Key Points
- LEGO is a great gift for all ages and the popular interlocking bricks were first released in 1949.
- LEGO sets can create interesting and intricate builds with fascinating features.
- There are LEGO sets to suit all different ages and ability levels.
When it comes to gifts that all ages can appreciate, LEGO is definitely at the top of many Christmas wish lists. The beloved toy company, which began producing its famous interlocking toy bricks in 1949, has long been a staple in toy aisles.
Anyone who has ever built a LEGO set from start to finish knows there is something incredibly satisfying about adding that last brick. The best part is that building a LEGO set is only half the fun. The other half of the fun begins once you open up the floodgates of imagination and allow your creative side to come out and flourish.
Let’s take a look at the 9 best LEGO sets for Christmas you can buy today.
Why is LEGO a Great Gift?
Say goodbye to the days of ties, socks, books, and other boring stocking stuffers, and hello to the best Christmas gift of all — LEGO sets. While LEGO was already popular pre-pandemic, the company has seen its popularity grow as lockdowns and remote work have given rise to more home-based entertainment options.
The best part is that LEGO is not just a kid’s toy. Quite the opposite, in fact, as many of the most prominent LEGO builds are made for adults. The good news is that LEGO can absolutely be enjoyed by anyone and you don’t need to have any particular set of skills to build a LEGO set. As long as you have all of the necessary bricks and some instructions, you are ready to start building.
The Millenium Falcon
- 7,541 pieces
- Lego Ultimate Collector Series
- Includes Original Trilogy minifigures of Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and C-3PO, plus Episode VII/VIII minifigures of an older Han Solo, Rey, and Finn
- Perfect as a Star Wars movie collectible
Arguably the greatest LEGO set available to the public right now, the LEGO Ultimate Millennium Falcon is a 7,541-brick masterpiece.
A fantastic gift for anyone ages 16 and up, this may be the ultimate build for families or even for you individually. Best of all, the massive number of pieces means you can expect some exciting features, which include an interactive interior. This means you can get imaginative with the working engineering station or see if you can fix the hyperdrive in the engine room. In the event the Empire or First Order finds you, make sure you have the two escape pod hatches ready to go in an emergency.
The exterior is just as detailed as the interior with removable hull panels, a boarding ramp that raises and lowers, a concealed blaster cannon, and interchangeable sensor dishes. Measuring 8 x 33 x 22 inches, this is one of the largest Star Wars builds in the history of LEGO, which spans multiple decades. Last but not least is that you get not one, but two sets of minifigs depending on which Star Wars trilogy you wish to portray with your ship.
Santa’s Workshop
- Includes four reindeer, baby reindeer, detailed interior, and Christmas tree
- Measures 6 x 3 x 9 inches
- Six total minifigs including Santa and Mrs. Claus
- Features stained glass window and Christmas lights on roof
No holiday LEGO list is complete without at least one set that features Mr. and Mrs. Claus themselves, which is why Santa’s Workshop should be on every Christmas wish list.
LEGO set number 10245 features 883 total pieces all focused on the big night itself. You’ll find plenty of holiday cheer here as you have four reindeer ready to fly, plus one baby reindeer in training. You’ll also be able to imagine what four different wrapped presents are and who Santa is delivering them to. All totaled, you have six different minifigs, one very special red sack, and don’t forget Mrs. Claus and her tray of delicious cookies.
The workshop itself offers a host of niceties that help you imagine what the real workshop might look like. Stained glass windows and Christmas lights live alongside the North Pole and Santa’s Workshop signs. Where this set really shines is that it offers a terrific experience for families to build something together the night before Christmas. There are even separate instructions for adults and children over the age of 8.
Home Alone
- Features open walls and roofs for easy access
- Includes swinging paint cans and light up basement furnace
- Split into 24 bags so build follows the movie plot
- Includes illustrated booklet about the movie
There are a whole lot of Christmas movies that have become instant classics, but few are as rewatchable as 1990’s Home Alone.
Featuring 3,955 total pieces, LEGO set 21330 is designed for ages 18 and up, though it’s really enjoyable for anyone who has seen any of the Home Alone movies. Where this LEGO set excels is that it’s just as good as a display piece as it is keeping you entertained for days on end. The reason why it’s so good is that you can open up every wall and explore the entirety of the McCallister home. Along with the home are five very important minifigs, which means you get Kevin, his mom, Harry, Marv, and “Old Man” Marley.
One very important feature of this particular LEGO build is that it’s split into 24 different bags. The reason why is that the building order follows the movie’s plot so you build each room in order of appearance from the movie. Better yet, you get a Christmas surprise with this build as it includes an illustrated booklet about the movie created by the LEGO designers who helped design this movie masterpiece.
Super Mario Nintendo Entertainment System
- Features interactive elements including handle-operating scrolling screen
- Authentically detailed based on Nintendo Entertainment System
- Combines with other LEGO Mario sets
- Includes illustrated booklet on creation of NES console
This one is for the adults who grew up on Super Mario games as the Nintendo Entertainment System LEGO is as retro as this beloved brick toy is ever going to get.
To create this retro masterpiece, LEGO has combined 2,646 pieces in the hopes of creating a truly lifelike experience that resembles the real thing. Along with the NES console itself, LEGO has also created a 1980s-style TV set that shows Mario in his element jumping over Koopas and dodging gaps in the map. The TV set really stands out courtesy of a handle-operated scrolling screen where you can have Mario move for a few seconds exactly as he does in the games.
Along with the TV, you get the console itself plus a cable and plug connecting to a life-like NES controller. Last, but certainly not least, is the inclusion of yet another lifelike component with the Super Mario Bros. cartridge. Best of all, this set comes with an illustrated booklet all about the NES system and its history as well as easy-to-follow instructions, so the whole family can help put this memorable gift together.
The Eiffel Tower
If you can’t bring the family to Paris for the holidays, bring Paris to the family with a LEGO recreation of the Eiffel Tower.
Composed of over 10,001 pieces in total, the Eiffel Tower is one of the biggest LEGO sets of all time, both by piece count and size. Measuring over 59 inches in height and 23 inches in width, there is no bookshelf big enough for this LEGO set. Instead, this is going to live right at home on a table as a display piece for the whole family to admire. The intricate detail of this famous landmark is created in four separate parts that mirror how the original tower was built back in 1887.
A full 360-degree model, you’ll love everything about this piece with its arches, supports, cross bracing, and railings. Whomever you gifted this incredible LEGO set to will undoubtedly start thinking about what the view is like from the very top. If you can find the set intact, this is truly a great Christmas gift for anyone who loves history, monuments, or even just incredible architecture. As it is hard to find in stock right now, you can go with a slightly smaller option today (which we’ve included below) and hope the larger one is back in stock in time for the holidays.
- Measures 12 x 4 x 4 inches in size
- Detailed model of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
- 321 total pieces
- Released back in 2014
Galaxy Explorer Space System
- 1,254 pieces includes four astronauts and robot helper
- Retractable ramp
- Astronaut living quarters features two beds
- Sliding door separates space between cargo area and living quarters
One of LEGO’s most iconic sets based on its original space theme, the Galaxy Explorer Space System is the perfect gift for anyone whose imagination is out of this world.
Based on the original 1979 set, this re-release was based on LEGO set 497 and was made available again as a celebration of LEGO’s 90th anniversary. The ideal gift for ages 18 and over, this 1,254-piece set includes four astronaut minifigs plus a surface rover as well as a robot helper. A working retractable ramp helps the astronauts go on and off the ship while living quarters enable two astronauts to sleep and rest at the same time.
The ship itself has three retractable legs so it can land anywhere your imagination wants it to go. Upon landing, open up the cockpit to find room for all four astronauts to fly and navigate. Measuring 20.5 inches long and 12.5 inches in length, this is no small spaceship. In fact, it’s sized just right to be a great piece for adults to display on a shelf or for kids who want to explore the heavens.
Classic Build Together
- Endless possibilities with 1,601 pieces
- Includes instructions for 20 mini builds and four standard build ideas
- Perfect gift for the holidays
- Includes 4 building guides and 2 challenge cards for families to build together
Sometimes, you don’t need a dedicated LEGO set to get creative, instead, you can give the LEGO Classic Build Together set.
This wonderfully fun kit for anyone ages five and up is the perfect combination of 1,601 pieces that will pretty much let you do anything. While it does come with 20 different mini-builds and four standard build ideas, there are enough pieces here for anyone to create their own unique LEGO moment. The handy box keeps everything organized as does the four separate building guides. There is even a group activity guide meant to help adults and kids to build together and share their creations with each other.
The set itself offers a number of colorful bricks as part of the selection, which only further elevates the idea that you can pretty much do anything with this set. Anything might even mean using the box as a stand or adding all of the pieces to another LEGO build. The sky’s the limit.
City Police Mobile Command Center
- Includes police mobile command, jail cell, ATV, and motorbike
- Stop the crooks before they break out of jail
- Includes mail and female police minifigs
- 374 total pieces
As one of the first LEGO themes, City sets have always been memorable, and this continues to be true with the City Police Mobile Command Center.
This action-packed set is full of fun as your gift recipient will have a blast playing as either a cop or robber trying to outwit the other. You can help the crook minifigs as they work to pry the jail door off its hinges and break out, or you can play as the cops who want to stop the criminals from pulling off the crime of the century. The set includes multiple elements including a mobile command center, a police motorbike, and the crook’s ATV.
Available accessories with this set include a mug, backpack, two money bills, police cones, walkie-talkies, a stop sign, and one very important set of handcuffs. Perfect for ages 6-12, this is another great gift for under the tree on Christmas morning.
City Cargo Train
- Build your own runaway train story
- Compatible with all LEGO train construction sets
- Remote controlled
- Perfect for ages 6-12
There are few things more memorable about Christmas morning than a moving train circling around the tree with gifts underneath, which is why the LEGO City Cargo Train is so special.
This 1,226-piece set is a great way for kids ages 6-12 to open something magical on Christmas morning and have it be a reminder of what makes the holidays so special. With the 1,200-plus pieces, you can build four train cars, a control center, an armored truck, a forklift, and rail tracks. For anyone who has ever wanted to work a train yard and see how things really work, this is an imaginative way of bringing the real thing home.
Included with the set are also six minifigs including four train workers, a security officer, and one crook who is looking to take a few surprises out of the armored truck. What really makes this set exciting is that it’s compatible with many other LEGO train sets so you can build and build into one giant train track all over your home.
Wrapping Up
There are so many great gifts you can give to both children and adults alike on Christmas morning, but few toys create as much excitement as LEGO. Between the huge number of available sets and the imaginative doors they open, LEGO represents a fantastic gift for all and an easy way to get kids off screens, if only for a little while.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©megerka_megerka/Shutterstock.com.
