It’s not often I find I’ve missed coming across a winter village theme set. I mean, you have seen our Ultimate List posts, right? But as it turns out, I was completely oblivious to the very, very, VERY rare LEGO Elf Cafe.
Back in 2016, LEGO Certified Professional Andy Hung, teamed up with then Langham Place (now known as Cordis, Hong Kong), to create this one-of-a-kind set. The set was part of a White Christmas Exhibition the Langham Place shopping mall hosted in 2016.
The set is so rare, you had to spend 5000HKD (at the time that was $750 USD) just for the opportunity to purchase it. Once you got your ticket, then you had to spend another 599HKD (which was around $80 USD) to purchase the set itself.
So for those of you doing the math, you’re looking at approximately $830 USD for this set… and that was then. I can tell you back in 2016, that was way too rich for our blood. And honestly, even now. We just aren’t those types of big spenders when it comes to buying LEGO sets.
Is Money The Only Reason It’s Rare?
Well, no. As it turns out, sets designed by LEGO Certified Professionals are produced in super limited quantities (500 sets or less), which makes them some of the rarest sets to collect. This one is no different.
How Did You Hear About It After All This Time?
As it turns out, I ran across a post in our favorite Facebook group, Fans of LEGO Winter Village, where one of the members, Willy Ben Ten, mentioned he created an interpretation of the set as best they could. When I originally saw the post, I thought it was their MOC, but Willy was very clear to state that it was not his original design. And that’s when I started digging into where the set came from.
How Do I Get My Hands On The LEGO Elf Cafe?
We knew you’d ask that.
Well, you could always try to locate one online. However, I just tried searching for one and could not find it. I found one solitary mention of it on a Dutch marketplace… and that was back in 2017.
However, you’re in luck because Willy also created a set of instructions you can download from Bricklink. You can download the parts list from Rebrickable.
Update 11/30/2023 – We also had an amazing member of the Facebook group upload instructions for the set:
His version has a few slight differences, which another member already pointed out. Aside from that, it is appears to be just about spot on for the original build. Definitely nothing to snub at all!
He also created a custom vinyl sticker sheet that has an “Elf Cafe” logo for the door, as well as other designs. If you’re interested in supporting his efforts, he’s selling those sticker sheets. Available in white, red, black or blue, they can be mailed to you in the USA for just $10! You can reach out to him on his Facebook page.