The new LEGO Friends Snow Resort Ice Rink offers LEGO fans a great set that all kids will enjoy. LEGO Friends, originally targeting young girls, offers a wide array of figures and sets. This set, however, does a great job providing an excellent cross-over product that fits into any play and allows kids to add to their imaginary play.
As the mom of a boy, the gender targeting of toys irks me. I loved that there was total gender neutrality to this particular Friends set. While some sets in the line do appear to target traditionally “girly” behaviors, the Snow Resort Ice Rink offers a great crossover for both boys and girls.
First, the rink comes with two figures, one boy and one girl. Second, there are hockey sticks for both of them.
This. Is. Everything.
Whether we like it or not, figure skating remains “too girly” and hockey “too masculine.” The LEGO Friends Snow Resort Ice Rink manages to bridge this beautifully. By offering kids one of each style character and removable goals, kids can choose how to use the ice rink. If a kid wants their rink to be for ice dancing, they can totally do that. If they want it to be a violent game of hockey, so be it.
This is what LEGO is about. Kids and imagination. While we love the branded sets in my house, because who doesn’t want to own a Death Star, we also really love the ones that offer up unguided play.
As the mom working towards raising a socially aware kid, anything that helps kids see gender equality in play offers a bonus. This is the first reason we really loved the Snow Resort Ice Rink. And yes, despite my desire to raise a woke kid, my son decided to have the boy and girl duke it out in a violent game of hockey.
Personally? I loved the little bunny detail. I’m a sucker for cute. However, if we’re going to look at the gender norms of society, boys are normally taught that gentleness is weakness. When my kid picked out the bunny as their favorite part, I admit to having one of those moments of “awwww.” Seriously, the bunny is adorable and comes with a little sled to ride. As a 39-year-old, it reminded me of Thumper from Bambi.
I could go on about the details. but reading isn’t the same as seeing. With that in mind, we took a video for everyone. One of my kid’s favorite parts of building a LEGO is to detail all the “Features” after completing the build. Since we do this anyway, I decided to video it and put it here for everyone to see. Let’s be honest, my kid is a much better representation of the target demographic for the LEGO Snow Resort Ice Rink than I am.
https://www.facebook.com/GeekMomBlog/videos/1545323198858561/
Disclaimer: LEGO provided a review unit. All ideas, however, are mine.
