This is what we loved most about the Lego Lunar New Year Traditions set

In addition to the Lego Majestic Tiger set we talked about at the start of Chinese New Year, we also had our resident Lego builder, Amin, build the new Lego Lunar New Year Traditions set (80108). Just like the Majestic Tiger set, this mooncake-shaped set also includes a ton of details that help show what it’s like to celebrate Chinese New Year with your family.

Builder’s experience

According to Lego, the set can be built by one person or built by the entire family—each family member can even build one section of the set each. Our resident Lego builder, Amin, took it upon himself to build the entire set himself. Here’s what he thought about the experience.

“What I loved about the set was how intricate it is and how it tells an interesting story—from spring cleaning to visiting your elders. But what I didn’t really like about it as I was building it myself was how repetitive the sections were… every platform was the same. It would be a lot more fun to build it with your family members,” said Amin.

Amin also pointed out that the set had more stickers than he would have liked—which can be a hassle to stick on correctly in a pinch. Additionally, there were small “finicky stuff” like the orange tree—which was “a pain to build because it’s so small”.

During his build, Amin also talked about surprise details that wouldn’t even be noticeable to people who haven’t built the set. There’s a hidden golden frog underneath the God of Wealth section representing Jin Chan, and a golden coin underneath the sofa in the living room section. The middle of the set also includes printed tiles that also tell the story of each section—and it’s all pretty intricate.

Besides having the set look like a mooncake—or one of those Chinese New Year candy boxes—you can pull each section apart and stack them up together into a pyramid. This way of presenting the set shows off the sections even more, and even makes it look more grandiose.

The details we loved

Each of those sections can be easily detached, but you don’t need to detach them to appreciate each section. Lego described the Lunar New Year Traditions set as something that helps celebrate six different activities of Chinese New Year. They include spring-cleaning, food shopping, making good-luck decorations, spending time with family, sharing ang-paus, and one part of the set that even features the God of Wealth. Each module aims to help children learn Chinese customs through play. 

There are plenty of tiny details that we loved, and they all made up the most adorable decorations. But some of our favourite little details include the painting of the family behind the Lego family watching television, the colourful cleaning supplies, the little sausages, the Lego shopping bag, as well as ice lollies shaped like tiny Lego men. There’s also a little package marked BLL, which stands for Billund, Denmark—home of Lego.

Even though Amin built this set all himself, it does sound like a great time if you plan a family Lego build session for this. The act of building a piece of the set by yourself and attaching the pieces to make one whole set sounds like the perfect Lego bonding activity.

The 1066-piece Lego Lunar New Year Traditions set is priced at RM299.90, and you can find it online at Toysrus, Zalora, and Legoland—as well as Lego-certified stores. And from now until 13 February, shoppers at Lego-certified stores and Legoland Malaysia Resort who purchase Lego products with a total worth of RM328 can receive the limited-edition Gift with Purchase (40491) Lego Year of the Tiger.

From now until 28 February, all Lego-certified store shoppers with any purchase (with a minimum spend of RM188) can receive a red packet with a RM30 Lego voucher too. All Lego-certified store and Legoland Malaysia Resort shoppers with a purchase of at least RM829 worth of Lego products will also receive an exclusive Gift with Purchase, (40532) Taxi Modulaire.

Related reading

• We built the Lego Majestic Tiger set just in time for Chinese New Year. Here’s what we noticed