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Best LEGO sets 2017 Christmas shopping guide

by on November 23, 2017
in LEGO Sales & Deals

Happy holidays! This is a wonderful time to be thankful for friends, family, and all the blessings in our lives, as well as for the hardships that make us stronger and bring us closer with others. This weekend is also the official beginning of the holiday shopping season, which can sound stressful and commercial, or could be an opportunity to really connect with people and understand what makes them happy. For LEGO fans the answer to that question is very easy; more LEGO. And the good thing is that even if you are not exactly sure which LEGO set they would like, you can’t go wrong with any of them. There is really no such thing as a LEGO set that doesn’t fit, as the parts are always useful. So now that you can relax and know that all LEGO is good LEGO (as long as it is official LEGO brand and not some imitator), let’s look at what’s available and what might be a good fit for your LEGO-crazed family and friends. 🙂

➡ 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 when the parents also grew up with LEGO and they appreciate the educational and creative aspects of the hobby, along with the family bonding experience. If you are Christmas shopping for a family like this, you probably already know what kind of LEGO sets they are into; perhaps they have a LEGO City layout in their basement, or LEGO Star Wars sets all over the living room, or they are into building castles, or robots, or trains. If your budget allows it, I would recommend getting a larger LEGO set for this family that they can build together, or a LEGO bucket with loose bricks that everyone can enjoy. Good candidates are:

➡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR BOYS: If you know their wish-list, or the LEGO themes they like to build, get something from those categories. For a lot of boys LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Minecraft 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:

➡ 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 in the $10-$50 range, and there are also larger sets for special occasions. 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:

➡ 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 may put the hobby on pause once they hit their teen years. However, this is not true for all teens; many of them will continue the LEGO hobby, and in fact take it much more seriously, as they start designing their own LEGO models 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 you might still consider one of the excellent LEGO books 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:

➡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR ADULTS: LEGO is not just a childhood toy, but also a lifetime hobby for many adults. The large number of LEGO clubs, blogs, forums, and conventions geared towards adult LEGO fans are a testimony of the thriving adult LEGO fan community. LEGO responded to their adult fan-base by releasing LEGO sets specifically targeting older LEGO fans. These are usually very large sets with complex building techniques and intricate details, taking many hours – even days – to put together. They are basically modeling kits with LEGO bricks. Adult-oriented LEGO sets are usually expensive too, in the 100+ range, however there are also smaller sets that adults would appreciate:

➡ THE BEST LEGO SETS FOR GRANDPARENTS: LEGO has been around long enough that there are fans of the brand who are now grandparents. And grandparents deserve gifts too – especially if they are fun grandparents who are into LEGO! They would likely appreciate the same LEGO sets as all 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 with amazing creations or interesting historical details about the hobby:

➡ 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, or know exactly what LEGO themes they are into, but you can get them something funny and LEGO-related that fits in the office:

➡ 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:

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

➡ 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:

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

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

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Comparing the performance of LEGO movies

by on November 22, 2017
in Community Articles

LEGO fan and Reddit member us3rn9m3 put together a very interesting chart, comparing the performance of the three LEGO movies released so far; The LEGO Movie from 2014, The LEGO Batman Movie, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie (both from this year). The chart compares the worldwide weekend earnings of the three movies for the first eight weeks in theatres, pulling data from BoxOfficeMojo.com. The chart also includes the production budget for the three movies. See below…

We all know that The LEGO Movie did excellent. The film had fantastic ratings on movie review sites both by critics and the general public. It was fresh, nostalgic, visually appealing, touching and funny. Both young and old LEGO fans could relate to the story and characters. Emmet, Wyldstyle, Batman, Benny, Unikitty, Vitruvius, Lord Business all became household names with their own fanbase, and even words like Kragle has become mainstream. In addition, LEGO released a series of imaginative sets, including Cloud Cuckoo Palace (#70803), Lord Business’ Evil Lair (#70809), MetalBeard’s Sea Cow (#70810), Emmet’s Construc-o-Mech (#70814), Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! (#70816), and the Double-Decker Couch (#70818). Everything about this movie was awesome!

The success of The LEGO Movie prompted the creation of more films based on LEGO characters. After some delays and changes, in 2017 we ended up getting two films; The LEGO Batman Movie in February, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie in September. As you can see from the chart, The LEGO Batman Movie also attracted a good number of viewers, and the ratings were still very good. The film particularly appealed to Batman fans, who could appreciate all the jokes and references from the long history of the Batman franchise. The LEGO sets related to the movie include every imaginable version of Batman, his friends, foes, and awesome vehicles – all for the great satisfaction of Batman collectors. Some of the most notable sets are The Joker’s Lowrider (#70906), The Batcave (#70909), Arkham Asylum (#70912), The Ultimate Batmobile (#70917), and the soon-to-be-released Joker’s Manor (#70922). And there are more sets scheduled for next year.

Compared to the first two films, The Ninjago Movie faired quite poorly, as you can see from the chart. Ninjago fans who have been following the TV show weren’t happy because their favorite characters were changed, and LEGO fans who weren’t into Ninjago couldn’t relate to the film either. This is reflected in the mixed reviews both by critics and by moviegoers. Once people see the poor reviews, it is unlikely they will shell out money for the high prices of movie tickets (although they may still watch the film later once released on DVD). On the other hand, The LEGO Ninjago movie sets are fantastic, and even people who are not into the movie or Ninjago at all, are raving about them. The incredibly detailed Ninjago City set (#70620), the beautiful Destiny’s Bounty ship (#70618), and the very creative robots and mechs have been getting great amount of praise. And more sets are coming soon, including Garmadon’s Shark Mech!

Why the three films performed the way they did could be analyzed in many ways, but the trend is worrisome and doesn’t bode well for future LEGO-based theatrical releases. Still, there are already a couple of movies scheduled for 2019, including The LEGO Movie Sequel.

Personally, I have seen all three LEGO films, and my favorite is definitely The LEGO Movie. I really wanted to like The LEGO Ninjago Movie, as I love the TV show, but there were just too many changes and the story was too disjointed. I absolutely love The LEGO Ninjago Movie sets though. I’m not so much of a Batman fan, so I couldn’t connect deeply with the story, but it was an enjoyable film overall (you can find detailed reviews of the films at the end of this post).

What do you think? Have you seen all three LEGO movies so far? Which one is your favorite? And what do you think of the dropping performance of LEGO-based films? If you haven’t seen the movies, why not? What do you think of the future of LEGO films? And how do you like the related LEGO sets? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

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

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