LEGO Friends Advent Calendar (42698)

LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2026 (42698): 211 pieces, 6 animals, 24 winter builds

The LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2026 (42698) takes the series outdoors. Where the 2025 edition stayed indoors with a slumber party theme, this year Nova, Liann and Aliya head outside for snow, sledging and hot chocolate by the fire. 24 doors, 211 pieces, and a noticeably different mood.

It’s the building advent calendar for age 6 and up, and particularly for fans who collect the animal figures. The 6 mini animals here (seal, pony, weasel, polar bear, penguin and bunny) make this the most generous LEGO Friends calendar yet on that count. Whether that trade-off justifies 26 fewer pieces than last year is the real question.

The LEGO Friends world: what makes this range tick

LEGO Friends has run since 2012 as the brand’s storyline-driven range, built around a cast of recurring characters rather than one-off sets. Nova, Liann and Aliya are established Friends characters, so children already familiar with the range will recognise them immediately. You can find the full Friends line-up and more calendars at our LEGO advent calendar page.

The Friends range uses mini-dolls rather than the standard LEGO minifigure format. They’re taller, more detailed in proportion, and aimed at children who want characters they can dress and pose in playable scenes. What makes the advent calendar work within this range is a cast of recurring characters rather than one-off sets: narrative scenes, seasonal activities and named friends the child already knows.

For a child who plays with Friends sets daily, opening a door each morning extends the world they’re already building. That’s the pitch, and it’s an honest one.

What’s inside the LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 42698

Split the 211 pieces across 24 doors and you get roughly 8 to 9 pieces per day, which lands you somewhere between a quick two-minute snap and a short build session. The published contents break down as follows:

• 3 mini-dolls: Nova, Liann and Aliya, each in seasonal winter outfits
• 6 mini animal figures: a seal, a pony, a weasel, a polar bear, a penguin and a bunny
• Mini-builds and accessories centred on winter outdoor activities: a sledge, snowballs, a campfire for roasting marshmallows, a hot chocolate station, a snowman, festive hats, gifts, biscuits, a passport and a letter to Father Christmas

LEGO includes a printed instruction guide in the box. The LEGO Builder app also offers a 3D interactive guide if a child prefers to follow on a tablet. After the 25th, the 3 mini-dolls and mini-builds slot straight into any other LEGO Friends set a child already owns, and the 6 animals remain playable figures in whatever scene they build next, so the calendar earns its place well past December.

Content value: not disclosed. LEGO does not publish a retail value for this set, and the mini animal figures and dolls don’t sell separately as standard catalogue items, so no honest per-item value can be calculated. Divide the launch price by the 24 doors: that works out to £0.96 per door, which puts it among the most accessible building advent calendars on the market.

=> The full door-by-door breakdown is in the SPOILER tab.

LEGO Friends 42698 vs the 2025 edition (42668): what’s changed

The 2025 set (42668) was a slumber party inside. This year is a winter landscape outside. That shift isn’t cosmetic: it changes the type of builds, the play scenarios and the number of dolls in the box. Here’s the count:

• Pieces: 211 in 2026, down from 237 in 2025 (26 fewer)
• Mini-dolls: 3 in 2026 (Nova, Liann, Aliya), down from 5 in 2025 (Aliya, Autumn, Liann, Nova, Leo)
• Mini animals: 6 in 2026, up from 5 in 2025
• Theme: winter outdoor activities in 2026 vs. festive indoor slumber party in 2025
• Price: comparable at the same RRP

The animal count goes up, the doll count goes down. That’s the clearest summary of what LEGO changed. A child who loved having a group of five friends in the 2025 box will notice the gap. A child who’s been asking for more animals won’t.

My verdict on the LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2026

The honest case for this calendar starts with the animal figures. Six different species, no repeats, in a set that costs under £23, is genuinely hard to find elsewhere in the LEGO Friends range. The penguin and polar bear slot in easily with winter scenes; the seal and weasel are the sorts of animals that don’t show up in most sets.

The case against it centres on what LEGO removed. Two fewer dolls and 26 fewer pieces at the same price is a noticeable step back. Three characters limit the story for a child who builds a play scene each morning, and a confirmed Friends collector will feel the absence of Autumn and Leo specifically.

The build complexity is also worth naming: 211 pieces over 24 days averages roughly 8 or 9 pieces per door. Some doors will be satisfying, others will take two minutes and feel thin. That’s the format across all LEGO advent calendars, not a flaw unique to this set, but worth knowing if a child is used to longer builds.

My take, honestly: ‘The animal-first child gets a great deal here; the child who wants a full cast of Friends characters gets a smaller group than last year.’ Fans of outdoor winter play and animal collecting will enjoy opening each door of the 42698 from 1 December. Others might want to check the 2025 edition in the sales first.

• What some will find frustrating: only 3 mini-dolls vs. 5 in the 2025 edition, and fewer pieces at the same price
• What animal collectors and outdoor-theme fans will pay for willingly: 6 distinct animal figures, a coherent winter narrative, and £0.96 per door makes it one of the most affordable LEGO 2026 advent calendars

Discount code and delivery:

• Discount code: no code is available at the time of writing; check our advent calendar deals page for any live promotions
• Delivery: to confirm with the retailer at checkout

Release date: LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2026 (42698)

The LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 42698 goes on sale in early autumn. Friends advent calendars tend to sell out before December, so if it’s on a child’s Christmas list, ordering early is the safer call.