The site hasn’t been the most active lately… 2023 has been a sledgehammer to the face of a few of us and it’s hard to get the time to keep up with everything. I can’t speak for everyone here, but the annual tradition of us opening all the calendars and being shocked at the iffy builds is something that we look forward to.
We’re doing it a bit different this year, or more specifically, Nick just couldn’t find all that much joy in just doing the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. So he’s decided to do more than that one and compare them all a bit. Ace is going to do his normal review of it as well, and Eric will be covering Harry Potter yet again, for whatever the wizarding version of Groundhog Day is. And double the Star Wars!
We’re also bringing back our “random advent” calendar tradition, because it was fun last year. So tune in to see we go through and talk about. Maybe I’ll even bring in a special guest expert to talk about the one that I picked up…
Star Wars: 4 Hits / 3 Misses
City: 5 Hits / 2 Misses
Harry Potter: 6 Hits / 1 Misses
Marvel: 3 Hits / 4 Misses
Star Wars: 4 Hits / 3 Misses
Star Wars Day 8 – Ace
I don’t think we’ll ever have a calendar without one of these stupid things. I get it: it’s low cost, low effort, and because of that it’s a mainstay in these annual calendars but I think we deserve a little more. I can’t remember if got extra arms and a weapon in previous iterations. Even if we didn’t, it’s still a crap day.
Today’s chocolate totally makes up for it though. I am being treated to a “Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Nougat Praline”.
If you were to ask me what nougat was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you except that it’s one of three main components in a Snickers bar. Praline? Same thing, no idea except that it’s often followed by ” and cream”. Put it all together and add some hazelnut and you get this wonderful confection.
The hazelnut part was actual hazelnut bits that added a crunchy texture. I wouldn’t be able to distinguish nougat from praline from the flavor profile, but the hazelnut was very distinct. Overall, it was very smooth and very satisfyingly rich.
Harry Potter Day 8 – Eric
Oh man, I was just looking at Ace’s chocolates. Very jealous. I need to steal that idea for next year.
Anyway, here’s another low-effort sign.
Wow, seven whole pieces. Lucky me.
This one is as bad as the last one. I wonder how many more of these terrible signs we’re going to get?
Today’s tea was THREE CHAMOMILE. Don’t really know how that applies practically, but let’s give it a shot.
It’s certainly chamomile. Delicious as always, but not sure the benefit of THREE of the things. Still, best tea in a few days.
4/5.
City Day 8 – Nick
This is the sort of thing in the Advent that I have such mixed feelings about. It’s shown up in multiple calendars. It’s also a frequent filler and parts-padding item in the holiday sets, something that I stopped collecting a few years ago. You don’t need all that many, and the scale and style vary so wildly that they just don’t have all that much usefulness in the end.
There’s something “holiday” about them, kind of, more in an old-timey way… but ultimately it’s just a street lamp. One that’s too short at that, so I’m gonna say miss.
Marvel Day 8 – Nick
Okay, wait, did I slip into the prime universe suddenly, and the world stopped sucking? To clarify that, I’m rather convinced that we’re in the mirror universe, the past seven years or so seem to be evidence that this really isn’t the good one. And there are a lot of goatees on people. Unlike some of the Iron-themed stuff, this one is clearly Iron-Man themed, in color and selection. It’s also clearly holiday and reindeer themed. Though it probably should be like Rescue or Pepper colors and peddling Goop nonsense, since only female Reindeer would have Antlers. Very solid little hit.
Also, those gold Spider-man accessory garbage parts are supposed to fit into the discs that come with this. That’s dumb, and they shouldn’t be here. But whatever. The reindeer is still very cool.
Bonus Star Wars Day 8 – Nick
It’s a B-1 Battle droid. Who gives a Bantha Poo Doo about these or honestly wants on in your calendar? Even if you like them, you have dozens, if not more, of the dang things. Miss harder than your average OT stormtrooper.
Pokemon Day 8 – Nick & Family
When is a shiny not a shiny? When it’s a “sparky” Absol! A Shiny Absol is orange, but this is the “shimmering” large figures that come in this Advent calendar. It’s much bigger than the other Pokemon, and interesting. My daughter wants to make it clear that it’s the exact same mold as the existing toy version you can get at Target, just with a slightly different plastic. She thinks this is important information for everyone to know.
