We’re closer to Christmas than I thought.
December 17: Mrs. Claus
I think this is Mrs. Claus.
Rating
Fun ★★★☆☆
Someone at my work mentioned that Christmas is next week. Despite opening these prizes every day and noting the dates, it didn’t really seem like it was that close. But here’s Mrs. Claus, looking glamorous in this Saint Nichol-esque gown and holding some sort of naughty-or-nice folio, so I guess we are truly in the end game.
Ease of Build ★★★★★
The Lego people are easy to build. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this kind of Lego person’s lower half before. It’s like the bottom of a dress or a long skirt or other flowing garment, which is cool. I also don’t think I’ve seen a Lego book that can be opened and closed like hers, and I can imagine a part like that also working well for a wizard or librarian or wizard librarian. These were new pieces for me, but not difficult to figure out.
Comprehensibility ★★★★☆
I will admit that I didn’t immediately recognize this as Mrs. Claus. When we opened the 17th door on the calendar and saw the postage stamp-sized instructional image, the first thing I noticed was the white hair, and immediately went to “grandma.” Given this year’s overtly familial theme, throwing in another generation didn’t seem far fetched. The second thing that caught my eye was the book, and the way she was posed in the image, I thought it might be a book of sheet music for someone singing in a choir.
But once we got her put together and could see the details of her outfit, I’m nearly certain that it’s Mrs. Claus. There are few people who can pull off a patent leather belt with a fur-trimmed dress, but she can.
Extra Parts ☆☆☆☆☆
There are no extra parts in this build. Sometimes it’s tough to tell if a Lego person’s accoutrements should be counted as extra parts or not, but I’m declaring Mrs. Claus’ book as essential. It contains a checklist, which must have naughty or nice connotations.
I don’t blame Mrs. Claus for the handwriting. I assume that given the realities of international distribution and the cost of printing something in every language where this 2-pip tile could be enjoyed, Lego has to just throw down some scribble scrabble and move on with their lives. Still, I was curious what the Great and Powerful AI would say, and washed this through an AI specifically designed to interpret printed and historical handwritten texts. It came up with:
Aan
an
en
wo
Nice try, AI. Do you think I didn’t see the 1981 film Excalibur enough times to memorize Merlin’s “Charm of Making” in the original inconsistent Old Gaelic? I’d sooner click on the link in a grammatically tragic email telling me that my Lotus 1-2-3 license is about to expire than utter that obvious enchantment thirty times out loud and summon a Cthulhu.
Overall ★★★★☆
I dig Mrs. Claus’ style, and may she be a reminder to us all to get out our grimoires and start checking things off.
