Set Name: Holiday Main Street
Set Number: 10308
Pieces: 1514
MSRP: $99.99/CA$129.99/AU$169.99/£99.99

Why I Bought this Set

You could say that my LEGO collecting started with gathering all the Christmas-themed sets. I aimed to have exciting decorations around the house, unlike the winter village I ended up developing. When I spotted this set, it fitted with that original remit perfectly – four little decorations with which I could populate my living room.

The Build

This set is split into four distinct building sections – one for each component. LEGO encourages joint building, and this set is geared toward that. Each section has its own instruction manual, so you can build this set in any order you like or with up to three others simultaneously.

I started with the tram, as when I went to the LEGO store as a birthday treat (and I picked up Santa’s visit), the helpful salesperson told me about how I could motorize the tram, and I wanted to see this in action. She sold me the hub, motor, and a set of tracks. I did not realize at the time that I would need at least three packs of tracks to make a circle. Sigh,

When I built my tram, I wasn’t planning on blogging about LEGO – I didn’t have the bug take hold of my soul yet. Consequently, I am lacking in building pictures. However, I want you to meet Mr. Tram Conductor, officially my first minifigure! I greatly appreciate his little hat and the printed torso.

The tram was a fun build, and I enjoyed seeing my first train-like build come together. There are good details, too – with festive decorations and four sticker elements. The roof lifting off is rather lovely to get to the motor (if modified), but otherwise, it makes transporting the build pretty tricky and annoying (you can’t lift it via the top).

The toy shop was the next build in the series. I got giddy at seeing the details of the interior come to life. The little robot toy is an example of fantastic part usage and is super cute. The construction of the till blew me away. Yes, these are some of my first-ever builds, so everything is new and shiny. The storefront began to take a festive feel with the garland, using cherry pieces to represent holly. I love the design of the train and rabbit in the shop window.

The second floor was a simple brick building containing the store owner’s bedroom. That, or this establishment believes in employees taking naps! The olive green brick would not have been my choice – it’s muted, not festive, and doesn’t look that appealing. Some good parts are used to create the outer molding and give some detail to the windows. The interior is decorated with a bed, a side table, and a small tree with presents. This is not a good use of space, and I would have preferred a second layer to the shop. Perhaps the designers opted not to do this as there wasn’t room for stairs. Then again, how are we getting up to the bedroom?

Next up was the third main element of the set – the music store. I have a few more build pictures for this one. Stage one deals with the base, similar to the toy store’s build. The color of this building is medium nougat, which looks suitable for a store. The shop’s interior starts to take shape with a drum kit, and I love the part usage to make the high hat!

The details in the music shop are excellent. There is a saxophone, violin, guitar, and a printed piano piece. The decorations are complete with a couple of sticker elements to create posters on the walls. The till in this shop is archaic, with a lever to initiate it, and I love that. The front of the store has some nice touches – using flag elements to make the canopy and some detail to make a garland and wreath.

Creating the upper floor was a simple brick build. However, you use masonry pieces to give the exterior a good texture. The navy blue windows tie in with the door and the sign. You can see how narrow this building is – just four studs of floor space.

Time to add elements to the upper floor – which again is a personal space rather than an extension of the store. First is a kitchen area with a teapot, oven, and a couple of cabinets. Next to it is a lovely Christmas table with mugs and cookies and a couple of seats. Presumably, this is the break room for the store. What’s frustrating is the yellow and orange tile behind the teapot is a printed piece – but you can’t see it. What a waste!

The final steps are to build the roof, which is an excellent hinged design so you can get inside the building. Though this is redundant, as it is an open-back build, it would be good if the build was modified. The snow detail is done exceedingly well. Overall this building’s facade looks excellent.

The fourth build is the little Main Street sign and three more minifigures for those who have either been shopping or are ready to send their letter to Santa. I like how happy each of these minifigs are!

Construction of the Main Street sign is straightforward, with white plate creating the base. The mail box uses stickers to add festive cheer. I like the classic look of the street sign, complete with printed clock faces and a little decoration.

The final aspect of the build is a Christmas tree – which no winter set would be complete without. This is a robust design, layering dark and bright green plates with translucent studs and star studs to create the decorations.

The fourth stage might be the smallest, but this section has plenty of playability. You can create a story easily, when put together, and I had a good time recreating the official picture. 🙂

This is what all the elements look like together, with their four booklets.

Set Review

It is difficult for me to sing this set’s praises; it would be the last Christmas set on my list if I was starting fresh. This set has been designed for multi-person building, which is if you have children or generally three other people you want to build with, this is a great feature. The offset is a mis-mosh of elements that don’t come together as a fantastic display piece.

Instead, this set is best if you have a winter village and can incorporate it into a scene. The buildings feel unfinished (which they are), and the tram feels like an opportunity for LEGO to upsell you the tracks, motor, and light to make the most of the element. Perhaps I am being too cynical.

My main disappointment with the set is the use of the upper floors in the stores. There are no stairs, so it didn’t matter what you put up there, and I would have preferred more shopping elements rather than a small bedroom (toy store) and a break room that is as big as the store (music shop). Perhaps I am too literal, but it doesn’t make much sense.

It’s a minor gripe, but the olive green of the toy store just doesn’t look right. It’s muted and doesn’t spark any festive joy when looking at the finished build. Further, the minifigures also lack any festive qualities. Only two look like they are dressed for winter – the small boy posting his letter and one of the shopping ladies.

All in all, this set is too “bitsy” and doesn’t deliver anything polished. It is geared toward family building, but the set misses the mark by accommodating this marketing ploy. The buildings are also too narrow to have space on some excellent storytelling.

Ratings

Build: 4/5
Despite my criticism, the build was a ton of fun. I enjoyed seeing the part usage to see the decorative elements come to the life. A particular highlight was building the instruments and toys.

Building the tram was a first for me, and I got a kick from seeing my first moving lego build. I bought the motor and tracks, and will review that in another post.

Display: 3/5
I don’t think this set looks good on its own. Even dotted around the house as individual elements, it doesn’t work. In a winter display, however, it will integrate rather nicely. It’s a departure from previous winter sets that work as individual elements. Its saving grace is that it is clearly festive with the decorative elements, so it does add some festive cheer.

Price: 5/5
It is difficult to fault value in this set – over 1500 pieces for $100 US is great value. On top of the piece count, the set includes a couple of printed pieces and unique decorative elements – bunny, guitar, saxophone, and violin, to name a few. Additionally, masonry bricks were used in the music store, and there are train elements to make the tram. You also get four instruction booklets and six minifigures. That’s all excellent value.

Final Thoughts

This set is excellent value and ideal if you want to build with others. It lacks the usual polished look of an 18+ lego set due to so many separate builds. It is best suited for those with a winter diorama rather than to those looking to display this set on its own. In that respect, it has nothing on Santa’s visit from 2021, which you should buy over this set if you don’t have it already.

Buy the Set

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