Holiday gift guide: $25-$50
Posted by Huw,
In today's instalment of our holiday gift guide, we turn our attention to sets retailing between $25 and $50.
There are 135 sets in the price range, including some of the lowest-priced Icon sets, and many awesome play sets perfect for gifting to kids.
Find out what we've selected after the break, then let us know your own picks in the comments.
Huw
10347 Petite Sunny Bouquet (£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99)
Botanicals have been a resounding success story for LEGO, evidenced by the number released this year and announced for 2026. They have succeeded in attracting a demographic that might not otherwise consider buying LEGO.
Although the prices have been creeping up lately, they still remain good value, and offer a rewarding – if sometimes fiddly – building experience, and a wonderful display piece once you're done.
This mid-priced one is sure to brighten up the recipient's house during these cold winter months.
View 10347 Petite Sunny Bouquet at LEGO.com »
MeganL
42666 Cat Birthday Party (£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99)
As I said in my review of this set, if you're a fan of Friends cats, this is the set for you! No fewer than five cats, including fan favourite Churro (or maybe he's just a favourite of mine?). Friends fans or not, this set would be a lot of fun for any ailurophile in your life. Besides, who doesn't love a cat birthday party?
The tree build is a lot of fun with some great foliage, and the cat-shaped balloons are such a fun touch. There are also two minidolls included, to the extent that anyone cares. After all, this set is all about the cats!
Bonus: as of this writing, this set is on sale for 20% off on Amazon, making this a better deal.
For those looking for a different choice, you might consider 42653 Music Shop & Apartment. The brick built eighth notes are fantastic (and it has a corgi!), but 42666 Cat Birthday Party is just a little bit better value.
View 42666 Cat Birthday Party at LEGO.com »
benbacardi
31165 Panda Family (£34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99)
As is often mentioned, the Creator 3-in-1 sets are not only excellent value for money but produce some brilliant models. 31165 Panda Family is no exception, with a choice of either mother and baby panda, penguins, or orcas.
As I mentioned in my review of the set, I couldn't decide which to leave the set built as between the pandas and the orcas, but my daughter's love of the large cuddly bears won out and it's currently sat on her shelf with her extensive collection of soft versions!
Still on the 3-in-1 theme, a bonus choice would be 31174 Retro Telephone, for a bit of nostalgia in a fun and compact build.
View 31165 Panda Family at LEGO.com »
CapnRex101
60454 Holiday Camper Van (£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99)
I think this category is weaker than normal this year. There are definitely some appealing sets, including all those listed here, but few true standouts, in my opinion.
Nonetheless, I narrowed my choices to two sets with nothing in common, 10363 Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine and 60454 Holiday Camper Van and I am selecting the camper van, as probably the best example of this vehicle type ever released!
The van is substantial, but its designer has still used the available space very efficiently. Other than the typical sleeping area, the camper includes a small kitchen and even a bathroom, plus various details on the exterior. Also, I think the full price of £24.99, $29.99 or €29.99 represents fair value and the regular discounts make it even more tempting.
View 60454 Holiday Camper Van at LEGO.com »
TheBrickPal
21276 The Creeper (£34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99)
LEGO Minecraft experimented with a new kind of set this year: large scale buildable mob figures. What better to kick off such a range than the iconic Creeper? 21276 The Creeper is instantly recognizable and surprisingly detailed, providing great value for the price. The Easter egg of its in-game origin as an improperly coded pig makes the set even better!
21588 The Fox is releasing in January, but if you can find it early, gifting them together would also be a good idea. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more sets like these in the future. We can only hope! It's an excellent concept.
As for a totally different Minecraft set in this price bracket, I should mention the fun 21272 Woodland Mansion Fighting Ring because, well… CHICKEN JOCKEY!!
Time for honorable mentions: BrickHeadz fans may enjoy 40796 Revenge of the Sith Heroes & Villains or 40801 Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will. 43272 Heihei is another good character model. I would also recommend 72038 Wario & King Boo, for obvious reasons! Any Super Mario fan would adore it. The Wicked range provides two nice playsets in this bracket with 75687 Elphaba's Retreat and 75688 Glinda's Wedding Day. Finally, 77037 Aloy & Varl vs. Shell-Walker & Sawtooth represents remarkable value, and is perfect for any Horizon fan.
View 21276 The Creeper at LEGO.com »
SetToBuild
42198 Bush Plane (£22.99 / $27.99 / €27.99)
Technic has never been a strength in my building repertoire, but between the smaller models available on LEGO magazines and some of the less complicated sets from the last few years, my pin-assembling muscles are getting a good workout!
42198 Bush Plane was on display in a local store, and upon picking it up and playing around with the mechanism that makes the propeller spin, it was an instant: “I’ve got to have this!”. It’s a pleasant build experience with panels shaping out the fuselage and beams forming the wings. The movable ailerons and openable cover revealing the 4-cylinder piston engine are nice touches as well.
View 42198 Bush Plane at LEGO.com »
FlagsNZ
43277 Cruella De Vil's Car (£44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99)
The standout set in the $25 to $50 price bracket is 43277 Cruella De Vil's Car.
This is an impressive minifigure scale car that has expressive headlights and a working steering system. The design captures the classic look of the vehicle that appeared in Disney's animated 101 Dalmatians franchise.
Obviously, the set must include Cruella De Vil as a minfigure. She is amazingly detailed and has two extreme expressions.
The set also comes with her cute dalmatian puppy, Penny.
There are plenty of play features with this set, and I am sure it will be well received as a great gift.
View 43277 Cruella De Vil's Car at LEGO.com »
What would you have chosen from the 135 sets in scope?
46 likes
20 comments on this article
That camper and cruella's car are the sets I plan getting
Bluey: 11202
City: 60443 (60454)
Creator: 31165 (31175)
Disney: 43264
(DREAMZzz: 71495)
Friends: 42648 42666
Harry Potter: 76445
Horizon: 77037
Yellow banded: 40805
Ninjago: ??
One Piece: 75636
Speed Champions: ?
Technic: 42198 42201
Wednesday: 76784
@Brickes_ficko said:
"Bluey: 11202
City: 60443 (60454)
Creator: 31165 (31175)
Disney: 43264
(DREAMZzz: 71495)
Friends: 42648 42666
Harry Potter: 76445
Horizon: 77037
Yellow banded: 40805
Ninjago: ??
One Piece: 75636
Speed Champions: ?
Technic: 42198 42201
Wednesday: 76784"
Ninjago: 71841 / 71842
Speed Champions: 77238
Someone yesterday mentioned the soapbox racers as a good gift, which is a good call. Our kids are getting the larger set with the ramp, 60460, as a joint present for Christmas morning from their uncle. Notably one of the racers is a toilet.
60454-1 is a great vehicle - if a little tricky turning the narrow corners of my City! I Only paid about £17 for it, and it has a lot of potential as well as being very playable, and very well designed. It's bugging me a little, but isn't the roof window in the image opening the wrong way ? Oh, and I changed mine to right-hand drive of course..
I agree with FlagsNZ for the 43277
60443 is very nice
77037 is not refined as its predecessor but still very interesting
40805 is a suprising new entry, but it is exclusive, very difficult to pick with a discount.
76924 was a long desired set for me (very affordable for 800+ parts)
60439 is one of my favourites
31172 is a good creator set (not exactly my target, but I like it)
76964 worth its price, and it is still available untile the end of the year
Probably 10363, Leonardo's flying machine.
Or maybe 43272, Heihei, from Disney's Moana. It looks like a fun, colourful build, that's good value.
40805 Arcade Machine or 10347 Petite Sunny Bouquet both great gifts.
31175 if it was less pricy
77241is the one that keep screaming buy me
"No fewer than five cats, including fan favourite Churro (or maybe he's just a favourite of mine?)." Do I need to remind you of the three wallpapers featuring him in the Insiders reward center? At the very least, somebody at Lego likes him. And I agree with @CapnRex101 that 10363 is an excellent set; especially if you're a history buff.
@Yardsale19X said:
"Someone yesterday mentioned the soapbox racers as a good gift, which is a good call. Our kids are getting the larger set with the ramp, 60460, as a joint present for Christmas morning from their uncle. Notably one of the racers is a toilet. "
I already have the two-packs, and if I had more space, I'd get that ramp and a couple of road plates to extend the track. I'd also get a copy of 6562113 or the parts to build it on Bricklink, so I'd have the complete collection.
@Huw:
Sam's in the US had Petite Sunny Bouquets for $12.11 in August. I bought a bunch for future gifts.
@Yardsale19X, @TheOtherMike:
The glizzy v. skibidi race in 60460 is perfect meme-ing, and I wonder if those boxed separately as a pair might have sold more than the other two-packs combined. Put the pizza v. airplane in the big set with ramp, and keep the fire truck v. hospital bed as a 2-pack (great small gift for kids in the hospital). I was hoping for a 30% off sale to get the big ramp set down to $35, and then Target had it for $24 a couple of weeks ago when Prime Day happened. My four-year-old has 6562113 and will be getting the rest for Christmas.
@Calabar:
These recommendations are only for sets released in 2025
My pick is 21276 The Creeper
Such a fun build, and something any Minecraft would want!
My pick is 1/4 of most any Icons set. :o)
I’m starting to wonder if 2025 wasn’t that good for LEGO. My list is very small for this range:
10344 - Bamboo
31175 - Pink Pony Palace
Bought 4 sets from this price categorie, one of which as a gift, but three of those were well in the lower price category because of discounts.....and I ended up downright hating building one (77243), and feel one should have been in that other price category even without that discount (10344). The gift one seems fine just not for me (21276).
So that leaves me with one I was truly happy with, and which I'm honestly a bit surprised it's not one of the staff picks: 10363 Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine. It's just such a unique build, and the way the mechanism works is just brilliant. Lovely little set.
Other ones that stand out to me, even if I might not actually want them:
31165 Panda Family
31174 Retro Telephone
40805 Arcade Machine
I am honestly a bit surprised though to see the Cruella car on the list. While I can't deny it looks great, it just feels so overpriced......well, guess in that regard it is a great set to recieve as a gift....
@WizardOfOss said:
"So that leaves me with one I was truly happy with, and which I'm honestly a bit surprised it's not one of the staff picks: 10363 Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine."
@CapnRex101 said:
"I narrowed my choices to two sets with nothing in common, 10363 Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine and 60454..."
@FuddRuckus said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"So that leaves me with one I was truly happy with, and which I'm honestly a bit surprised it's not one of the staff picks: 10363 Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine."
@CapnRex101 said:
"I narrowed my choices to two sets with nothing in common, 10363 Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine and 60454..."
"
Still not the one the Capn picked, though; it was the runner-up.
That indeed....
I tried finding some sets that are interesting standouts:
10343 Mini Orchid - I'm not a fan of the "bouquet" sets as they're incomplete without a vase, and I've heard it's tricky to position the flowers well (someone suggested filling the vase with dry rice).
10363 Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine - steampunk meets arts & crafts, what could possibly go wrong?
72034 Baby Mario vs. Baby Luigi - probably the closest we'd get to minifigures in this cursed theme.
76443 Hagrid & Harry's Motorcycle Ride - speaking of cursed things, I think it looks like an interesting build and decent value.
76784 Black Lotus - goth meets botanicals, the only one of these I have, reminds me of the infamous MTG card.
76970 Baby Aquilops - should go well with the baby T-rex from last list, someone will likely protest that "they lived millions of years apart", probably the same stick-in-the-muds that says "dinosaurs had feathers" and "Pluto is not a planet".
77241 Honda S2000 - don't care much about F&F, but a cool color.