The LEGO Creator theme consists of a variety of subthemes that revolve around sets that focus on buildings, creatures, vehicles, robots and recently more specialized sets such as botanical and even the Chinese New Year. Many of these sets have fallen under the 3-in-1 label which include instructions in a single set to provide multiple alternative models. Originally created in 2001 with a focus on larger bucket sets, the LEGO Creator theme has expanded outside just bricks to later include minifigures.
2012 LEGO Sets
2012 was a very important year for LEGO license themes, namely, the contract with Lucasfilm was renewed to extend Star Wars sets until at least 2022. The LEGO Group also celebrated its 80th anniversary in August of that year. 2012 also marked the year for one of the largest number of new and important themes being released which included The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Marvel Super Heroes, DC Super Heroes, Monster Fighters, Friends and LEGO Friends. With the introduction of all these new themes LEGO did discontinue a number of beloved themes in 2012 which included Alien Conquest, Atlantis, Pharaoh's Quest, Kingdoms and Harry Potter which did make a return six-years later, thankfully.