If there is a LEGO Friends fan in your life, next year's birthday list just wrote itself. On October 28 the LEGO Group revealed three new LEGO Friends sets that go on sale worldwide on January 1, 2027, and it did it in the most LEGO Friends way possible: inside a pop-up café in London.
The three new sets
The headliner is the Friendship Party Bus (42718), a 676-piece build for ages 7 and up at $59.99. It is basically a party on wheels, with a private pool and rooftop slide, karaoke microphones and a cupcake party, plus minifigures of Leo, Allya, Liann and Daisy and Churro the cat. It is the set built for playing with after the last brick goes on.
The biggest build is the Heartlake City Shopping Mall (42719), with 843 pieces for $99.99. LEGO says it is designed for play and storytelling, and the details back that up: a working elevator and a working toy vending machine, with Irene, Nova, Liann and Leo along for the shopping trip. With the most pieces of the three, it is the one that takes over the coffee table for a weekend.
The smallest is the Pet Care & Play Center (42709), 366 pieces for $49.99. It comes with Leo, Nova and Amara and four animals: Peanut the dog, Churro the cat, Brownie the bunny and an axolotl named Bubbles. The pets get a slide, a seesaw and a brick-built cat tree.
Which one to pick
For a younger builder or a first set, the Pet Care & Play Center is the easy yes: fewer pieces, a lower price and animals, which is usually the whole point. The Party Bus is the best value for playing once it is built, because it moves and has the most going on. The Shopping Mall is the splurge and the build you do side by side on a rainy Saturday, with someone in charge of sorting pieces into bowls.
All three are rated 7+, and since none of them is out until January, they make a good "something to look forward to" gift. Think a printed picture in a card for the holidays, then the real box on New Year's Day or at the next birthday.
The London pop-up
In London, the free LEGO Friends Unicorn Café pop-up at Potters Fields Park ran October 29 to 31. It is inspired by the Unicorn Dream Café set and a scene from LEGO Friends: Heartlake The Musical, with sing-along screenings, build challenges, a take-home model and themed drinks and treats. Tickets are free but first-come, first-served, per the LEGO announcement. Everyone else can watch the musical on LEGO's YouTube channel.
Where to buy
The sets arrive January 1, 2027 on LEGO.com, in LEGO Stores and at other retailers. New LEGO sets do not usually get discounted in their first weeks, so there is no real reason to wait if one is already on the wish list.
