40743 Christmas Table Decoration.
Earlier this autumn I stopped by a Lego store to see if they had any D&D minifigures left. Miss S was with me and, of course, pointed out a few sets she'd love to have. I said no, wasn't in my budget at the moment. But she's pretty good in stores and didn't throw a tantrum about it.
As we left, she asked to stop by a display of Christmas sets. She loves anything Christmas, and these were indeed very beautiful.
We admired the 10340 Wreath, which looks fantastic but is a whopping 15,000 yen (US$100). We were also delighted by the 40473 Christmas Table Decoration, which I can't help but think of as "the Advent candle."
The next month my husband spotted the Advent candle in a secondhand store, going for 5,000 yen instead of 6,000. I was keen but decided against it in the end.
Then, at the start of December, when I was in church and saw the pastor lighting an actual Advent candle, I couldn't help but remember the Lego version and think, "Red looks a lot better than white."
I looked up the set in a few places online and whaddya know, the
official Lego store had it 30% off for Black Friday! Usually the
discounts are very few and small, so until then I'd never found anything
good on sale on Lego.com.
I was still uncertain about paying
4,000 yen for a Christmas decoration but my husband reminded me that I
could always sell it off.
So I bought it and, of course, invited Miss S to build it with me! She did help more than hinder and was pleased with the final result.
Here is Miss S, "making a bento" on the base of the build.
When we were done, I asked, "Which part is your favorite?" She said the golden "snowflakes" and the ribbon.
As for me, I like the candle best, especially the top red piece which mimics melting wax.
We built it in time for my husband's Christmas party with his students. I wasn't sure if I should put it on the dining table, which would be crowded with food and people's plates. But I did--and hoped it would delight someone to discover that this display was made of Lego.
Unfortunately, no one really noticed the set--which perhaps is a compliment to how realistic it looks--except for one student, the lady sitting nearest to it.
"Does that candle light up with batteries?" she asked.
I smiled and said, "It doesn't. It's made of Lego, actually."
"Ah, Lego," she responded, as if were a pretty normal thing.
"Yes," I said.
And that was all to it. Well, at least it brought me delight--and to Miss S too.
