The Our Generation Advent Calendar

I'm back with the second in this year's series of advent calendar reviews!  Last week I looked at a new My Life As doll and the advent calendar from that brand, and today I'll be looking at an Our Generation doll and her advent calendar.

I was fortunate to have Lurkins write a guest review about Our Generation dolls in September of 2022, otherwise my last interaction with these toys would have been way back in 2014.  Yikes.  So, big thanks to Lurkins for keeping me reasonably up-to-date.  Still, I was eager to look at a current Our Generation character and see for myself what the quality is like.  Also, this brand has the most accessible advent calendar for 18-inch dolls on the market right now:

Our Generation doll, Aubrie ($23.99).

I haven't purchased an Our Generation doll in over a decade, but that doesn't mean that I don't look at them in the store pretty frequently.  In fact, I decided to stop by Target this week to see what kind of options are available for the holidays.

The Our Generation aisle is impressive!

There's a great selection of dolls on the top shelf (no doubt to protect the open-faced boxes from children's curious hands...) and tons of accessories in a lot of different price categories.

I found the birthday set (with cake) that I referenced during the My Life As review:

There are a bunch of little mystery sets, too, which I found especially tempting.  I covet these blind box lunch bags for $9.99:

There were a lot of outfit packs and smaller accessory sets in the $20-$30 range:

And even some pets!

The pets include horses, which I haven't seen at Target in a while.  There's a small white foal for $22.99:

This horse has freaky blue eyes, though:

There's a larger white horse with rainbow tinsel in its mane:

And more normal eyes.

That horse is pretty and seems well-priced at $39.99, but the tinsel looks like a nightmare of tangles waiting to happen.

I prefer this pinto horse with a regular mane:

There's also a Shetland pony available for $25, but she wasn't in stock at my store:

She cracks me up.

For $25, if she'd been in stock, I would have left Target as a proud Shetland pony mom.

I reviewed an articulated Our Generation horse many years ago, I think around Christmas time.  He had strange coloring, but the articulation was such a nice feature.  I wish the current horses had joints.  I also liked the soft and articulated Paradise horses, but I don't think they're being made anymore.  Sigh.

Anyway, the big ticket items were things like this school room for $164.99:

And the Gourmet Kitchen Set:

I reviewed an earlier version of this set in 2013, and remember that it cost $61.99 and came with a doll and a book.  I freaked out at first because the kitchen I saw at Target has a $129.99 price tag beneath it, but that's actually for the ice cream truck.  The kitchen costs $69.99, which is pretty close to the 2013 price.  

I wonder if the kitchen still has the same number of pieces, though?  I remember being blown away by everything in that 2013 set:

Our Generation Gourmet Kitchen set from 2013.

Judging by the promotional shot of all the contents, the new kitchen comes with far fewer items than the one I reviewed:

Shrinkflation.

That's too bad.  The pink color is pretty, though.

There's another slightly less expensive ($54.99) kitchen set without a fridge:

This isn't packaged in a particularly appealing way, but the promos make it look nice, with some fun little accessories:

There were two Our Generation vehicles in stock at my store:

Of these two, it was the ice cream truck (which costs $129.99) that caught my eye.  It looks amazing:

Look at all of those ice cream treats!

I'm drooling.

Online, there's also a food truck set that costs slightly less at $109.99:

The large set that I was hoping to see in person is the Coffee Shop:

Love. It.

The fact that it wasn't in stock probably saved me from spending $120 that I don't have.

I like the smaller food-themed accessories, too, like this $16.99 breakfast set:

And this shopping cart:

The cart looks full of groceries, but a lot of that work is being done by molded plastic:

There actually aren't very many grocery items included, but there's decent variety:

Last but not least, the dolls themselves were very fun to look at, and my favorite was probably this brunette, Nancy, in a poodle dress:

There are some fancier (and more expensive) dolls, too, like this school girl set for $39.99:

I love her shirt.

It's hard to tell in the store, but I think many of the $40 Our Generation dolls have wire armature in their arms and legs.  This girl, named Emily, clearly has bendable legs, and her description says that her arms bend, too:

So, while the My Life As dolls appear to have dropped the wire armature, Our Generation is still including it.

The doll I chose is from the less expensive $29.99 category, so she doesn't have armature in her limbs.  I actually found her on sale for $23.99, so she was less expensive than My Life As Peyton.  

I picked her mostly because of her red hair and freckles.  Her name is Aubrie:

Aubrie came in a dark pink, open-faced box.  One side of the box has some text boxes, while the other is decorated with hearts:

The back of the box has a small photo of Aubrie and a lot of text:

At the top is the Our Generation story, which is the same as what it was on Lurkins' doll boxes in 2022, but different from what was on the boxes in 2013:

Underneath that, there's a real girl's story.  This time it's Ashlee, who founded Ashlee's Toy Closet, an organization that collects toys for victims of disasters and for people who can't afford birthday presents:

I saw Ashlee's story on an Our Generation Retro box back in 2014.  Maybe Battat should find some new stories at this point?  

The nice thing is, I looked up Ashlee's Toy Closet and it appears to be still active!  That's very impressive.  Way to go, Ashlee!

As always, the box is made out of recycled materials and is 100% recyclable:

Way to go, Battat!

Aubrie comes in a ballet outfit with a long tutu, a pink leotard, and an off-the-shoulder sweater:

I don't generally choose dolls with ballet outfits, since I was terrible at ballet myself, and prefer more versatile clothing.  But redheaded Our Generation dolls are pretty rare, and I couldn't resist this girl's freckles!

Compare those freckles to my very first Our Generation doll, Charlotte (2013):

I thought Charlotte's freckles were pretty great when I first got her, but Aubrie's are so much better!  And I love the new face mold, too.

Here's Aubrie from the side:

And from the back:

Her huge bow headband came plastic-tied to her head, and one of the first things I did was snip it out.  The ties left behind three little holes in the soft pink fabric:

Here's a bow-free look at Aubrie's face:

Her freckles really are excellent.  They span most of her face, have realistic shapes, a random distribution, and good color.

Contrast those to Shannon's freckles from 2022:

Those are nice, too, just not as numerous--and of course real people have lots of different freckle patterns, so I appreciate the variety.

Aubrie's eyes are a lovely medium blue color, with dark iris lines.  She has applied lashes on her upper lids and no lower lashes:

When Aubrie is lying down, her eyes close:

She has medium-sized eyebrows with some nice hair detail, and her lips are a natural rose color.

I don't want to go into too much detail with the outfit, but I was curious about the quality:

The knitted top is very pretty, but it's extremely lightweight, which is hard to show in pictures:

The construction is fine, but the edges are not reinforced, so there are lots of fraying areas:

Underneath the top, you can see the pink leotard more clearly:

This has a very narrow seam allowance around the neckline, and so the inside edge has flipped up in some places:

The tutu came sewn to the leotard with white thread, so I had to cut it off:

Here's the leotard on its own:

Aubrie's pink shoes are made out of vinyl, but they're molded to look like ballet slippers:

I like the realistic stitching pattern on the soles of the shoes:

Overall, the outfit looks good, but the quality could be better in some areas.

Aubrie's body looks the same as the other Our Generation dolls that I've owned, and as I mentioned before, her limbs are hard vinyl without an internal armature:

Here she is from the back:

She has what looks like a few loose stitches in her back seam, but nothing is falling apart:

For more information these dolls' articulation and flexibility, you can refer to my earlier reviews.  The review of Charlotte is particularly detailed.

Overall, the body is well made, with good balance, fair articulation, and a satisfying weight in my hands.

Aubrie's hair came tied back into a ponytail, but I was eager to take it down:

Her hair is a beautiful color, with different shades of red mixed in.  The texture has a fair amount of wave, but can still be easily brushed:

I was surprised to find a full rooted part that goes all of the way down the back of Aubrie's head:

But in the areas to either side of the part, the hair is rooted more sparsely and the scalp is visible:

Rather than putting Aubrie back into her ballet outfit, I decided to get her some everyday clothing to wear for the rest of the review.  I put together an ensemble from the Wonderfully Warm set:

Our Generation Wonderfully Warm outfit ($16.99).

And the Ready to Roam set, which has a pair of pants that I wanted:

Our Generation Ready to Roam outfit ($12.99).

Here's Aubrie, ready for winter!

I'm ready for an advent calendar!

And here she is alongside My Life As Peyton:

Our Generation Aubrie (left) and My Life As Peyton (right).

Peyton is not a bad doll, and I had fun with her during the last review, but she really can't compare to Aubrie.  Seeing them side-by-side like this, I'm struck by how large and round Peyton's head is, and how clunky her arm position and hand mold are by comparison.  Given that the two dolls cost approximately the same amount of money, Aubrie is by far the better choice.  She's a beautiful doll.

But let's see how Aubrie's advent calendar compares to the My Life As version!

First of all, this calendar is huge.  It's almost as tall as Aubrie herself:

Aubrie with the Our Generation advent calendar ($27.99).

Here it is next to the My Life As calendar, which felt pretty big at the time, but now seems tiny:

Our Generation advent calendar (in back) and My Life As advent calendar (front).

In terms of original retail price, the Our Generation calendar is about $8 more expensive than the My Life As calendar.  But given that the My Life As calendar is discontinued and quite expensive on the secondary market, Our Generation is currently the more affordable and available option.

The back of the box has some large photos of dolls enjoying Christmas, but it also has silhouettes of the included items.  This will ruin all of the surprises!

Don't look at the box, Aubrie!

For anyone who really wants to see, here's a clearer picture:

Don't look at the box, Emily!

I worked very hard not to look at that part of the box.

Apparently I was so distracted by avoiding that side of the box that I forgot to take a clear picture of the other side.  So here's the promotional photo to fill in:

In the top left corner it says "discover a fun NEW ITEM each day for your doll!"

And the calendar counts down to Christmas Eve, so there'll be 24 surprises.

The bottom left hand of the box advertises a coloring page on the inside flap:

I opened the flap and cut off the coloring page, which includes a horse and sleigh!

I would have loved coloring that horse when I was a kid.

With the flap cut away, all of the perforated windows are exposed:

They're all heart-shaped, but with different sizes and styles that can make some of the numbers hard to find.

I actually struggled right off the bat, because number one is pretty small and obscure.  Can you find it?

Here it is, at the very top of the box:

I like how the perforated tabs for opening each door are in the shape of a half heart.  It's a cute touch, and also makes the doors easy to open.

Inside the first door I found...

A snowman snow globe!  It's so cute!

I mean, there's no liquid or snow inside, but making this thing water tight would have been a tough challenge for such an inexpensive calendar.

The little snowman has detail all around his body: 

Although there's some errant red paint on his carrot nose that doesn't look great: 

The snow globe is a good size for Aubrie, and I like that her arms can move close enough together to hold it nicely!

That was an excellent first surprise!  There's clearly going to be a Christmas theme, though, at least for some of the items.  That's fun in the moment, but not as versatile for year round play.

I wonder what's behind door number two?

There's something metallic and heart-shaped...

It's a pair of snap barrettes:

These hold Aubrie's hair nicely, as long as they're not trying to grip too much hair:

I find these easier to use when I slide the open edge in towards the back of Aubrie's head, but then the heart shape is upside down:

That was a slightly underwhelming surprise, but I prefer these metal barrettes to the plastic ones that came with the My Life As set:

My Life As plastic barrette (left) and Our Generation metal barrette (right).

Also, they're not Christmas-themed, so they can be used any time.

Door number three is very small, but sometimes good things come in small packages:

All I see here is a bag that's plastic-tied to the back of the box:

I also noticed at this point that by opening some of the doors, I was causing stress on other perforated edges.  So the bottom of door eighteen is coming loose...and there's something sliding out of the compartment next to door three:

I need to be more careful from now on.

Inside the bag I found a lovely little bracelet!

It's an elastic band with clear plastic stars all around.  Aubrie seems to love it!

It fits me perfectly!

And, again, this is an accessory that can be used all year round.

Door number four is right underneath the first door:

Inside, I found a very fancy little candle:

This is cute, and I like the contrast between the translucent pink holder and the gold base:

There's even a small molded wick at the top of the candle, but of course it isn't functional:

This is Christmas-themed, I guess?  Whether or not it is, I don't see a lot of play value here.  It's mostly decorative:

We could take it and go caroling!

If the candle had a light inside, I'd be more impressed.

Door number five is marked by a cheerful yellow heart that was easy to find:

This is a big door, too, and it contained...

A pair of shoes!  Who doesn't need another pair of shoes?

These are mostly brown, but they have working ankle straps that are covered in glitter.

They fit, and happen to go nicely with Aubrie's new pants!

Score.

Okay, that was a good (and useful) surprise.  I'm feeling optimistic going into door number six!

Oh, but this is the door next to three, where the contents are trying to sneak out:

I ripped off the door to expose the whole thing:

Gotcha!

And it's a letter to Santa:

This is a cute idea, and I love the stamps and postmark at the top.  I was eager to see what Aubrie wants for Christmas!

I opened up the envelope and found...

A mostly-blank piece of paper.  It has a greeting at the top, and a closing at the bottom, but no Christmas list.  I guess it's left blank so that kids can fill in their own wishes, which is a good idea.  I don't have much on my list, so I felt some disappointment at the empty letter.

Also, why does it say "Dear Sants?" or is that "Dear Sands??"  I can't tell:

The coolest part is that there's another postmark-type thing at the top of the letter, and this has an almost-real looking address in Finland--near the Arctic Circle.

I had to Google that address, and it's the official address for Santa Claus!

Apparently Santa gets about 30,000 letters per day at this time of year.  I'm not at all surprised!   Also, I went from feeling neutral about the letter to being completely charmed.  The designers at Battat clearly put a lot of thought into this.

And Aubrie has already filled in her wishes (which I suspect include a Shetland pony and a mystery lunch box, but how would I know?) and is on her way to the post office:

I hope Sands gets my letter in time...

All right!  This is going pretty well.  Let's see what's hiding behind door number seven.  It's a big one:

Oh.  It's a sheet of four winter stickers:

I used to love stickers when I was a kid, so this is a fine surprise, but it's not as interesting as the letter to Santa:

Moving right along to door number eight:

This door opened to reveal something made out of fabric, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was:

Mittens?  Socks?

Socks was on the right track.  It's a stocking!

It's pretty lightweight (definitely not fuzzy or knitted) but I like the pattern, and it can hold several of the other items:

Don't drop that snow globe, Aubrie!

Door number nine is even bigger than door eight, so I allowed myself to get excited.  What could it be?

Oh, my gosh.  It's ice skates!

Amazing.

They're made out of white vinyl and have working laces:

These are fantastic.  However, my first thought was that there'd be no way for Aubrie to stand upright on her own while wearing these skates.

And yet, she can!  She actually balances quite well:

Skating is easy!

Well, I don't know about that!  But the skates are cute.  They're so realistic.

Here they are from the side, where you can see the grey blades, complete with little picks at the front:

It's hard to imagine a better surprise than that.  I'm pretty psyched.

I noticed that there were some other fun shoes in the accessory packs at Target, too.  Like these fuzzy-looking boots:

And these roller skates:

So maybe footwear is a strength for Our Generation.

Okay, I'll stop gushing about the skates so that we can look behind door number ten:

It was a little hard to see what this was right away...

It's a clear mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream:

The mug has a painted pink heart on one side, but the paint is bleeding, and the seam down the middle is too obvious:

I'm broken hearted about this.

Also, there's a messy area on the bottom of the mug where presumably the hot chocolate section was glued in place:

Ew.

I'm a big fan of hot chocolate and whipped cream, but this mug isn't making me feel thirsty.

Maybe Aubrie will drink it?  She can hold the mug well, which is a good start:

I might just lick off the whipped cream.

I haven't been keeping perfect track, but it feels like we've gotten a lot of winter-themed items that aren't necessarily Christmas things.  It's a good balance.

Door eleven's heart is decorated with snowflakes, which keeps me in a winter mood:

This door opened to reveal...

Some cookies and a plate!

There's a gingerbread man and a snowflake cookie, and each has both molded and painted decorations.

The cookies fit side-by-side on the blue plate, and pair nicely with the hot chocolate:

Now I'm starting to feel hungry.

I wonder if the surprise behind door number twelve will keep this winter theme going?

Not really, no:

It's a yellow comb:

Combs and brushes are fairly boring surprises, if you ask me, but this comb is actually large enough to be functional.  It's almost big enough to work for my own hair.

Still, I was eager to move on to door number thirteen:

We're back in Christmas mode with this surprise!

It's two pieces of candy: a red and green candy cane, and a peppermint swirl lollipop:

Compare the quality and detail in this lollipop to what we saw in the My Life As calendar:

My Life As lollipop (left) and Our Generation lollipop (right).

The Our Generation candy is much more appealing.

Can I eat both of them now, please?

Somehow I blew right past the halfway point, and we're already on door number fourteen!

This compartment held another bag attached to the back of the box, and I see a silver chain:

It's a lovely necklace!

The necklace has a real metal chain with a clasp in back, and there's a clear crystal (plastic) pendant that looks really pretty and matches the bracelet.

The necklace looks great on Aubrie, just not with the fluffy neckline of her winter coat:

This is another really nice surprise.  It's a beautiful gift with a design that hints at winter while staying flexible.  It feels special.  I'd totally wear a necklace like this!

With the combination of jewelry, hair care items, shoes, and treats, I have no idea what to expect next, and that makes the experience fun.

What've you got for me, door fifteen?

It looks like a box of Christmas tree ornaments:

These look really convincing!

The off-white balls are packaged within a molded plastic shell that pulls out of the red box.  And the balls can be removed from the shell:

I like these because they remind me of the ornaments we had when I was a kid.  My mom kept them all stored carefully in their original boxes year after year--and those boxes looked just like this one.

On the other hand, I don't see a great way to play with these balls.  There are no hooks to actually hang them on a tree...and no tree to hang them on.  I don't honestly expect a miniature Christmas tree (or even a wreath) to be one of the final surprises.

I'm not sure how I'll break the news to Aubrie, though, because she looks excited to start decorating:

Where's the tree?

I'm sure there's no tree behind this next door, but it might be something even better!

Or maybe not.  It looks like another drink:

This is different from the hot chocolate drink we saw earlier, but it has the same style of transparent mug:

I'm not exactly sure what the drink supposed to be, but there's a long straw (or cinnamon stick?) and a brown flower (clove?) floating on the surface:

Maybe it's mulled cider?

This drink looks more appetizing to me than the hot chocolate, perhaps because the liquid section is more realistic, and there isn't a huge glob of glue on one side:

Now Aubrie can have drinks with a friend.

Door number seventeen is one of the largest, so it's been tempting me for a while:

Oooh!  It looks like some kind of ice crown:

Maybe it's meant to be part of a costume for ice skating?  It would be amazing if we got a whole outfit!

The crown has a comb at one end, so it can be anchored in Aubrie's hair.  It doesn't stay in place very well unless the hair is secured into a ponytail or with a clip, though:

I'm an ice princess!

I'm sensing a wintery ice theme here, with some Christmas items thrown in.  That's a fun mix!

Door number eighteen is long and skinny, and had come partially open at the bottom from my previous efforts:

It looks like...a wand?

It's a gold plastic snowflake wand:

Perfect for the ice princess:

I'm turning you into a Shetland pony!

Door number nineteen is the smallest of them all.  It's hard to imagine what would fit in there:

In fact, the door is so small that I struggled to open it:

Do I see chocolate?

Yes!  It's a large bar of chocolate:

How did it fit into that tiny compartment?

The chocolate has a green cardboard wrapper that's removable.  In fact, the wrapper slides off way too easily.  

The underlying candy is made out of vinyl and looks suspiciously like the mulled cider:

That didn't slow Aubrie down, though:

I'll just try one little bite...

I can't believe we're at door number twenty already!  Only five doors left:

Behind door number twenty I found...

Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.

That's not good.  I wonder what happened?  I hope I don't have to resort to looking at those silhouettes on the box to see what I'm missing.

I searched the bottom of the box, as much as I could, and didn't see anything there, either:

I didn't want to ruin any of the other surprises, so I put number twenty out of my mind and moved on:

Door number twenty one did not disappoint!  It's a little Santa gnome:

Omg.

He's so funny!

He has lots of great molded detail, with a painted red suit and big black boots:

I like how his hands are clasped behind his back:

I don't see a lot of Santa gnomes here in New Jersey--or gnomes of any kind, for that matter.  I bet they're popular in Finland.

They're popular with me, too!

A Santa gnome is a hard act to follow, but here it goes:

Door number twenty two revealed...a pie!

Yum.

And wow, this is a nice pie!  It's got wonderful molded lattice detail on the top, with red filling peeking through:

Not only is the pie super realistic, but it comes in three pieces: the pan, the pie, and a slice that can be separated:

Here's a closer look at the individual piece of pie, where you can see all of the molded cherries inside:

Okay, now I can't decide if the ice skates are my favorite surprise or if the pie is!

Never mind.  The pie is definitely my favorite.  Look at how much better it is than the My Life As pie: 

Our Generation cherry pie (left) and My Life As cherry pie (right).

It literally looks like a real pie next to a toy.

It's going to be very hard for any of these last surprises to top the pie, but let's see what happens.  Here's number twenty three:

This door opened to reveal what looks like a card or a box:

It's a Christmas card!  It says "Merry Christmas" on one side:

And "Joyeux Noël" on the other side:

And the inside is blank:

I really wish there was something written on the inside, but I suppose the reasoning is the same as it was for the letter to Santa: let kids fill the space with their own words.  But the Santa letter was clever for other reasons, this is just a blank card.  Ho hum.

As I was looking for the last door, I found the missing surprise!  It was stuck just underneath door eighteen:

I see you!

It's a pair of red glasses with a little green bow on one side:

These classes are lighter weight than the red My Life As glasses that we saw last time.  They also have plastic lenses:

Our Generation glasses (left) and My Life As glasses (right).

To me, the My Life As glasses are better.  First of all, they feel more durable in my hands, with thicker plastic and ear pieces that move smoothly.  Also, I like the lack of lenses because the doll's eyes are easy to see.  The plastic lenses obscure Aubrie's pretty eyes:

These glasses don't sit very securely on Aubrie's face, either--they're crooked, which isn't a problem that I had with Peyton's glasses.  Last of all, the addition of that green bow restricts these glasses to being used during the holidays.  Undecorated red glasses, like Peyton's, can be used any day of the year.

All right, folks, this is it!  We're down the to the very last door:

This is a pretty big door, and it opened to reveal...

A Santa hat!

It's cheaply made, with thin material and sloppy stitching, but it's a cute idea for a finale.  I love how festive it looks on Aubrie:

Now I just need some reindeer.  Or a Shetland pony.

Here are all twenty four surprises that were in this calendar:

The stand-outs here are the ice skates, the jewelry (especially that necklace!), the snow globe, and the gorgeous pie.  If you packaged those five items as a gift set, I'd happily pay at least $10 for it.  The rest of the items, plus the fun element of surprise, make this worth its purchase price for me.

Other favorites in this set are the stocking, the Santa letter, the brown shoes, the Santa hat, the Santa gnome, and the ornaments.  And I enjoyed opening most of the other items, too, even if I don't see myself using them in the future.  The only real duds, for me, are the blank Christmas card and the stickers...and maybe the comb, although it's more useful than most of its kind.

Aubrie gathered together some of the best items to make sure we keep them:

I'm obsessed with that pie.  I adore miniature food, and the pie is really well done:

Here, have a slice!

In fact, Aubrie decided she would bundle up and go to Peyton's house to show her what a real pie looks like give her the pie as a Christmas gift:

Over the leaves and through the yard to Peyton's house I go...

I hope she likes it!

I'm sure she will, Aubrie.  I'm sure she will.

I only wish I had another one for myself!

Bottom line?  I had a better time with this review than I did with the last one.  Part of that is because the current Our Generation dolls are really great.  Aubrie is easily the best doll that I've ever owned from this company, and her price was very reasonable--especially on sale for under $25.  I love her face mold, her luxurious long red hair, and especially her incredible full face of freckles.  She is a delight, and will stay in my house as an ambassador for her brand.

The other reason that I had so much fun this time around is that the calendar delivers a very solid experience.  First of all, it's impressively large, and would make an excellent gift.  I also like the coloring feature on the front flap.  With the toy surprises, there's a general winter/ice theme, with a few (six or seven?) overtly Christmas items in the mix.  The Christmas-themed surprises might not be useful as year-round toys, but they add some seasonal excitement to the experience.  I'd say that the majority of the surprises were good--either things like the shoes and barrettes that can be used for daily play, or fun little holiday treats like the Santa gnome, Santa hat, or stocking.  A few of the surprises, like the jewelry, ice skates, and pie, are especially great.  I only felt disappointed twice, once with the stickers and again with the blank holiday card.  And I bet kids would appreciate the stickers more than I did.

There were a few opportunities for direct comparison with the My Life As calendar.  The barrettes, candy, glasses, and pie are all things that appeared in both sets.  The barrettes, candy, and pie are all higher-quality with the Our Generation calendar.  The pie, in particular, is in a totally different league.  However, the glasses in the My Life As set are better-made and more versatile than the Our Generation glasses.

Here are the basics:

Best toy: the pie!

Worst toy: the blank card

Number of okay surprises: 16

Number of great surprises: 6

Duds: 2

Excitement rating, out of 10: 8

Aesthetic rating, out of 10: 6

Aubrie and her calendar cost about $52.  My Life As Peyton and her calendar originally cost almost exactly the same, but with the current mark-up on the calendar, they're now closer to $70.  And I definitely had more fun with the Our Generation toys.  So spending more doesn't necessarily deliver a better experience.  We'll put that statement to the test big time next week, when I look at an American Girl doll and her advent calendar.  See you then!