I was ecstatic over the weekend when I unwittingly ended up stumbling upon my personal favorite of the yearly LEGO Advent Calendars: the LEGO Star Wars 2014 Advent Calendar! But while that licensed sci-fi version of the calendar is my favorite, I recognize that it’s not everyone’s. And in fact, there was another 2014 LEGO Advent Calendar that was selling even better at my nearest LEGO Store–and was almost wiped out on the shelf already! The LEGO City 2014 Advent Calendar 60063 set has now been released!

UPDATE: The LEGO City 2014 Advent Calendar is now available for order online!

Since I’m not big into the LEGO City theme myself (I only buy a handful of LEGO City sets each year, as opposed to the ridiculous number of other LEGO sets I buy), sometimes I forget just how popular the LEGO City theme is with kids and collectors. Then something will happen like this weekend, and I’ll remember just how loved LEGO City really is.

While my local LEGO Store had ample supplies of the new 2014 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar and the LEGO Friends 2014 Advent Calendar so overstocked it was literally falling off the shelf, I had to sweep the store twice to spot the 2014 LEGO City Advent Calendar 60063 at all. Why? Because it was almost sold out already, and I walked right past the 60063 LEGO City Advent Calendars the first time without seeing them pushed back so far on the shelf!

As much joy as I get out of the holiday season and LEGO Advent Calendars in general, this year’s LEGO 60063 City Advent Calendar for 2014 has left me a little bit underwhelmed. The LEGO kid minifigure putting a letter in the mailbox for the LEGO Santa minifigure is cute, but I feel like this set is really “been there, done that” at this point. There’s nothing that really feels fresh or unique like the LEGO Darth Santa minifigure or LEGO Droid Christmas Tree minifigure in this year’s LEGO Star Wars 2014 Advent Calendar.

That’s not to say that I’m not going to buy this year’s 2014 LEGO City Advent Calendar anyway (that would be blasphemy!), but I do think that LEGO could have been a wee bit more creative and given us something more original this year. We get a LEGO Robber minifigure, a couple of LEGO cops, a LEGO Santa minifigure, a LEGO dog, some LEGO kids, and a couple of mini-builds like a LEGO Snowmobile and a LEGO bike. None of this stuff is bad–just a little ubiquitous for those of us who buy LEGO Holiday sets every year.

The LEGO City 2014 Advent Calendar is now available from the online LEGO Shop and the official chain of LEGO Stores, and is expected to spread to more retailers in September 2014. Just like last year’s LEGO City 2013 Advent Calendar, be prepared for this set to sell through completely well before Black Friday–shop early if you’re planning to add the 2014 LEGO City Advent Calendar to your collection!

What do you think of the LEGO City Advent Calendar 2014 set, LEGO collectors? Do you feel like this calendar is just “same old, same old”, or will you be including this 2014 LEGO City Advent Calendar in your festivities this holiday season?