Lion and Panda are 3 and (almost) 2 and quickly falling in love with Legos. I’m a big fan of Legos because they remind me of my own happy childhood days of building, but also because they’re open-ended toys that promote imagination and creativity. The kids love playing with Legos both in terms of building and imagantive play.
Here are gift ideas for Lego lovers, particularly the toddler Lego lover. Although we have Duplos that get quite a bit of use, I can see that they’re already moving into the world of Legos and so I’ve stuck with traditional Lego-type gifts in the list below. While I’ve included quite a few traditional Lego building toys, I’ve also listed various accessories, books, movies, storage systems and clothes.
1) Lego classic bricks – These are the Legos I remember from my own childhoood! Open-ended building fun, rather than themed sets.
2) Lego juniors Pixar Cars set – While I love Lego junior sets, I have to say that the Pixar Cars sets are much easier to build and follow the directions for our three-year old than some of the other Lego juniors sets. The pieces seem to be a little bigger and there are fewer of them per finished item, though they’re not as open-ended as some of the other sets. A great introduction to traditional Legos, though! Note that the recommended age is 4, but Lion (and his other 3-year-old friends) has had no problem following the instructions and putting them together.
3) Baseplate – Baseplates are essential for those open-ended constructions. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m intrigued by this roll-up silicone baseplate that you can travel with.
4) Lego Mighty Micros – These minifigures are smaller than traditional Legos, but I love that each box come with two different minifigures and vehicles so each of our kids can have one. Although our kids are technically too young for the recommended age by a couple of years, Lion’s friend has some and I don’t anticipate them being a problem if your children are past the stage where everything goes into their mouths.
5) More Lego juniors sets – If your little one has gotten the hang of the Pixar cars sets, I highly recommend this Fire Patrol Suitcase that one of Lion’s friends gave him for his birthday. The suitcase is adorable and any set that comes with minifigures is a huge hit in Lion’s book. I think our kids would also love this Ice Cream Truck, Vet Clinic or Superhero sets not only for building, but for imaginative play.
6) Lego Minifigures Blind Bags – Truthfully, I’m not the biggest fan of blind bags because they’re ridiculously expensive, comparatively. That said, kids love the surprise of tearing into a new bag and these would make great stocking stuffers. Of course, you could purchase one of the minifigures sets above and individually wrap the minifigures.
7) Lego building table – We already have a hidden train table that can be converted to a Lego building table if we put in some baseplates. If we didn’t, though, I’d seriously consider a Lego building table.
8) Lego costume hoodie – We are obsessed with costume hoodies and there seem to be an endless number of choices out there. You could pick this one from the Lego movie or this Ninjago hoodie.
9) Lego Advent Calendar – There are several different versions of the advent calendar and I have no doubt that our kids would be super excited to get a new Lego toy each day. That said, they are a bit pricey and you can make your own Lego advent calendar much cheaper from one or two small themed box sets. We’ll continue to do our books and beer advent calendar, but one of these Lego advent calendars would be a real treat for the kids.
10) Lego art prints – At some point, we’ll actually decorate the kids’ rooms and hang some prints. There are some great Lego prints available on Etsy.
11) Lego molds – Excellent for homemade gummies or ice cubes.
12) Lego vehicles – Along with the minifigures, the biggest hits have been any Lego things-that-go. Both Lion and Panda love putting minifigures on Lego motorcycles, but skateboards, cars, vans, trains and other vehicles are also big hits.
13) Lego City sets – Again, the age recommendation here is 5+ but they’re not significantly more difficult to put together than some of the Lego Juniors sets (depending on the set, of course). Lego City has some relatively inexpensive sets with all types of themes and usually come with at least a couple of minifigures.
14) Travel case – I made my own travel cases for Lion and Panda using a diaper wipe box (you could also use a small pencil box) and a baseplate. I absolutely love this travel case, though, because of the divided compartment storage.
15) Character costumes – As an addition to their dress-up collection, I got a great deal on some Nexo Knight and Ninjago costumes that are absolutely adorable. We basically just use the tops and gloves, though, because they’re so big on the kids.
16) Lego City Park Minifigures – If I could only make one recommendation for a Lego-related toy, I would absolutely pick a minifgures set. After passing a Lego store in a mall with Panda one day, we wandered in and he made a beeline for the play table. He instantly pulled minifigures pieces out of the bucket and started putting them together. Since then, I purchased a bunch of minifigures and Panda (who normally has about a five minute attention span for most things) can sit for an hour just taking apart and putting together the minifigures, then using them for pretend play with his brother. I love the diversity in this set, including a baby in a stroller and a person in a wheelchair.
17) Lego brick storage bin – One of Lion’s friends has this adorable storage bin that looks like a giant lego brick! They come in all different colors and would be a cute way to store a budding lego collection.
18) Stackable utensils – These are adorable, but I do worry our kids would be more interested in playing with them than using them to eat!
19) Lego-themed clothing – H&M has had a good selection of Lego-themed shirts this year and also has gloves and other accessories. I’ve also come across a few cute beanies.
20) Minifigure flashlight – Adorable minifigure flashlight!
21) Fantasy Minifigures Set – Pricier than the City Park set, but I can definitely see our kids loving this minifigure set because of all the fantasy characters. Looking for even more minifigures sets? Check out this beach one or community one.
23) Lego beginning reader books – What gift list wouldn’t be complete without some books? Lion has picked up many Lego-related beginning reader books from the library and these were probably his first introductions to Lego characters. There are Lego City, Ninjago, Star Wars, Superheroes, and more.
24) Character encyclopedias – Lion has really enjoyed various character encyclopedias that we’ve picked up from the library. With so many Lego themed sets, there are a number of Lego character encyclopedias including DC Comics Superheroes, Star Wars, Ninjago, Nexo Knights and Lego Friends.
25) Lego sticker collection – Lego characters in sticker form is probably Panda’s form of heaven.
pomelo / 5621 posts
DS is 4.5 and loves his lego. While he has some sets we prefer the classic boxes. Leaves more to the imagination. Also, the idea books are easy enough for him to follow and build himself.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
themed lego sets are the bane of my existence. the kids put them together, take them apart and mix up all the pieces. classic legos forever!