This is one of the two SW Advent Calendars I missed out on, along with the 2013 one.

That Christmas tree droid is probably the closest to an R4 series astromech we'll ever get

I guess I didn't have to stay up until 11 for this one, I guess the UK (and apparently all of Europe) is still backwards with Daylight Savings, too. We really need to end this.

Anyway, I have never gotten any of the Advent Calendars, they don't really seem like they're worth the money, and if I bought one, I'd probably try to get them all, but I must say, this one doesn't look all too bad. Still not sure it would be worth it, but as a Clone Wars fan, there's some good representation in there.

A advent calendar whaaaat? Easter has no occasion with this. And when was the last time we got a advent calendar as a random set?

Nice weapons rack.

The first one I missed out.

Not too much there that you would miss when you had the previous two anyways.

I remember the rumors when it was leaked that Darth Vader would be the Xmas figure. Many people were hoping for an official release of the red Darth Vader helmet, that is circulating as a prototype/Q-part. Surely would have raised my demand for this set xD

I remember that the 2015 SW calendar box indicated, by mistake, that it included a Darth Vader minifigure inside. I wrote to Lego and they sent me the Santa Vader minifigure from this set. The best customer service in the world.

Ah, 2014. Perhaps the best year for Lego Starwars.
And the last year we'd get the iconic original DV helmet.

@Binnekamp said:
" And the last year we'd get the iconic original DV helmet. "
That was hard, but the worst was changing the stormtroopers' helmets. BUAHHH!!!!

"Luke, I know what you'tr getting for Christmas; I felt your presents.

@MandoEli37 said:
"A advent calendar whaaaat? Easter has no occasion with this. And when was the last time we got a advent calendar as a random set?"

A little over two years ago: https://brickset.com/article/70001

@MeisterDad said:
"Nice weapons rack."

Just gonna say it: weapons racks are overhated

@Brickalili:
The lightsaber hearth is the only SWAC weapons rack that I actually think makes a decent model in its own right.

@FARLANDER said:
"I remember that the 2015 SW calendar box indicated, by mistake, that it included a Darth Vader minifigure inside. I wrote to Lego and they sent me the Santa Vader minifigure from this set. The best customer service in the world."

Yeah, considering there’s not one single image of Darth Vader that I can find anywhere on the 75097 box. Closest I can find is an ad for their website that features cartoonized versions of these two minifigs in a lightsaber duel:

https://brickset.com/minifigs/sw0622/the-grand-inquisitor-dark-bluish-gray-uniform
https://brickset.com/minifigs/sw0602/kanan-jarrus-dark-brown-hair-and-eyebrows

@MeisterDad said:
"Nice weapons rack."

I mean, this is one of the only sets where you can get a phase 2 clone without helmet holes.

The torso of the Christmas tree Astromech actually works well with the head from 75032, allowing you to create a full new Astromech.

It also seems they used surplus old snowtrooper helmets for this set as 2014 already saw the introduction of what is now the current mold.

Not my favourite advent calendar - looking at 75023 for that! - but I do think it was more fun when the seasonal minifigures were iconic characters dressed as Santa, like this and the other early ones. The Christmas sweaters they do now can be cute (depending on the character wearing them...!), but after several years they don't feel that interesting to me anymore. I like Santa Vader better than Sweater Vader.

That said, I have never owned a Lego advent calendar, Star Wars or otherwise - the one I mentioned above was during my dark years, and another calendar would have to rival that one in content to grab my interest! - so my opinion may not hold any weight xD

I find the inclusion of General Rieekan an interesting one here, especially when he only appeared in one other set and honestly is a fairly minor character all things considered. Obviously it's nice when an otherwise uncommon character gets more than one appearance, but I do wonder if they had a surplus of him from that one Hoth set and used this as a way to get through leftover stock of him.

@ThatBionicleGuy:
No, they may have included him as a way to get more use out of the printing pads, or the SWAC designer saw an opportunity to slip a rare character in on the cheap, but there's no way they would have overproduced enough whole minifigs to justify including them in an Advent Calendar just to use them up. Certainly not in the quantities they'd need to avoid doing another production run. Besides, do that, and they'd just have to stock extra parts even longer, in case people had problems with their SWAC minifigs.

Happy Easter!!!!

Christmas celebrates the pagan winter solstice holiday. Easter celebrates the pagan spring equinox holiday.
Close enough

just saying, if LEGO ever puts festive clone troopers in an Advent Calendar again, they should be troopers that actually have festive designs on their armor, not lazily slapping a Santa hat on a plain Phase 2 and calling it good.