11 Best LEGO Gifts That Our Kid and Adult Testers Love
Our favorite LEGO sets, plus some gift ideas that aren't LEGOs.
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I've gifted a lot of LEGO sets. Both of my kids love them, as do my nieces. The set that probably saw the most play was the LEGO Friends Emma's Art School House that I gave my oldest niece a couple of years ago and which became, basically, a dollhouse she and her sister used together for hours of play scenarios. It's a set I recommend all the time, but it's marketed toward young girls so — it's time I made a longer list of LEGO gifts for LEGO lovers of all ages. Even us adults!
At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we test toys all year and watch the gift market like hawks, identifying trends and finding presents that are delighting both the givers and the receivers. When we test LEGO, we build sets in our Lab and also send them to families nationwide for feedback. For this list, we're ignoring the ultra-rare and the very expensive — there's nothing more than $150 here, and most are way under that.
This is now a classic set with more than 20,000 five-star Amazon reviews. You build 15 stems of LEGO leaves and flowers to form an artificial bouquet that then doubles as room decor.
Additionally, there's another popular adult set for building nine LEGO cactus and other artificial, indoor potted plants called the LEGO Icons Tiny Plants Building Set. And new to 2024 is the LEGO Icons Poinsettias in a woven-looking basket — a pet-safe, artificial poinsettia. These are both under $50.
My personal favorite adult set is the LEGO Ideas A-Frame Cabin, the closest I will come to having a weekend house. It's pricier, but it includes beautiful trees, butterflies, furniture, and an otter squirrel.
Ages: 18+ | Number of pieces: 10,280
If you're buying for an adult and have no idea what they have or don't have, you can always put a smile on their face with a mug shaped like a LEGO minifigure head. It comes in other variations too, like a girl winking and the more classic LEGO face.
The LEGO web site has other ideas for brick lovers too, like botanical-themed playing cards, and you can find plenty on Amazon, like a 2025 LEGO wall calendar and LEGO notecards.
This new-to-2024 set is freaking me out. It's the first LEGO Mandrake — a magical plant with a face, from Harry Potter — and you can make its mouth open and close for screaming or crying, if you're being true to the Harry Potter series.
You can also pull the mandrake out of its pot to show off its body, then set it back into the pot where, stored, it looks pretty much like any decorative, artificial plant.
We haven't tried this new one with testers but it's picking up excellent online reviews. Of the Harry Potter sets we've tested with kids, a favorite has been the LEGO Harry Potter Quidditch Trunk, for ages 9+, which includes lots of minifigure pieces so you can create different characters.
Ages: 10+ | Number of pieces: 579
If you're not sure what sets a kid has, but you know they love LEGO, Manhattan Toys makes a line of 13-inch plush figures that our Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor Marisa LaScala recommends as gifts. This is Jay, from LEGO Ninjago, popular especially with school-age kids, but there are a ton of others to choose from:
For a young kid who really would rather have an epic LEGO Ninjago LEGO set, we got great tester feedback about Lloyd’s Legendary Dragon Toy for ages 8+.
Ages: 0+ | Number of pieces: N/A
LEGO Friends Space Research Rover
My kids went through a period where they were deeply into the Mars Rover and its adventures on Mars. I know plenty of boys and girls go through an "outer space" phase, and this set — a winner in our Best Toys of the Year list — plays into that in an imaginative way. It comes with two astronauts, a dog, friendly aliens, otherworldly flowers and of course the rolling rover.
Kids liked the rover itself which comes with lots of STEM-inspired features, including a retractable arm with a mounted camera and a magnifying glass. Research tables flip over to become beds for the two LEGO Friends figures.
For older kids who love science and want a set that's more true to the real rover, there's a more advanced LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover Perseverance for ages 10+. A 15-year-old who tested it said it's very interactive, with an augmented-reality function in addition to the build.
Ages: 8+ | Number of pieces: 514
LEGO Pet Pals 1000-Piece Puzzle
The whole family can get together to work on this new puzzle featuring LEGO pets. It includes pictures from the LEGO BrickHeadz line, including these BrickHeadz goldfish.
We think this one is a nice medium-difficulty puzzle, with background colors that help. If you're up for a bigger challenge, there's a classic LEGO Minifigure Puzzle with 78 minifigures on a white background.
If on the other hand you want something easier for school-aged kids, there's a new 4-in-1 LEGO Christmas Tree Puzzle that contains four 100-piece puzzles that connect, for ages 7+.
Ages: 9+ | Number of pieces: 1,000
Pros
Cons
If you're not familiar with Creator sets, they have directions for three different builds. Use the 1000+ pieces in this set to build an old-fashioned main street, then take it apart to make an Art Deco skyscraper, and take it apart again to build an arched marketplace.
Judging from online reviews, this set is popular with kids, teens and adults. In our own testing, families said they liked that it appeals to both boys and girls and includes unique accessories like a guitar and drum set. Families also liked that the set features six minifigures, including one in a wheelchair, and is elaborate enough to keep a LEGO lover happily occupied for a long stretch of time.
"After we built one of the models, we put the finished set in a sealed box and shook it up. Then we built a different model," said one of our kid testers, who played with his little cousin. "We also took the rooms apart to make our own imaginative world."
Alternatively, if you're looking for an under-$30 Creator set that is age-graded to include kids ages 7 and 8, LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Adorable Dogs also earned high marks from our testers.
Ages: 9+ | Number of pieces: 1,459
Any LEGO lover would be psyched to get a box of bricks in 35 different colors. There are also wheels, windows and eyes included to help a builder create their own unique pieces. The Amazon box is frequently on sale.
While some tester kids stuck strictly to their own inventions, others used an included booklet for project ideas. "Our boys liked some of the items in the book. They were simple but very clever, like making LEGO sushi — we love sushi," one parent said.
A small baseplate is included. You could also add a larger baseplate (so cheap and so useful!) on to your gift.
Ages: 4+ | Number of pieces: 484
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My eldest was into the princesses, and what mattered was that you got all of them together. That's why I recommend this set, with five Disney princesses sharing a fabulous five-bedroom castle. The housemates are Ariel, Moana, Rapunzel, Snow White and Tiana.
Accessories include five animals, like lobster Sebastian for Ariel; instruments, like Rapunzel's guitar; plus a palm tree and a giant celebration cake.
If you're buying for a kid who is very deeply into a specific franchise, we have some suggestions for those, too. Preschoolers are most often into Cinderella, and the chunky Cinderella’s Castle Celebration, for ages 4+, is for them.
My niece who sang, "I am Moana!" most of the year she was 6 needed Moana's Flowerpot.
Ages: 6+ | Number of pieces: 698
The popularity of Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends on Disney Junior is making this a coveted set for preschoolers. A mom of a 5-year-old told us, "This was his first LEGO build that wasn't DUPLO. The instructions were very easy for him to understand, which boosted his confidence. He loves playing with the character figures and acting out scenes from the show." (FYI, DUPLO bricks are LEGO bricks that are twice the size, designed for small hands).
The set comes with four heroes — Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider, Miles Morales, Ms Marvel — and villain Green Goblin. The two webs were particularly popular with our kid testers.
Ages: 4+ | Number of pieces: 155
More LEGO Gift Ideas
This is a great time for LEGO. Here are a few more of our recent favorite finds:
• 'Wicked' LEGO Play Sets, based on the new movie
•LEGO Star Wars gifts like the advent calendar that commemorates the last 25 years of the franchise
Why trust us?
At the Good Housekeeping Institute, our Lab pros test toys all year, including LEGO sets. We're also always on the hunt for the best gifts for kids of every age while we keep track of what "kidults" want to play with, from board games to Star Wars gifts.
This list is from Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn, one of the judges for our annual Best Toys Awards as well as our Parenting Awards. Hartshorn and her brother often played with a LEGO Medieval Castle together, and she's bought plenty of LEGO gifts for her two kids, two nieces and her husband who loves both the Star Wars and Harry Potter universes. She's currently trying to talk herself out of buying the adult LEGO Ideas Tuxedo Cat.
Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products. A mom of two teens and two cats, her previous work can be seen in American Baby and Parents.
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