holly above it, which gives it a bit of festive flavour.
One thing I hadn’t noticed before, which my daughter pointed out was that the puppy has a single printed paw, which just adds to the cuteness!
Day 13
Day 13 is another special day, as we are more than halfway through the calendar, with Little Andrea! She’s the fourth main Friends character we get as a microdoll, and her outfit has cute snowflakes printed on them.
She comes with a pink and white stocking and present.
I can’t get over just how cute these microdolls are, and I love how they all look together, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting all of them together!
With the cycle of interests following the microdolls, I expect to get some sort of musical or performance art build tomorrow, so check in to see what we get in Day 14!
Day 14
Another fantastic build greets us for Day 14 of the Friends Advent Calendar – a gorgeous Upright Piano! The colour blocking for this piano is superb, with dark blue and gold contrasting in a rich manner.
Dark blue is my favourite LEGO colour, so I was especially happy to see it in this shade. As an added bonus, the piano keys and sheet music which has the notes CDCA, although the D is a little wonky.
I also really like the piano pedals!
This is my favourite build so far of the Advent Calendar, and I’m impressed by how generous the parts are in the piano, and just how great the design is. The printed elements are a nice bonus as well.
I honestly can’t wait to see what when we get tomorrow in Day 15!
Day 15
On Day 15, to join all the other kid-versions of Friends characters, we also get Chico, as a kitten! He has a very festive, Christmas-coloured cat tree for him to play on. The top of the Cat Tree, has a feather thingy at the top, and I do like how well Chico contrasts against the bright colours.
Here’s a comparison with the Chico portrait that we got on Day 4! My daughter was really pleased to get the real deal, and took absolutely no time to pair him with the puppy!
Day 16
Day 16 gives us another multi-build, with a dark red armchair, a table with a mug, and a story book! It looks to be setting up a scene where the story of Santa and Christmas can be told, or can also be used for Santa as a rest stop, when he drops by with presents.
Laura was most excited by the storybook, and I loved that it included a printed page on the inside, and personally, I always get a huge smile when I see this mug, which has a poor marshmallow on fire. At least the marshmallow looks happy to be immolated.
Not too shabby, and Day 16 certainly gives us more accessories to play with and fill up the room!
Day 17
Day 17 has to be one of my absolute favourite builds in this year’s calendar – a pair of clockwork windup toys! There is a soldier, which a cool star on its head, as well as a pink clockwork dancer robot thingy.
The dancer robot makes great use of dishes for her skirt, and I also like the large heart on her front, as well as the technique used for her head and hair.
These were a little tricky for my 5 year old to build, so some supervision is encouraged if you’re building with younger builders, but this one personally made me so happy.
I can’t wait to see what we get for Day 18 and how LEGO plans to top these!
Day 18
On Day 18, we get a lovely brick fireplace! My daughter loved the fire elements, and I liked how complementary all the colours are, as well as the mix of curves and slopes.
The holly near the flames does make me a little uncomfortable, lest it catch fire.
My daughter also pointed out that you could hang the Christmas stockings that come with each Friends characters on the fireplace, which is a neat little bonus – unfortunately, you can’t really hang all 5 of them on the front, so you’ll have to be quite creative with the placement.
My daughter of course insisted on adding a spare heart tile on the Fireplace to liven it up!
Day 19
On Day 19, we get our fifth and final Friends microdoll – Mia! This little version of her sports her trademark red hair, and freckles, and her lime green dress has a candy cane on it.
Like all other little versions of the main characters, she comes with an accessory, a Christmas stocking, and gift to go under the tree.
At long last, we have all 5 of the main Friends characters in the Advent Calendar, and they sure do look good together! These microdolls are super adorable, and I sure hope this isn’t the last we see of them!
Only 5 days left in the calendar, so check back tomorrow to see what we get for Day 20!
Day 20
On Day 20, it’s time to hit the snow slopes, with a bright red and pink sled! A very basic build, and nothing much to shout about, but I do like that the sled is at least compatible with the Microdolls, and has a little stud for either of the Friends characters to stand on.
So yeah, that’s it for Day 20 – my daughter was not impressed in the slightest, and lost interest with this build, as she much preferred all the home and kitchen builds, which seem to better fit the overall theme of the Advent Calendar.
4 days remain, so check in to see what we get on Day 21!
Day 21
On Day 21, we get another delightful outdoors build – a bright red postbox next to a very attractive lamp! It’s simple enough, but it feels like substantial enough, as we sometimes just get Postboxes as single-day builds.
Another nice feature is the printed disc piece, used for the Lamp Post (of which you get 2!), which ties the entire build together.
At least the 5 Friends characters can have a little fun trying to squeeze in the postbox!
Day 22
On Day 22, we get an extravagant Christmas Dessert Feast, with a long table filled with all sorts of treats. The girls have definitely been busy putting on a massive spread, with a large multi-tier cake, and some fancy drinks in glasses to go with it.
The centerpiece is also quite a cool element, with a LEGO Candelabra element, which is quite an uncommon piece and one that I don’t personally own in my collection.
It’s one of the largest builds in the Advent Calendar so far, and feels very substantial, so my daughter was very happy to piece this one together, and was delighted by the cake.
That’s it for Day 22! Only 2 more days to go, so check back tomorrow for the second last day!
Day 23
It’s the second last day, and we get another neat little build – a Snowmobile for Day 23! It’s got an attractive white and red colour scheme, which reminds me of a candy cane, and has 2 bright lights up front, as well as 4x skates to allow it to glide through the snow.
The best part? The Snowmobile is compatible with the microdolls, allowing either one of the Friends minidolls to drive it around!
We’ve only got one more day on the Friends Advent Calendar, and this has been a delightful journey so far, so check back tomorrow for the final build and a brief summary of the 2021 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar!
Day 24
And day 24, the grand finale slightly disappoints with this Toy Sled. It’s a fitting conclusion to the Advent Calendar, and obviously goes really well with the Snowmobile from yesterday, but it’s a little underwhelming as we tend to get the biggest, or most exciting builds/characters to finish off the Advent Calendar.
There’s a Teddy Bear, some Christmas presents, and the sled is decorated with some pastel tiles which give it a fun, Heartlake City festive vibe.
Here’s how it looks combined with the Snowmobile!
And here’s the completed Advent Calendar with all 24 builds. All in all, apart from the slightly disappointing end, I really liked this calendar as I felt that LEGO took feedback from previous years and really gave us a LOT to build this year, with some really fun substantial builds.
That said, the Microdoll selection which gave us all 5 Friends main characters are utterly delightful, and I love how cute they look. We’ve never gotten Emma, Olivia, Andrea, Stephanie and Mia as kids before, so this makes the Advent Calendar extra special, and might I say, the best Friends one yet!
Thanks SO much for following along, and I hope to see you again next year! Merry Christmas!!
