The smallest of the Lego Animal Crossing sets, Julian's Birthday Party, isn't without its charms. It's bright, colorful, and if you're a Julian stan like me, it's a fantastic set to add to your collection. However, compared to the other Animal Crossing Lego options it's the weakest when it comes to the actual video game tie-ins beyond the minifig and a couple of other additions.
Features
- The smallest, most affordable Animal Crossing set
- Only one minifigure
- Not many Animal Crossing connections
Julian's Birthday Party consists of the Julian minifigure and a small selection of green grassy plates on which you can assemble the unicorn's various presents, assortment of birthday party supplies, and an iconic Animal Crossing tree - complete with hidden surprise inside.
The set is meant to be a nod to celebrating your birthday, or that of one of your villagers, in Animal Crossing New Horizons, but rather than being inside one of the villagers' homes, this set takes the festivities outside. The gifts, bunting decoration, and little cakes are great fun to build and set out, but there's something distinctively 'Animal Crossing' missing about this set in the range. It's unlikely to rank amongst the best Lego sets as a result.
Handily, it combines really well with any other set in the Animal Crossing Lego range, which makes this affordable kit hard to recommend on its own but excellent as a gift or treat for anyone looking to build out their own New Horizons island with multiple Lego Animal Crossing models.
Build
- Only takes around 30 minutes to build
- Easy construction
Even with me taking my time to enjoy building this set, Julian's Birthday Party will only take you around 30 minutes from start to finish. There's not much complexity here, beyond the placement of the pieces atop the presents to create the bows and other such decorations. It's fiddly at worst, but not taxing at all.
However, that does reflect the fact that this is a very entry-level set when it comes to its price. It's not designed to be a complex, lengthy build, but more a quick blocky way to fill some time with something cute.
Design
- A sweet little set
- Missing some Animal Crossing nods
- Julian remains a top-tier Animal Crossing villager
Julian's Birthday Party feels designed to be an addition to your collection rather than a starting point or a solo purchase. It's delightful in its own way, with its pastel color scheme, array of presents, cupcakes, and other birthday paraphernalia. The bunting is a nice touch, and really adds some verticality to this otherwise fairly compact set.
Meanwhile, the Julian minifig with its interstellar hoodie captures the in-game character well. The ability to add a little gold party hat is pretty adorable too.
But, I do think this set is missing some of the hidden nods to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons game that I've discovered building other sets in the Lego Animal Crossing range. The tree keeps its secrets, and the presents can be filled with small items, but beyond the tree design and Julian himself, it doesn't exactly scream 'Animal Crossing' like the other sets.
Should you buy Lego Julian's Birthday Party?
The Lego Animal Crossing Julian's Birthday Party set is a great way to expand your collection or as a treat for a younger fan. It's really sweet, but lacks the Animal Crossing tie-ins that really make the other sets so lustworthy.
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
How we tested Lego Julian's Birthday Party
The Julian's Birthday Party set was built on a Saturday, taking around 30 minutes to complete and admire. We compared the set's features and quality to that of other Animal Crossing Lego builds, much of which I had also bought and built myself in the same weekend.
For more on our review process, make sure to check out our 'how we test' guide.
Looking for more bricks to build? Be sure to check out the best Lego Star Wars sets. It's also worth dropping in on our guide to Lego deals if you want to save some money along the way.
