I am a NBC enthusiast, where my Christmas tree is littered with all the Hallmark ornaments and spooky-season sprinklings. When I saw this set, I knew I had to have it because it is adorable, and much more affordable than the ceramic villages you typically display. I got this so I could display it for the holidays (loving the fact that I can switch from spooky to festive), however there are some minor complaints I have with the overall build.

If you are actually going to play with this set, the ease in which you can take the tops off the buildings to access the interiors seems wonderful (especially since they have storage for the Christmas decorations)- but as I am going to display this, having 4 studs to anchor the top half of Jack's house to the bottom is very weak for something so top-heavy. I saw youtuber who went to transfer their set somewhere else and it fell apart because it was so heavy compared to the weak structure of the baseplate.

Now, I am by no means a Lego builder - I played with them as a kid, but was never really into it as much as my husband was. If there is one thing I have learned since my 5 year old has gotten into them is that you need to make sure things are structured so they are STURDY. I ended up going to the Lego Store in my area and getting more plates to remake the base so it had more structure (see photos). Spiral Hill's face is also a bit fiddly and I feel needs more connection points than it does, and Town Hall is the only one that seems pretty solid. I also plan on doing the unthinkable and using the 'Kragle' on some of the more fiddly bits, like the cats on Jack's gate and the fountain, as they are prone to falling/breaking off at a glance.

Also, I am sad there is no Oogie minfig, as he is my favorite. I am in the process of custom making one based off someone on the internet by interspersing parts from existing minifigs and altering them.

The tl;dr is:

--great for kids who will play with it
--easy enough for even my 5 year old to build, as he helped me rebuild it when I tore it apart.
--base plate needs more structure than what they have, and Jack's house / Spiral Hill's face need more connection points as it is very weak.
--Will use Kragle on fountain and cats on gate of Jack's house.
--No Oogie minifig

For fans of the movie this is a great set to recreate the magic of Tim Burton - the zero mini figure alone makes it worth it…however it’s not without flaws.

Whilst I like the fact it interconnects it is designed in such a way that it can only connect in that order unless you separate them but then they look slightly odd because of the shape of the bases.
The other major issue is the stability - the house especially does not feel very well put together and could easily be knocked off… the roof on both buildings are designed to lift off which means you have to be very careful when moving (I would have preferred these to be like the walls that could be folded out rather than loose).

Minor issue is the Christmas theming - you do get a few items hidden in the buildings that you can use to decorate the set with Christmas wreaths and presents - but given how Disney go to town with adding Xmas lights and snow this set easily could have come with additional pieces to create a snow look on the buildings, a replacement banner, and a swappable bricks to actually count down to Xmas.

For the price I would have expected the above - when you compare this to something like the hocus pocus set you get so much more for your money with that set.

Personally if I had to choose between this set and hocus pocus for Halloween I’d choose hocus pocus - it’s a far more interesting build with lots of references to the movie, with a hinged roof, pull away parts, and is a solid build with moving smoke effect from the chimney.

This set could have (and should have) been so much more.

In general I’m happy with the purchase because I’m a Tim burton fan…but I just feel a bit cheated and let down by Lego. Although hats off the Zero and the fountain which are the best parts.

(Oh…and the moon…cardboard…really??? This should have been a circular plastic disc that glows in the dark to create some real magic)

My husband had a blast putting this together for me. It's super cute, it had lots of bricks, and it took him about a day and a half.
Design things I personally would have changed because I feel lego just missed a great opportunity.....
#1 The days till Christmas could have been the most adorable Christmas Countdown. It could have had little numbered mini bricks, allowing for the builder to remove the bricks and functionally countdown to Christmas. That would have made this set amazing; and I'm willing to bet even more desirable. At the moment the set just has a sticker.
#2 The fountain, you make light up bricks, the underneath of the fountain could have lit up when you pushed down on it. That would have been amazing becuse every time you see any Jack skeleton nightmare before Christmas toy showing the fountain, the green slime water is lit up, and glows that iridescent green. I was especially surprised considering the fountain bricks are kind of a clear murky green color.
#3 last but not least, would be maybe an idea for a future set that could go with this to build on, to make more of like a Halloween,/Christmas village. I know I'm not alone with oggie boogie being my favorite character, the trick-or-treaters are there but no Oggie? Maybe adding a building of his lair, for future fun. :)

So I love Nightmare Before Christmas and I love Lego. This should have been a dream build, but I just found the whole build experience so disappointing. It feels flimsy and a lot of the structures seem to hold on with just one or two connections. I accept that it looks good, but when I tried to move sections, it literally falls apart. Other issues have been a missing part, an incorrectly coloured part in a pack and some pieces not fitting/connecting properly - such as the mayors hat.

In terms of value I'm also disappointed. Big sections of the build are completely hidden unless you pull the build apart. Feels like they've added extra stuff just to try and justify the cost. Would honestly have preferred emptier buildings (that were sturdier) with more external detail.

Overall, a real disappointment unfortunately. I had such high hopes for this set.