Winter Lights: A Family Tradition Built in LEGO

Every winter, BrickNerd is treated to an avalanche of snowy builds, but every so often, one stands out for its sense of storytelling. This beautifully layered winter scene by German builders Jojo and Manu (Flickr | Instagram) does exactly that, combining family traditions and forced perspective into a single landscape.

Inspired by Sámi culture of northern Scandinavia, the build draws you deep into a frozen northern world illuminated by the night sky. We spoke with Jojo and Manu about rediscovering LEGO, building annual winter MOCs for their children, and the techniques behind this striking scene.

The Start of a Tradition

Ann: Welcome to BrickNerd! It’s wonderful to meet you both. To start, could you tell us a bit about yourselves and how LEGO became part of your lives again?

Jojo and Manu: Thank you! We are Jojo and Manu, a couple of LEGO nerds from Germany. Like many others, we rediscovered LEGO during the pandemic. At the time, we were living in Lisbon, and Manu was going through a particularly stressful period at work.

One day around Christmas, while wandering the streets of Lisbon on his own, he stumbled upon a small LEGO store. Instantly, he was reminded of building and playing with LEGO as a child—and of the calm, almost meditative effect it once had on him. He bought a set that day, the first of many that would follow.

Jojo joined him in his new hobby, but quickly discovered that what she enjoyed most was creative building and making MOCs. Creating something new and completely different from a fixed set of pieces, and finding creative solutions to approximate reality, gives her particular joy.

Ann: This build feels like a true winter miracle, full of movement and atmosphere. How did this particular project come together?

Jojo and Manu: A few years ago, we began a small tradition each autumn: building a Christmas-themed LEGO project for our two children. In Germany, children count down the days until Christmas with an Advent calendar, opening one small door each day from December 1st to Christmas Eve.

What started as a simple LEGO Advent calendar with 24 hidden doors soon grew beyond its original idea and slowly evolved into one large MOC every year.

Inspiration from Sámi Culture

Ann: The scene feels deeply rooted in northern Scandinavian life. Can you tell us about the book that inspired this MOC and why it was such a meaningful reference for you?

Jojo and Manu: When Jojo was a child, her grandmother used to read her a book called “Life in Lapland.” Written by the Swedish artist, illustrator, and children’s author Bodil Hagbrink, the book describes the everyday life of the Sámi people in northern Scandinavia—a region that today would more accurately be referred to by its Sámi name, Sápmi.

The story centers on Marit-Inga, a six-year-old Sámi girl. Just as Jojo once did, our children now love this book and often play at being “Marit-Inga.”

The inspiration for our build came from a scene in which Marit-Inga’s parents travel across the nighttime tundra on snow scooters, pulling sleds with their dogs and a warmly bundled Marit-Inga.

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Above the vast snowy landscape stretches a star-filled sky, illuminated by the northern lights. Those interested in Sámi culture can find far more accurate and in-depth information at the Saami Council.

A Pretty Perspective

Ann: One of the most striking aspects of this build is the way you use scale to create depth, with figures changing size as they recede into the scene. How did you approach perspective when designing this layout?

Jojo and Manu: We watched LEGO Masters Australia together, where forced perspective was discussed frequently, which means the use of progressively smaller scales to simulate depth and distance. We thought, why not try it ourselves?

Our MOC is structured across a depth of 52 studs and divided into four distinct scale layers. The foreground is built on a larger scale, showing the family traveling on snow scooters and sleds.

The second layer uses a reduced scale and features a Sámi traveler with a reindeer sled.

Behind that, a smaller-scale vignette depicts a tent set within a birch grove.

The background layer is built at a micro scale, with reindeer herds reduced to just three elements per animal to enhance the sense of distance.

Adding Character

Ann: The characters themselves are especially compelling. How do you approach designing and modeling figures before translating them into LEGO at this larger scale?

Jojo and Manu: We didn’t have much experience building characters at a larger scale, as most of our previous MOCs were done in minifigure scale. Our process started with a lot of trial and error, to be honest – experimenting with shapes, proportions, and techniques directly in bricks. Along the way, we drew inspiration from many incredibly talented LEGO builders out there.

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Ann: Your charming characters look so realistic and colorful! Where did you draw inspiration for the costumes and character details?

Jojo and Manu: The color scheme and overall look are based on both the book and real Sámi clothing as depicted there.

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We also tried to echo the traditional colorful woven bands in the border at the bottom—of course only as an approximation, as the intricate patterns cannot be reproduced accurately at this scale.

Ann: Speaking of the environment from the snow textures to the overall composition, every element feels carefully considered. The snow looks absolutely outstanding! How long did it take to bring this project from idea to finished build?

Jojo and Manu: Fortunately, we have a very clear deadline: every year, the MOC has to be completely finished by the morning of December 1st. This deadline is a great source of motivation. This time, we started building in early November, although the idea and initial plans had already been in place beforehand. November was spent with many evenings of building LEGO together.

More Stories Yet to Come

Ann: Is working at this scale something you’re particularly familiar with, or did this project push you into new territory?

Jojo and Manu: So far, we have only built a few large-scale MOCs, most of them the Christmas-themed ones – for example, a Pirate Christmas Island last year, and in earlier years LEGO habitats and a mountain scene featuring a motorized chairlift.

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However, we have many ideas and several projects already in progress – it’s just a matter of finding the time to finish them. At the latest by next Christmas… :-)

Ann: Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful winter creation with us. We can’t wait to see what you build next!

Have you experimented with forced perspective or changing scales in your own MOCs? Let us know in the comments below.

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