LEGO Winter Village sets have become a Christmas tradition and Blocks is picking out the best sets from the beloved series.
A wonderful winter draws closer and closer as we enter fall. Some are counting down the days, while others are just happy not to shovel. No matter your feelings towards the inevitable sheet of white and falling flakes, the LEGO Group has been consistently on their A-game with their Winter Village Collection sets.
Why are fans so drawn to these abodes, lodges, and fantasy buildings? These sets are gorgeous reminders of the holiday season, though many can be adapted and placed in your LEGO city year-round on top of mountains or slopes with little modification needed. The Winter Village Collection sets are fairly priced, too. They’re the perfect chance to build over a cup of cocoa and sweets – anything but Gingerbread cookies, as you’ll find out.
LEGO fans have warmly embraced these rather cold sets since the theme’s launch 14 years ago in 2009. With the launch of 10325 Alpine Lodge, the latest in the Winter Village Collection line of sets, Blocks, the monthly LEGO magazine, is looking back at the models of yesteryear through rose-coloured glasses. It’s the only way to look back at these fantastic kits, some of which are the best the LEGO Group has ever designed in their size bracket. Here are the top five best LEGO Winter Village sets out of the entire 15 set line.
5. 10222 Winter Village Post Office
What’s a LEGO set worth if it’s never delivered, let alone on time for the holidays? 10222 Winter Village Post Office is worth its weight in gold and ganache with a simple yet festive design. It’s certainly a quicker build than the more modern entries on this list, but its 822 pieces go to good use in all the right places. The post office building itself successfully creates the illusion of a curved window, and the dark green roofs look divine alongside the blue trim and tan walls.
The vintage mail truck is more than a bonus in this set, featuring classic wheels, a nicely tapered hood, and a fun roof rack that can hold a few gifts and well-wishing letters. The gazebo is a nice addition, too, with lots of interesting angles used to give it a rounded shape. Of course, one of the bonuses to this set is its connection with others in the line — red post office boxes with the same logo seen here are available in a number of Winter Village sets.
4. 10293 Santa’s Visit
One challenge with Winter Village Collection sets are the tight walls and difficulty in getting your hands inside to pose minifigures and play. Unlike other sets in the line, 10293 Santa’s Visit’s angled design allows for ample interior space and access. The best part has got to be the ‘functioning’ chimney, letting Santa Claus slip (squeeze) down it to plant his presents under the tree. It’s a lovely function, as is the large Christmas tree that lights up when pressed down.
It’s 1,445 parts of spectacular builds with nice parts usage (NPU). The NEXO KNIGHTS shield at the end of the table works exceptionally well as the end of a cloth, as does the use of a hand whisker to create an electric mixer. There’s even a round ball piece in the middle of a hoop to create a hanging planet in the young girl’s room.
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3. 10308 Holiday Main Street
Here’s a set many desire once the fireplaces go on. 10308 Holiday Main Street is a masterclass in spreading parts evenly between builds, making it perfect for groups of up to four people. As a matter of fact, of all the Winter Village sets, this one arguably provides the best bang for your buck – even over the magnificent new Alpine Lodge. You get two fully fleshed-out buildings and three fantastic side builds included in one box. That’s 1,514 pieces of fun.
Despite not being a LEGO Icons train set, this set was much appreciated by train enthusiasts upon its release. That’s because the stunning streetcar included as a side build can be motorized to run on LEGO track by adding a Powered Up hub and train motor – and it comes with instructions to be lit up, too. It runs smoothly on track with minimal derailing, thanks to the heft of the battery-filled hub and the parts-dense streetcar.
2. 10229 Winter Village Cottage
10229 Winter Village Cottage came out the year after Winter Village Post Office. While the post office is a swift build that looks great on display, Winter Village Cottage nearly doubles the piece count (1,490 bricks to be exact) and looks stunning on display. Though it shares a similar colour scheme to 10293 Santa’s Visit, this build adds brown supports to its colour scheme for that added bit of realism.
Perhaps the next most exciting part of this set is the gorgeous vintage snow plow truck, which is mostly tiled off instead of having numerous exposed studs. Its tan and dark blue colour scheme avoids looking kitsch or tacky and instead gives it a grounded, realistic look. Also included is something future sets really need – an igloo. Here, it’s just large enough for children to crawl in, but imagine a Winter Village Collection set with an igloo as the main build. All it’d need is a polar bear drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola…
1. 10267 Gingerbread House
10267 Gingerbread House is made with the utmost care and attention to detail – and with enough story potential to choke a rocking horse. It even helped pioneer transparent glitter-filled bricks, helping construct the house’s sugary candy windows. It trades the grounded look of the other models on this list for some of the most fun candy-made furniture, appliances, and architecture. There is not a single spot on this model without clever details – and its display value goes up when you consider it’s just the right size for a real gingerbread house.
Like many Winter Village sets, it contains a light brick for illuminating its interior and adding to the play value, but this one is open and revealed from the inside and outside. Remember that comment about ‘anything but gingerbread cookies’? That’s because our number one best Winter Village Collection set is so good, you won’t want to eat it. Like a real house made from actual gingerbread, we mean. Totally not LEGO bricks. Yup.