40059- Santa's Sleigh

This is a concept that's been done more than a few times, but seemed worth buying to me this year since last year's version had only a model Santa and I preferred to have real minifigures.  This set comes with Santa and an elf, a sleigh, a model reindeer, and three presents.  Accessories include a walkie-talkie, a wand, and a letter.

40058- Decorating the Tree

I've been crazy for this Seasonal set since I first saw images of it months ago.  In this polybag, we get two minifigures (one with short legs), a model tree, a stepladder, four presents, and a tiny model train.  There is also a surprising amount of extra pieces for a $7.99 set.

850656- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raphael Key Chain

 I've never really seen the show, or have much of a concept of the characters, but turtles who are ninjas and are especially adorable in Lego form greatly appeal to me.  Apparently this is Raphael, but I chose him because I thought he had the best keychain facial expression.  He comes attached to a short chained key ring, to which is also attached a small chain with a Lego logo'd piece.

850507- Spider-Man Key Chain

This was my first Lego keychain and I had intended to  remove the chain and screw from this and all Lego keychains I got so that I could buy characters I liked without having to get costly or unappealing sets.  With the help of some youtube videos, I decided that I would be able to remove the keychain part without too much difficulty, but that proved wrong.  My poor Spidey got a little dinged during my attempts with various pliers.  Maybe removal is possible with pliers, but I recommend a soldering iron.  The keychain he comes on is a simple short chain and ring.

5001623- Jor-El

 This polybag minifigure was available on lego.com free with qualifying purchase during June 2013.  Initially (and until three minutes ago), I thought Kal-El was Superman's father's name, so I dubbed Jor-El Superman's uncle.  However, Kal-El is Superman and Jor-El is Superman's daddy.  Don't ask why he's wearing a Superman costume.  I like some superheroes, but knowing that the comic book world is full of complex backstories, multiple resurrections, and alternate universes, I tend to stay way from that mess.  He's a cute Superman-type figure without having to buy a set, let's leave it at that.

4842- Hogwarts Castle

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and ever since the Harry Potter sets came out in 2001, I wanted a Hogwarts Castle.  So, I'm happy I was able to snag this final version of the full castle before The Lego Group retired it.  There are ten different minifigures included and the castle is composed of four sections that can be joined together in variety of ways.  See below for several alternate pictures.











The rooms/areas in the castle are: Vanishing Cabinet, Library, Astronomy Tower, Owlery, Slytherin Common Room, Statue, Gryffindor Common Room, The Great Hall, Dumbledore's Office with moving staircase on the lower level, and Sorting Hat.

5002889- DK's Batman Visual Dictionary

I never liked any of the Batman sets enough to purchase, but I was happy to buy this book since I'm always interested in pictures of cute sets and love the Batman minifigure that came with it.  As typical in the DK Lego licensed-theme books, the front cover is a thick cardboard containing an exclusive minifigure.  So, the book may seem twice as long as they actually are, but all the DK Lego books I've gotten have never disappointed.