We know, it's too early to be thinking about Christmas, but retailers insist on putting their Christmas stick out earlier every year and Lego are no exception.

Advent calendars are one of the most beloved ways to count down the days till Christmas, and over the past few years alternative calendars that boast goodies like alcohol and beauty products instead of chocolate have exploded in popularity.

Getting in on the advent calendar game once again is Lego, offering something a bit different for those who might not have a sweet tooth - this is what you need to know.

What’s in the Lego advent calendar?

As to be expected, each calendar door hides a Lego piece instead of a piece of chocolate.

Lego dropped its advent calendars this week, and there are five new calendars to choose from:

  • Star Wars calendar, which comes with Mandalorian themed pieces, like Baby Yoda, a Tusken Raider and the Razor Crest
  • Marvel The Avengers calendar, which features seven minifigures including Iron Man, Spider-Man and Black Widow
  • Harry Potter calendar, which includes the magical trio of Harry, Hermione and Ron
  • A friends calendar, which isn’t that friends, but simply a kit that comes with five dolls - Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia and Stephanie
  • City calendar, which allows youngsters to build their own Lego city

Each calendar comes with 24 doors, and the number of pieces in each calendar can reach up to over 300.

You should be aware that there is a limit to two calendars per household.

Lego says: “We restrict the purchase limit available to a single household to ensure fairness for all of our fans.

“If you’ve already reached this limit through previous orders, your entire order may be cancelled.”

How much do they cost?

The cost of the Lego advent calendar depends on which calendar you buy - the branded calendars like Marvel, Star Wars and Harry Potter all cost £24.99, whereas the friends and city calendars are £19.99.

You can get free standard two to four business day deliveries on orders over £50, otherwise standard delivery costs £3.95. You can bump your order up to express delivery, but that option costs £21.

For standard delivery, Lego says that it should take between two and four business days to get to you, but you should allowed your delivery an extra day to get to the following areas: Aberdeen, Isle of Man, Inverness, Kilmarnock, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Outer Hebrides, Paisley and Perth.

If you are not happy with your order, you can return it to Lego free of charge within 90 days of receiving your parcel.

Where can I buy an advent calendar?

All the advent calendars are available to buy on the Lego website.

You can also use the Lego website to check the in-store availability of each item.

Underneath the “add to bag” button, select “check store stock” and you can enter your city or postcode to find your nearest Lego store. It will then let you know what the stock availability is at that store.

While the green tick indicates that a store does have a specific item, you should be aware that “items sell at varying rates and this is not a guarantee that the item will remain in stock for an extended period of time”.