LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2023 Daily Countdown
December 1, 2023
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Hello and welcome (back!) to the Jay’s Brick Blog daily countdown of the 2023 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar!
After the last two years, I’m back with the Friends Advent Calendar again this year, given my daughter is a huge fan of the theme. It’s also a really important year for LEGO Friends, as this is the first Advent Calendar with the new cast of LEGO Friends characters!
Join in as we count down the days till Christmas with daily updates in this post!
This year, I’ll be counting down all 5 LEGO Advent Calendars – Star Wars, Harry Potter, Friends, City and Marvel.
You can check out each countdown here
- Marvel Avengers Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- Harry Potter Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- Friends Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- City Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- Star Wars Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
How does the daily advent calendar countdown work?
If you’re new here, I post daily updates on each window of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar. I usually post updates in the morning, but sometimes if things get too busy, 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, so bookmark this post to come back every day!
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 time zones.
PS: If you’re planning to buy any LEGO for Christmas and would like to support the work I do 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 helps support the work I do on the blog!
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 – Autumn
- Day 2 – Festive Archway
- Day 3 – Puppy and Poop
- Day 4 – Dog House
- Day 5 – Christmas Churro the Cat
- Day 6 – Snowman
- Day 7 – Popcorn the Salamander
- Day 8 – Agility Ring Jump
- Day 9 – Daisy the Sheepdog
- Day 10 – Seesaw
- Day 11 – Leo
- Day 12 – Christmas Tree
- Day 13 – Christmas Tree Decorations
- Day 14 – Getrude with Christmas Bow
- Day 15 – Brick Oven
- Day 16 – Table and Chairs
- Day 17 – Pet Food
- Day 18 – Dango the Pug
- Day 19 – Christmas Presents
- Day 20 – Blue Bunny
- Day 21 – Christmas Engine
- Day 22 – Train Car
- Day 23 – Train Wagon
- Day 24 – Reindeer Pickle
- Final Thoughts
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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 flap of the calendars fold out, to form a little playmat of sorts where the little daily mini builds and characters can be displayed. I like the look of the train tracks here and also the Heartlake City skyline in the background.
There’s also something really festive and Friends-like about the yellow curved slide too!
You count upwards from 1 to 24, so don’t make the mistake of going backwards!
As always, the instructions are found on the inside of each window flap, so be gentle when opening them as you’ll need to sometimes refer to them for slightly more complicated builds!
Without wasting any time, let’s get started with the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar countdown!
Day 1
We start the 2023 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar off with a fantastic introduction – we get Autumn, one of the new main characters of the rebooted LEGO Friends theme! She’s such an important character in terms of representation, mostly she was born with a limb difference.
Autumn is Mia’s daughter as well, connecting her to the original cast of LEGO Friends. She comes with an exclusive Christmas sweater in sand green, with some subtle snowflake patterns on it.
Despite her limb difference, Autumn is extremely active and also loves animals – she comes with a yellow snowboard and also a blue helmet – this sends a really important message to young girls and boys, that just because she has a disability, it doesn’t limit the activities she can partake in.
And that’s it for Day 1 of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar! It’s a really strong statement right out of the gates to start with Autumn, and parents can also use this opportunity to explain that not everyone is born the same type of limbs, and impart some important life lessons that people can look different, or have different bodies but still do regular activities like snowboarding!
Day 2
On Day 2, we get a Festive archway! These are staples of Friends Advent Calendars, and I like the Candy Cane-striped pillars, with teal instead of white and the small wreath.
Not the most exciting build, but it makes for a lovely frame for Autumn.
Check in tomorrow to see what we get in Day 3! Hopefully an animal or something as Autumn loves animals, and there’s also clips on the sides of the archway, suggesting that it connects to something else!
Day 3
Never say that LEGO Designers don’t have a sense of humour. Day 3 of the Friends Advent Calendar continues to deliver – we get a cute brown puppy dog, with its very own cushion AND a poop and shovel!
I love the LEGO Poop piece and the inclusion of the shovel makes everything better. My daughter got a huge laugh of this when she opened the windows this morning, followed by a GROSS!
Oh and you get a spare poop piece as well. Christmas has definitely come early for Autumn, the poor girl!
Check back tomorrow to see what we get in Day 4!
Day 4
The puppy from Day 3 finally has some shelter! In Day 4, we get a cute Dog House. The design is quite basic, so there’s nothing much to shout about but it has a little enclosure for the puppy to fit inside neatly.
I do wish it had a bit more of a festive design or something Christmas-y, but at least it fits in with yesterday’s puppy.
Check back tomorrow to see what we get in Day 5!
Day 5
On Day 5 of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar, we get a splendid and very Christmasy version of Churro, the new chonky/grumpy cat introduced in Friends! This adorable little chonk has a sprig of holly above her right eye, which is a subtle seasonal touch!
Here’s a better look at Churro from the side, so you get a better look at the holly.
And here’s a comparison with the regular Churro – looks like Churro is a big fan of Christmas! I’m actually not sure if Churro is a boy or girl, but it looks so happy compared to the regular one!
We’re 5 days in and we already have 2 LEGO pets which is great, and I love that we get a Christmas Churro so early on! Check back tomorrow to see what we get in Day 6!
Day 6
On Day 6 we get a simple Snowman. Snowpeople are a staple of Advent Calendars, so it’s not surprising to get one. The design is pretty basic, with a minifigure face on a round sphere, and a red clip acting as a scarf, with a Top Hat to finish off the look.
Not the most interesting build, but at least it fits in well with the rest of the scene.
Check back tomorrow to see what we get in Day 7!
Day 7
On Day 7 we get yet another pet, with Liann’s pet salamander Popcorn! This uses the Gecko mould first used in Bruni from Frozen, but Popcorn comes in a bright orangey yellow hue and looks delightful atop some leaves.
Autumn absolutely loves animals, so it makes total sense for this Advent Calendar to be filled with pets, and now we have 3 included, which is pretty fun to play with. While Friends Advent Calendars have traditionally been quite stingy with minidolls, it’s nice that we get plenty of small animals in this one to bump up the playability.
Check back tomorrow to see what Day 8 brings!
Day 8
On Day 8 we get a pretty large and substantial build – an Agility Jump Ring! These are typically used to train animals to perform agility tricks in a course, and I was pleasant surprised by how large it was.
Churro the Chonky Cat however prefers to slide down the ramp, instead of going the right way.
Like the Archway, there are clips on the Agility Jump Ring, and this means that you can connect them together, suggesting that we can expect more builds that we can join together by the end of the Advent Calendar.
Check back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 9!
Day 9
On Day 9 we get yet another LEGO Friends animal, with Daisy the Sheepdog! She belongs to Autumn, and first appeared in 41730 Autumn’s House! Daisy is fantastic, and is the largest animal so far, and I bet Autumn is delighted to be reunited with her dog!
Here’s all the pets so far – Autumn is building up quite the menagerie! Check back to see what we get tomorrow for Day 10!
Day 10
On Day 10 of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar we get a Seesaw for the pets! The colours match the other large pieces of furniture, and there’s a clip and bar to the side which means it’s meant to connect to the Archway and Agility Ring Jump.
I’m really excited every time a new piece of this link shows up, and I do like the interactive nature of the Seesaw. Churro really needs to shed some of those Christmas kilos!
Check back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 11!
Day 11
On Day 11 of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar, we get our second minidoll with Leo! Leo is one of the new main characters in the rebooted LEGO Friends and is best known for his football (soccer) skills as well as being a very talented baker!
Leo is dressed in a fairly new outfit, which also appeared in 41756 Holiday Ski Slope and Cafe, which has a coral scarf and a blue winter jumper. Like Autumn, he also comes with a snowball.
Here’s a look at Leo’s back printing.
Great to see another main character appear! Check back tomorrow to see what Day 12 brings!
Day 12
We’re officially at the halfway mark of the 2023 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar and we’re treated to a lovely Christmas Tree! I really love that there are no baubles or decorations on it as it has a natural look, with the slopes and plates layered to create some texture.
Curiously, there isn’t a Star atop this tree, suggesting that we might get a big Star in the coming days to decorate it with!
Another really attractive build, and I do hope that a future day comes with some ornate decorations for the tree as a fun activity for Autumn and Leo!
Check back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 13!
Day 13
As predicted on Day 13 we get a massive crate full of Christmas Tree decorations! A whole bunch of tiles and stars in various colours are included to decorate the Christmas Tree we received in Day 12.
Here’s what our tree looks like now – much better!
Day 12 and 13 were quite enjoyable to partner up, and we now have an extra festive scene thanks to a fully decorated Christmas Tree! Come back to see what we get for Day 14!
Day 14
On Day 14, we get our FIFTH pet of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar – Gertrude! Gertrude is a grey cat that belongs to Olly, one of the other main characters in the rebooted Friends.
This version of Gertrude is exclusive to this advent calendar as it features Gertrude with a red bow printed on her chest. Gertrude also has a smile with her eyes closed – in 2023, LEGO Friends introduced animals with different facial expressions to allow them to portray different looks and emotions.
That’s it for Day 14 – the animal lineup continues to grow and I’m delighted to get a festive variant of Gertrude, which matches Churro with the holly above its eye.
Come back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 15!
Day 15
On Day 15 of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar, we get a brick oven plus a frying pan with some pet treats in it! The frying pan fits in neatly into the oven and there are some embers at the bottom, and this is a bit of a fun spin on the Oven/Fireplace models that we typically find in LEGO Advent Calendars.
Leo is an excellent baker and cook, so it makes sense that he’s firing up the oven to bake up some tasty treats for all the pets we have so far!
I also appreciate that the Leo minidoll can grasp the pan in his hand and it’s the perfect height for it to slow into the oven.
Come back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 16!
Day 16
On Day 16, we get a simple set of tables and chairs. There’s a small candle atop some leaves as decorations, and I do like the use of mint for the chairs. It’s a really basic build, but at least it does give our minidolls a place to enjoy a meal.
We haven’t gotten many food items yet (outside of pet treats), so I wonder if we’ll get any Christmas treat or staples soon! Check back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 17!
Day 17
On Day 17 we get some assorted pet food for all the animals we’ve gotten so far! There’s something for everyone, from sausages, chicken drumsticks, a carrot, and even a water bottle.
The Pets are all pretty happy with their treats. The carrot seems out of place, so we may get a bunny soon! Check back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 18!
Day 18
The LEGO Friends Petstravaganza continues with Day 18 where we get Dango the Pug! Dango belongs to Zac, and this version is exclusive to this Advent Calendar as Dango has Christmas Tree glasses on which is super cute!
Here’s the collection of Pets so far – really love that there are 3 exclusive seasonal Pet variants here and I’m very happy with Dango!
Come back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 19!
Day 19
On Day 19 we get two Christmas Presents filled with some baked treats! We get some chocolate chip cookies in one box, and some other jam doughnut.
And that’s it. Pretty basic but at least we get some presents for the tree! The pets are all eyeing the treats hungrily.
Come back to see what we get on Day 20!
Day 20
The cute and cuddly and animals keep on coming and on Day 20, we get a Sand Blue Bunny! It’s pretty cute and the bunny is a welcome addition to our expansive menagerie.
Here’s a look at all the adorable Friends animals we’ve gotten so far! Very cute and I especially love the diversity of critters!
Only 4 days left of the Friends Advent Calendar – come back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 21!
Day 21
On Day 21 of the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar, we put together a charming Christmas-themed Locomotive Engine. The design is really great and quite rustic, looking like a painted wooden Christmas Engine that you often find at craft Christmas fairs, sold by your local woodworker or hobby carpenter.
There’s a singular stud in the train cab, which you can place Popcorn the Salamander in to drive the Christmas Train around. There’s also a knob at the back of the Train Engine, suggesting that we can look forward to some additional cars which I’m guessing will appear in the next few days!
Come back tomorrow to see what we get on Day 22!
Day 22
As expected after yesterday’s Christmas Engine, on Day 22 we get a Yellow and Green Train Car! You can attach it to the Christmas Engine, and there are also studs on the flat car, which will come in handy for the Pets to ride it!
With Popcorn driving the Christmas locomotive, Dango and Gertrude can hop on as passengers! It looks like we’ll get another train car or component tomorrow as today’s one has an additional ball socket behind!
Only 2 days remaining for the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar! Come back tomorrow to see how we complete the Christmas Pet Express!
Day 23
On Day 23 I think we get our final component of the Christmas Train – a wagon! It has a large compartment to store stuff (or animals), and has one ball joint to connect to the socket in yesterday’s Train Car!
This one is large enough for Daisy the Sheepdog to fit in!
It’s the final day tomorrow and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this year’s excellent Advent Calendar! Come back tomorrow to see what we get on the final day, and for a summary of what I thought of the entire 2023 Friends Advent Calendar!
Day 24
On Day 24, we end this LEGO Friends pet-themed calendar with a most fitting conclusion – Reindeer Pickle! Pickle is a disabled dog that belongs to Nova, one of the Friends main characters who was rescued and given a pair of wheels to help him move about!
This Pickle variant is exclusive to the 2023 Friends Advent Calendar and even comes with a set of green reindeer antlers (including a spare!).
Here’s a comparison with the regular LEGO Pickles and it’s a fantastic addition to anyone’s Friends collection!
Final Thoughts
And here we are at the end of a fantastic 2023 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar. I think the focus on the Pet element was a really refreshing one which kept the Advent Calendar feeling fresh, and full of surprises as we opened up the windows.
While LEGO Friends Advent Calendars typically only has 2 minidolls which I still think is not enough, the addition of the animals does help “bulk up” the contents with some substantial elements.
These festive/seasonal exclusive Pets are also a great addition, and great if you already collect and own LEGO Friends sets. They are SO adorable and I love the cute little printed details.
I think its safe to say that this is the best and my favourite LEGO Friends Advent Calendar yet, and the pets really do make a huge difference with introducing a cohesive and cute theme.
Thank you SO much for following this year’s Friends Advent Calendar countdown, and for joining in each day as we count down to Christmas. It’s been an absolute blast and I have to commend the LEGO Friends design team for delivering such a wonderful countdown, befitting the newly rebooted Friends theme!
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
This year, I’ll be counting down all 5 LEGO Advent Calendars – Star Wars, Harry Potter, Friends, City and Marvel.
You can check out each countdown here
- Marvel Avengers Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- Harry Potter Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- Friends Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- City Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
- Star Wars Advent Calendar Countdown 2023
To get the latest LEGO news and LEGO Reviews straight in your inbox, subscribe via email, or you can also follow on Google News, or socials on Facebook, Instagram (@jayong28), Twitter or subscribe to the Jay’s Brick Blog Youtube channel.
