Welcome to Santa's workshop where all the elves are busy working to fill the sled with toys for all the good minifigures.

Box/Instructions

The set comes in a normal box that has the "Expert" stamp on it. The instructions are easy to follow.

Parts

The coolest new part I the set is Santa's bag in red, a new color for that part. Also, we get the elephant trunk pieces in gold for the first time. There are a decent amount of stickers, but they really do add to the overall feel of the scene. We also get a new print on the 1x1 tan brick that looks like eyes.

Minifigures

We get Santa, Mrs. Clause (who gets a double sided head) and four unique elves. They each have the ears molded into thier hats and one of them gets a dou sided head.

The set also includes reign deer, which are so cute and loveable. There are four adults and one kid. The adults can stand alone or attach to the sled. The child can't attach to the sled, but that's ok. Also, there is a spare trans orange stud in the set that I recommend putting on the child deer Asa nose to make the red nosed reign deer that everyone loves.

The completed model

I really like the completed models. We get a good conveyer belt that makes toys, On it there is a racecar toy and a toy of Benny's SPACESHIP SPACESHIP SPACESHIP.

The workshop house is good. There's a place for Santa to read his mail and a fireplace.

I really like the sled. There is room to fit many toys and four reign deer can pull the sled. It doesn't bother me that there aren't eight.

We also get very good Christmas tree and North Pole sign.

Overall opinion

Overall, this set is great. It gives very iconic Christmas scenes that are recreated very well in Lego. This set fits perfectly in any Lego city.

Santa's Workshop is a very nice set. There are some rare colors included. It has plenty of playability and is very detailed as well! It is just as good for display as it is for play!

I'll start with the minifigures. All of them are pretty good, but I don't like Mrs. Claus's torso piece. It doesn't "flow" with the rest of the body.

The build was alright, but when I was putting together the 2nd part of the workshop, I tried to put the roof on and the walls fell apart. It is a bit fragile when building, but other than that, it was easy and fun!

The price is very low for a set containing 883 pcs.

Overall, it is a excellent set.

I have waited until December to build this set at the same time as getting out our Christmas tree and trunk of decorations.

I am also enjoying each morning building the City advent calender gifts (spoiler alert - This hyperlink will take you to images of the 24 daily gifts).

Box/Instructions

The box shows what the full set will look like with Santa's house, Santa's helpers and their workshop, Mrs Clause with a tray of fresh baking, a decorated Christmas tree and the North Pole. There are five reindeer and the sleigh full of toys and a toy making machine.

The instructions come in two books with book one making the reindeer, sleigh, tree and North Pole. Book two makes Santa's house and the elves' workshop.

Parts

The parts are split up into three groups of numbered bags.

There is a great range of interesting parts in many great colours.

Minifigures

This set comes with six minifigures; Santa, Mrs Clause and four elves.

Santa has a sack full of presents and Mrs Clause is standing in her long skirt and red cape with fresh baking to refuel the hard-working elves. As the year draws to the end, they have a lot of work to do.

There are five brickbuilt reindeer; four adults and one calf. The reindeer have their faces printed on a 1x1 brick.

Folklore suggests that Rudolf should have a red nose and that there should be eight reindeer.

The set came with a spare ball which I have used as Rudolf's nose.

The build

The set as included in the box has a very limited elves' workshop. A companion Toy Workshop set compliments this set and was available free from 1 October. I have been fortunate to get two complimentary Toy Workshop sets and these have added substantially to the versatility of the build.

Each Toy Workshop comes with an extra two elves, so I have a total of eight elves to work with.

The Toy Workshop comes with the Nutcracker soldier, toy bulldozer and train and two gifts already wrapped.

The completed model

These images show a fusion of Santa's Workshop and two Toy Workshops. I thought I would show what can be done if you have been fortunate enough to obtain the extra sets.

The house is orginal; it is only the workshop that has had an extension added.

The house has two levels; the ground floor with a roaring fire and a loft where Santa can read all the letters sent from children from around the world.

The Toy Workshops each come with a bench vice and a polybag full of tools. There are pots of paint and two brushes. These are essential items for a functional workshop.

Overall opinion

I know that my review includes parts from the extra sets, but I do feel that Santa's Workshop as shipped benefits from the inclusion of the complimentary Toy Workshops.

Adding the extra work space, tools, paints and brushes completes the workshop. Extra toys reveals how hard the elves have been working.

If you get the chance, add this set to your Christmas decoration inventory. If there are Toy Workshops still available, then consider getting a couple of these as well.

I have space set aside for the Winter Market Village and I am adding each of the advent calendar trinkets as the days are counting down. They all look great together.

To all the Brickset community, I wish you all happy holidays.

Ho Ho Ho! Meeeerry Christmaaaas!

Box/Instructions

Gorgeous and festive packaging. Standard instructions. Nothing special here.

Parts

This is one of the areas where I think this set excels. It includes a lampstand piece that is new to me and I love the way things go together. There is some SNOT (Studs Not On Top) building and lots of fun ways the pieces are used. VERY imaginative. The set we have came with a trans-red stud that we used to turn the small, single reindeer into Rudolph. I saw another set that didn't come with this piece (the instructions don't call for it), but I had one in our stash that we added to that set.

Minifigures

It's Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves! What is there to say other than...FUN?! I love the red toy sack that Santa carries. Others have commented that this is new this year. My understanding is that, in years past, the sack was brown. I'm glad to see the red one in this set.

The build

See comments above. My wife and I had GREAT fun putting this set together.

The completed model

A classic in my opinion. I just don't understand the harsh reviews on the lego shop website. I REALLY like this set and heartily recommend it. The playability is fantastic and the festive nature of the set really cheers the heart. Thanks Lego! I think you hit a homerun with this one.

Overall opinion

Belongs in any lego fan's collection. Looks great! Good price per piece. Great colors. What's not to like? Merry Christmas!

We received this set as a Christmas present and were quite excited to put it together. It is a cute little set chock full of details. Makes a lovely display piece, and also potentially quite fun to play with.

The Build

I'm really not sure why this set is labeled "Expert." It does not have a huge number of pieces, the instructions are quite simple and straightforward, and there was nothing difficult to build. I would say an 8-12 year old child reasonably familiar with LEGO could put it together with no problems. The bags are numbered and so no piece sorting is necessary. Each step puts on only a few pieces at a time. There are a few more details than a typical young child-oriented set, but nothing warranting "Expert" status imho.

There are a lot of annoying stickers, but some good printed pieces too. The stickers are bright and really cute, to be fair.

Minifigs

A great assortment, and all very well realized: Santa with red bag, Mrs. Claus with a cape and colorful tray of cookies, and four elves all with different outfits, pointy ears, and green conical hats.

The Finished Model

I really liked several things about this model. First, the color scheme is just lovely. Excellent use of mixed warm brown tones on the buildings - an example of fantastic use of LEGO's expanded color range. I particularly like the combination of gold lattice and vertically oriented trans red plates to form one of the fancy windows - gives a gorgeous stained glass effect. I also appreciated the stone pillars by the steps, the detailed stone chimney, and the cute little brick-built candy canes which are hinged outside the door, so they can be angled in odd directions for a jaunty effect. The string of lights on the roof is also incredibly cute and cheery. The stone steps made from round grey plates/tiles looks a bit awkward to me personally, but other than that I love the overall design of the houses. The two houses snap together at an angle (as shown in the picture) but do not hinge closed. You can also display them separately if you like.

I also like the anterior parts of this set. Santa's sleigh features a handsome color scheme in dark forest green, black and gold. The curved gold pieces forming the runners look great, as do the elegant black lanterns at the back. Santa's ride is stylin'!

The brick built reindeer are beyond adorable, especially the little baby reindeer. My 10-year-old daughter immediately decried the fact that there are only 4 reindeer rather than 8, and Rudolph is missing! The last is easily rectified by swapping in a 1x1 trans red stud for the brown nose on your choice of reindeer. Perhaps the other reindeer are getting a pre-Christmas massage at the spa?

The only thing that really bothers me about this set is how the reindeer attach to the sleigh. They are linked to each other with a plate, so they need to be entirely parallel or it will not snap correctly. Yet the reins are so close together that they cannot physically stand exactly parallel - their antlers end up getting in the way so that one must be slightly ahead of the other. Angling the antlers differently helps somewhat, but not entirely. We did our best to smush everything in but the effect is very unsatisfying and seems strained and uncomfortable. If the reins were only one reindeer width apart this problem would have been solved - not sure why they designed it this way...

The little toy making machine is perhaps my favorite part of the set. It has so many little details for such a small object: two levers that move up and down, a steering wheel that turns, detailed printed gear panel, red and green trans bulbs on top, and best of all a whirling thing-a-ma-bob on top that actually spins! The design of the conveyor belt is also very nice imho - the grills look great and the bright red and white pattern on the side is simple yet very decorative.

Playability

In truth my daughter has not played with this set yet (possibly because we got WAAAY too many other lego sets for Christmas this year...), but I think it does offer decent playable features. The toy-making machine in particular should be fun to "operate" (note that the conveyer belt does not actually move though), and the elves definitely look ready for lots of mischievous adventures. The interior of the house is not terribly detailed, but the workshop has a little table with paints and tools, and there is plenty of room inside for characters to hang out. The doors of course open and close and there is a ladder up to the second floor, where Santa has a big comfy looking armchair. If your kid is into Christmas play, this will probably appeal.

Overall

Very attractive for a Christmas display, gorgeous colors and details, fun and easy to build. Hope LEGO makes more along these lines!