This just filled me with so much joy about how random this is, yet it fits the overall playful theme of this set so well.

I really love the new LEGO Reindeer, and I wish they had included another one, so I’ll be hoping we see it used in future LEGO sets to make the most of this utterly gorgeous mould. On the ground floor is a small counter and chairs, which have plates of waffles and red mugs for the Elves to eat.Last but not least are the Christmas lights, which employ yet another new technique using bulbs instead of studs. It’s been an issue since this headpiece was introduced, and it’s kind of disappointing that LEGO haven’t been able to fix it to this day. Say hello to the 2020 LEGO Winter Village set – 10275 Elf Club House, the perfect addition to your Christmas LEGO display. It does have its own unique style, with the tall roof, which has a sharper angle, and two windows that emerge out each side.

The breakfast nook is cute, but in action it again makes you question the ergonomics of the club house. Since the elf minifigures have short, non-articulated legs, they have to stand on the chairs instead of sitting. That’s an understandable compromise, but due to the height of the table, plates, and mug, you have to raise the figures arms to almost comical heights to get them to fit into the space. And just forget trying to get two elves to have a bite at the same time. You’re probably better off just putting all the elves in other areas of the club house when you display things. In this set, we get a Pirate Ship (a nod to the Creator Pirate Ship)and a keyboard (which references the Grand Piano), and a red propeller, as well as 2 presents. I admit I skipped ahead in the instruction book to finish up Brixen. The only thing missing was the harness to hook the reindeer up to the sleigh. The use of studs embedded into the tree itself works remarkbly well visually, and I love the feeling of discovering and building each year’s Christmas tree. Bag 4: Last years Gingerbread House set an incredibly high bar for roof design, one that is unlikely to ever be beaten. But the Elf Club House gives it a good try. It has some steep, dramatic slopes that aren't often seen in LEGO houses, and as long as you can look past the small gap where the roof sections join, you'll love the final look, especially the curvy edges. It would have been so easy to design this with the straight edge but the designer took that specific step to add depth to the roofline. The main roof section is also held on by so little it's a complete mystery to me how it seems so solid and secure.

Rating

Highlights of the set: the mini-built gifts and furniture (especially the wrapping station, just genius!), I'm in love with the lights and will likely be creating more for my Winter Village, and of course the Christmas Tree. At it's core it's the same standard LEGO have settled on for how to build a really great tree, but here Chris took a totally different approach to the outer 'shell' and in the process created the fullest looking LEGO tree ever! Here’s how it works, you press the lever, and a waffle gets dropped into a pan, which you can then tip out. There’s a candy cane pole hanging outside the front, with directions to Santa’s Workshop, and the North Pole. I adore this set. Sure I've complained along the way, there's bits I don't love, but that's because a perfect set doesn't exist. My complaints over the chimney, boring Minifigures, and small footprint are completely wiped away by how great this set looks and how fun it is to play with. It was a great build, nothing groundbreaking just solid fun, and Chris McVeigh's skills are on full show. Anyone who knows his work as a LEGO artist before joining LEGO will immediately recognise his fingerprints on the small furnishings. The old school PC is a great example of his ability to create small, simple, yet brilliant, mundane items.