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Best LEGO sets 2016 Christmas shopping guide

With the holiday shopping season officially on us this weekend, it’s time to tackle that Christmas shopping list. If you have a LEGO fan on your list, you know what they want for Christmas; more LEGO! And the good thing about LEGO fans, is that you can’t go wrong. Even if you are not exactly sure what they would like, there is no such thing as a bad LEGO set. For a LEGO fan, any LEGO set is awesome. Even if you buy a duplicate of something they already have, they will love to get the extra parts! 🙂

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The only thing to look out for is making sure you are not buying a “clone-brand” instead of LEGO. There are many companies making inferior quality products that are imitating the LEGO brand, hoping that uninformed parents and grandparents will accidentally pick those up instead of genuine LEGO. In fact, they go as far as imitating the color-scheme and box design of real LEGO sets, and their products are often placed in the same isle right next to LEGO! Many LEGO fans despise these brands and would be quite disappointed. The only thing you need to do in this regard is check the box for either the LEGO or DUPLO logo (DUPLO are larger bricks for children under 3 years of age). These are the only two brands LEGO makes. Of course LEGO has sub-themes like LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Super Heroes, LEGO Technic, LEGO Friends, etc., but you will always see the red square LEGO logo displayed on the box.

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So now that you can relax and know that all LEGO is good LEGO (as long as it is real LEGO), let’s look at what is available this year that you might consider getting for the LEGO fan in your family or for your LEGO-crazed friends. Below you will find helpful links to recommended products.

âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR FAMILIES: “The family that builds together stays together.” For many people LEGO is a family affair. This is especially true where the parents also grew up with LEGO and they appreciate the educational and creative aspects of LEGO, along with the family bonding experience. If you are Christmas shopping for a family like this, you probably already know what aspect of LEGO they are into; perhaps they have a giant LEGO City layout in the basement, or LEGO Star Wars sets all over the living room, or a huge LEGO castle is taking up their dining-room table, or they set up a LEGO village and train around the Christmas tree every year. If your budget allows it, I would recommend getting a larger LEGO set for this family that everyone can enjoy. Good candidates are:

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âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR BOYS: If you know their wish-list, or the LEGO theme they like to build, get something that would fit that. For a lot of boys LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Ninjago and LEGO Nexo Knights are the rage, so anything from these themes would make a great Christmas gift. Also, the LEGO Creator line is excellent for kids who like to build their own designs. These sets are mostly priced in the $10-$50 range, so are quite affordable:

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âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR GIRLS: If you are Christmas shopping for a girl who is already into LEGO Friends, you can’t go wrong with any of the currently available sets. There is a great selection available in the $10-$50 range. LEGO Elves and LEGO Disney Princess are two other themes that use mini-dolls instead of regular LEGO minifigures. Girls also tend to like the LEGO Creator houses and other sets that are not centered on conflict:

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âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR TEENS: LEGO shopping for teens is a bit more challenging (I guess shopping for anything for teenagers is challenging). First of all, make sure they are still into LEGO. Even kids who have been building with LEGO all their life, once they hit their teens other pursuits will likely take up their interest. However this is not true for all teens; many of them will continue the LEGO hobby, and in fact take it much more seriously with designing their own LEGO creations with astounding skill and creativity. This can lead them to a future career in architecture, engineering, design, robotics, art, programming, or even landing a job at LEGO. If the teen you are shopping for is on their way out of the LEGO hobby I would suggest one of the excellent LEGO books available from No Starch Press that may rekindle their interest, or if they are still deeply involved with LEGO there are many LEGO sets specifically designed for teens. Good candidates are:

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âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR ADULTS: As more than one generation grew up with LEGO and continued the hobby in their adulthood, it became obvious that LEGO is not just a childhood toy, but can become a lifetime hobby. The many adult LEGO fan-sites, blogs and forums with thousands of members, and LEGO conventions all over the world, are a testimony of the thriving adult LEGO fan community. LEGO has responded to their adult fan-base by releasing LEGO sets specifically targeting adults. These are usually very large sets with complex building techniques and intricate details – things that would be too overwhelming for a child to build or pay attention to. Adult oriented LEGO sets are more expensive too, in the $100-$500 range, however there are also smaller sets that adults would appreciate:

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âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR GRANDPARENTS: LEGO has been around long enough that there are fans of the brand who are grandparents themselves. And grandparents deserve gifts too! Especially if they are fun grandparents who are into LEGO! They would likely appreciate the same LEGO sets as adults, but there is also something else I would recommend for them; LEGO books. Older LEGO fans have likely seen it all, built it all, even have it all, but they can still get inspiration from LEGO books that share amazing LEGO creations or delves into LEGO’s long history:

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âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR CO-WORKERS: You may be working with someone who is a LEGO-nut. Perhaps you have not seen their whole LEGO collection and know exactly what LEGO theme they are into, but you can get them something funny and LEGO related that fits in the office:

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âž¡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR YOUR BOSS: Yes, your boss may be into LEGO too! Or perhaps you are the one who is known as the LEGO geek, and you want to surprise your boss with something from your hobby:

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âž¡ THE BEST SMALL LEGO SETS (UNDER $20): If your budget is small but would still like to surprise a LEGO fan, or you are just looking for LEGO stocking-stuffers here are some ideas:

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âž¡ THE BEST LARGE LEGO SETS (OVER $100): These are the best of the best LEGO sets, mostly recommended for teen and adult builders, although some younger kids may like them too. If money is not an issue, any LEGO fan would be very happy with these sets. Here are the best of the currently available large LEGO sets:

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Again, as I have mentioned, there is no such a thing as a bad LEGO set, and LEGO fans would appreciate any gift that would enhance their hobby. These are just some guidelines, in case you don’t know where to start. I hope it helps out in your Christmas LEGO shopping! Also, if you have your own suggestions, feel free to share in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

LEGO SHOP IN USA: Online LEGO Shop USA
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LEGO SHOP IN CANADA: Online LEGO Shop Canada
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LEGO SHOP IN UK: Online LEGO Shop UK
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{ 11 comments… add one }
  • PrashBricks November 24, 2016, 11:02 AM

    Thanks for some ideas!

  • PrashBricks November 24, 2016, 11:02 AM

    Do you have tips fot €20,- city sets?

    • admin November 24, 2016, 12:45 PM

      It depends on what kind of sets you like. Personally I prefer small LEGO City vehicles because they go well with the Modular Buildings. There are a number of good ones available right now, and at least in the US, the 2017 City sets are also now available.

      And of course there are the LEGO City Fire and Police sets, which are very popular with kids. I also like the LEGO City Volcano exploration sets. Even the small ones are good looking and have some fun play-features. 🙂

      • PrashBricks November 24, 2016, 2:42 PM

        Thanks for answering, I mostely like the vechicles to, because they go well with most of the moc’s!

        • PrashBricks November 24, 2016, 2:43 PM

          I still remeber the awesome lego arctic series, but I don’t think they are still available.

  • Rob November 25, 2016, 11:00 AM

    See, now that you’ve said, “there’s no such thing as a bad LEGO set,” part of me wants to get one of my nephews a Friends set. (Especially given the response one of them had when they saw I bought one for myself: “You have a Friends set?!?!” ) Part of me wants to, to just see what his reaction would be. 🙂

    • admin November 25, 2016, 11:45 AM

      There are actually some LEGO Friends sets that are really liked by both boys and girls. The Amusement Park Roller Coaster and Hot Dog Van are a couple of recent ones. Also, LEGO Elves have many fans from both genders. But yeah, probably getting a mostly pink box of bricks for a boy who doesn’t like pink wouldn’t be a good idea. 🙄

    • Sarah November 26, 2016, 1:10 PM

      My 8 yr old son has Friends sets on his wishlist–he likes the amusement park sets they have out right now in particular. Similarly, his sister is a big Star Wars and Ninjago fan alongside the Disney Princess sets. We don’t see much of a gender divide in this house.

      • admin November 26, 2016, 6:55 PM

        The kids in my family are like that too. Happy to mix all the different themes and minifigs/mini-dolls, animals, bigfigs, and even other toys. 🙂

  • Giza November 25, 2016, 12:33 PM

    Are there going to be more sales on cyber Monday? There are some good ones showing now, but I’m wondering if for online shopping I should wait until Monday.

    • admin November 25, 2016, 12:40 PM

      I answered your question in the other thread already, but it seems like LEGO is spreading out the sales more this year instead of listing them all on Monday. Since shipping is free, you can always place a second order if you see some more items going on sale. 😉

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