Zula

VERY COOL! Some of us in the USA celebrate Santa Lucia, too!

Does anyone know what the second free limited edition holiday set will be on Brick Friday? Last year, we had images of both sets by Sept 3rd. I have read that it will also alogn with Santa's Worshop, like the first set will. Nice review and will definitely be picking this set up! LOVE the Winter Village sets, but unfortunately, came to Lego less than two years ago, so missed out on the first three sets...

YES!!!!!! "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) is CLASSIC!!!!! This would be soooo cool!!! IF you do, please post pictures!!!!

Yes, I am completely bummed that the Post Office will not be available this year! Will have to get the Cottage AND the Market both - may as well! I would've loved to have all the sets - the Toy Shop set is great. I suppose they will never bring them back but I hope the future will hold some great new ideas!

You sound like my likes/dislikes with these sets. I do have the accesories set - love the witch - she looks kinds like the Wizard of Oz Wicked Witch of the West! I, too, am not into the Moster Fighters storyline, but love the classic horror movies and some of these sets complement that interest. Also love castles like my daughter (the seven yr old) and SHE REALLY LOVES the Vampyre Castle. I actually think the car from the Werewolf set and the motorcycle from the Hearse set would go well with "Pharaoh's Quest" or an Ancient Egypt theme from the 20's. I was thinking of perhaps using them for that some day. Not really into the train - I like trains, but besides the engine, I"m not too much of a fan - and the fact that it would need a lot of modification to run on track and be motorized... The Zombie set looks great, but yeah, not willing to pay that price for it. I love your idea for Frankenstein! I can picture those movies from the 30's - The BRide of Frankenstein was brilliant! Her HISS was just too funny in that movie! Yes, would LOVE to get the Haunted House - wish it wasn't so pricey, but there you are. Will hopefully get it - I'm sure once it's retired it will go for CRAZY prices!!!! I'll probably wait until Sept to purchase anything - spent too much already for some other sets!

Yeah - the Werewolf set looks great, too! I was also thinking of adding it for a little "scene"!

Interesting thougths in recent posts. Yes, many families DO "force" the "gender roles" - you know, the "no son of mine will be playing with dolls" or "no daughter of mine will be playing with violent toys"... So, they make sure to get their boys all the "war gear" and their daughters all the "doll and cooking supplies" and encourage the "proper roll-playing". This happens from the minute the child is clothed in pink or blue - wait, BEFORE the child is even born - the baby shower, the nursery, the baby toys..... I would think that people are as individual as there are stars in the night sky.... Or are we as different as night and day, boys and girls - that "polar"? What "drives the marketing" of toy companies? What makes girls want to "play house" and boys to "play war"? Well, I suppose as long as we provide the "full spectrum" of toys for the kids it's all good - as long as we truly allow them to choose - without "penality" of being "socially unacceptable" or "wrong" in the eyes of the world. Gosh, pink was always a male color and blue a female color. Red was the color of blood - it was considered strong, warrior-ish and that of sacrifice. Blue was considered passive, calm, soft.... Funny how that all changed because of some marketing by a major department store not more more than one hundred years ago! Food for fodder....

Looking to get this set for my daughter (who's seven) and me for the upcoming Autumn/Halloween season! We've checked out a few reviews online and loving it! The Haunted House looked AMAZING as well and the Hearse, too! Would love to display these sets seasonally (like the Winter Village). Does anyone else do this? Would love to see any pictures any of you might have if you do!

Blast - thanks for the "feminist" info. Yeah, that makes sense re: the original article.

Blast - "Feminists".... I doubt that either Sarah or I would put us in that camp (correct me if I'm wrong, Sarah). The only point I was trying to make was that sometimes marketing is such an influence on people that "choice" is kinda not always "free" - there are so many influencial factors that make up our "choices" in our world. We usually want to "fit it" with others - at least most people do. I see families that "promote" the stereotypes - so I wonder how much "choice" the kids are making that is truly free. But, there you are. It's our world. Lego is simply "following along" more than it seemed to in the past. And just to add - I think it's important to keep in mind that girls (and boys for that matter) didn't have much "choice" in the past - in the sense of choosing what THEY were interested in playing with. If one went "outside the bounds" it was quesitoned - still is to some extent, but moreso for boys if they cross into the "girl rhelm" of toys. It's more aceptable for a girl to play with traditional boys toys, just like girls can wear long pants (but most boys wouldn't be caught dead in a dress/skirt). It's just an interesting "study" since toys are kind of a "microcosm" of the world.

Duke - Yeah, I think Lego is starting to get the hint about a more diverse representation of minifigures - let's hope so! Sarah - Oh, I'm sure that the girls ARE making their own chioces, generally speaking. I guess it's just that marketing seems to play soooo heavily on stereotypes. Now, that being said, perhaps most girls like the "pink stuff" and the boys like the "war stuff" - nothing wrong with that. I'm thinking more in terms of marketing and giving kids certain "impressions" of what is supposed to be "girl" and what is "boy". Surely there is that "grey" area that overlaps - and Lego seems to be having less "grey" than perhaps they used to. Just some thoughts to ponder for us all....

CORRECTION - TOYS-R-US IS ASKING $120, NOT $100 (RETAIL).

I just got an acount the other day, too! Nice to see you BOTH are into Lego - my husband is a little - I'm trying to get him more interested. At least my daughter is, but she's still a bit on the young side, so we've got plenty of good building years ahead! I'm really interested in the Winter Village (but have missed out on the Toy Shop, Bakery & Post Office ones as they are already retired and I'm not really willing to pay the prices that are being asked now) and love Monster Fighters, Castle, Star Wars, some Hobbit and LOTR, City, Trains, some Modulars & Creator. WELCOME!

This is really great!!! One thing I never much understood was why there was so little snow on the post office roofs!?!?!?!??? That's no reflection on you - just wonder why Lego did that when other buildings had much more or A LOT!

Sarah - your comments are interesting and your experiences and memories of what stands out most in your mind. For me, it was the Star Wars toys (and WAY back it was the Fisher Price Airport and Farm sets - LOL!). I only played with barbie dolls with another friend of mine who loved them, so I had a few. I also had a baby doll that I liked a lot, too. I have no doubt that if Lego had the Star Wars toys back in the day, I'd have had quite the collection! I'm also into history, so had a lot of Army figures, jeeps, tanks, guns, etc, etc. I used to create "MOC" battle scenes, so Lego wouldn've come in handy in that regard as well back then. Classic Matchbox cars were also BIG then and we used to play with them outside, creating all sorts of "tracks" and environments. I wish Lego did a bit more of that now - classic car designs - a line in their own right. Trains were another BIG toy for me - HO scale model trains and I wish Lego was better with that part of the market as well. They've had a few decent ones, but not nearly enough or with good motorizing capability. It doesn't seem to be something they want to get too involved with, generally speaking. All that said, my daughter is quite "eclectic" in that she likes all sorts of "themes" - very well rounded in this regard. But she does seem to gravitate more towards the "boy" sets. I guess for me, it's all rather interesting just how much the "gender gap" plays into one's choices. Perhaps it was the fact that I grew up with mostly boys in our neghborhood - perhaps that influenced me - perhaps it was just my natural interests coming out - who knows. But even my best friend (a girl) was not "girly" and all into the "pink stuff" like so many seem to be. I guess our neighborhood was an "outdoor" crowd - we played outside A LOT and than means "getting dirty" and playing sports and climbing trees, etc.... We were that generation of girls that came up, forging the way for the next generation of girls to have more "equal footing" in sports and academics - we are the "USA Women's Soccer Team" of the 1990's and the "USA Women's Hockey Team" of the 1990s & 2000's. We often had to "play on the boy's teams" and "outplay the boys", etc.... It was really no different in the toy world. Generation X was not the "bra-burners" of the 1960's - we were the next generation that saw Title IX in the early 70's and that it was far more acceptable to play with "boy's toys" without being "excommunicated" from society. So, I guess for me, lines like "Friends" just seems so stereotypical, for good or for "bad". It just makes me wonder if these girls REALLY want this type of line or are they being "told" they SHOULD like it.... Food for fodder...