Holiday gift guide: under $25
Posted by Huw,
Black Friday and Christmas are fast approaching so our annual Holiday Gift Guide has returned, helping you to find perfect LEGO gifts for friends and family. We have divided the entire product range into five separate categories, beginning with sets costing below $25.
There have been 125 eligible items released during 2023 in that price bracket, which equates to about £22 and €25.
Find out what the Brickset team has chosen after the break then let us know what you would select in the comments.
Huw
31136 Exotic Parrot ($19.99 / €24.99 / £19.99)
Every year I pick a Creator 3-in-1 set as my choice of gift in the lowest price category because they offer great value for money -- no minifigs or licences to pay for -- and excellent creativity.
31136 Exotic Parrot is no exception. The colourful bird perched on top of a flowering plant is a lovely model to have on display, then when your gift recipient gets fed up with it, they can turn it into a fish or a frog, or better still, use the pieces to come up with their own animal.
MeganL
41752 Sea Rescue Plane ($19.99 / €19.99 / £17.99)
There are plenty of choices in the Friends world in this price range. There are rooms for four of the Friends in this range, which is an affordable way to get all of the new cast of characters.
The Friends subtheme this year of marine animal rescue was quite delightful and included an environmental message. 41752 Sea Rescue Plane is the smallest of the wave, and packs quite a few details with not a lot of bricks.
There are two minidolls, an adorable whale, and of course, the plane. There's plenty of storage (including a compartment in the tail I neglected to mention in my earlier review!) and the plane, even with its compact dimensions, is very swooshable.
CapnRex101
76958 Dilophosaurus Ambush ($19.99 / €26.99 / £20.99)
I am normally drawn to Speed Champions sets in the lowest price bracket because I think they offer the best building experience and they almost always look superb on display. 76915 Pagani Utopia is certainly an appealing prospect this year.
However, I am actually going to choose 76958 Dilophosaurus Ambush. This set recreates an iconic scene from Jurassic Park and offers great play value, so is an excellent addition to the Jurassic Park theme, as well as a perfect introduction to the range for children.
Also, the presence of an exclusive Dennis Nedry minifigure and the famous Barbasol can from the film make this a must-have set for Jurassic Park fans, while the long-awaited Jeep Wrangler is satisfying too. Given its inexpensive price, I think this is an enjoyable set for anybody!
TheBrickPal
60384 Penguin Slushy Van ($19.99 / €19.99 / £17.99)
As always, LEGO has released plenty of small sets this year, and naturally, some don't get as much attention as others. One such model was released at the beginning of 2023 and simply does not get talked about enough: 60384 Penguin Slushy Van!
LEGO makes tons of vehicles, but not many food trucks, and this one is marvelous. It features a fun concept, wonderful exterior detail, and great minifigures. Admittedly, the interior is a little lacking, but it suffices. This is the perfect addition to any city and is sure to delight anyone you gift it to, young or old.
If you want a more exciting pick, City has examples such as 60376 Arctic Explorer Snowmobile and 60394 ATV and Otter Habitat. Friends also really impressed me with its impulse buy options this year; from 41733 Mobile Bubble Tea Shop to 41753 Pancake Shop, to any of the bedrooms, there's something for everyone.
For action theme lovers, 80040 Monkie Kid's Combi Mech and 80041 Mei's Dragon Jet from Monkie Kid are a great pair, as are 71453 Izzie and Bunchu the Bunny and 71454 Mateo and Z-Blob the Robot from DREAMZzz.
Finally, there are many good licensed theme options, like the Star Wars and Marvel mechs, the Clone Trooper Battle Packs, 76244 Miles Morales vs. Morbius, 21240 The Swamp Adventure, or any cheaper BrickHeadz - perhaps the coolest being of the Sonic the Hedgehog variety!
Alice
40647 Lotus Flowers ($12.99 / €12.99 / £10.99)
For our annual gift guide, I like to choose sets that you could gift to someone who is not necessarily an AFOL. I think the botanical sets are great for that so in this category I have chosen the pretty 40647 Lotus Flowers.
As well as 40646 Daffodils, they would look great displayed in a vase in anyone’s room. I have them sitting proudly in a vase on my desk! Also, these flowers last forever!
benbacardi
31140 Magical Unicorn ($9.99 / €9.99 / £8.99)
It was a tough choice between the 3-in-1 sets this year, spoiled for choice between 31140 Magical Unicorn and 31136 Exotic Parrot (and its pink equivalent). As Huw chose the parrot above, I decided to plump for the unicorn!
It's great value at under £10, both alternative models are great, but the main unicorn model is so colourful and expressive it can't fail to make the recipient smile when they unwrap it, and every time they see the finished set sitting on their shelf!
SetToBuild
75369 Boba Fett Mech ($15.99 / €15.99 / £12.99)
Mechs aren't the first thing that comes to mind when we think of Star Wars. However, with the success of the Marvel mechs, Boba Fett now sports a new suit of armour. The Boba Fett minifigure is unique to this set, and this is a cost-effective way to get one with fully printed arms and legs.
Yes, the mech suit is a silly gimmick, but at this price point, it's a great stocking stuffer. The mech has a simple structure and is fun to pose. You can also find two additional Star Wars mech sets, 75368 Darth Vader Mech and 75370 Stormtrooper Mech, to complete the collection.
FlagzNZ
42150 Monster Jam Monster Mutt Dalmatian ($19.99 / €19.99 / £17.99)
For ten years, LEGO have released at least two inexpensive Technic pull-back racers, and this year's offerings are 42149 Monster Jam Dragon and 42150 Monster Jam Monster Mutt Dalmatian. This is the third year that these LEGO pull-back racers have been partnered with American motorsport Monster Jam.
These pull-back racers offer hours of fun and have been robustly designed to withstand heavy, interactive play. Obviously, you will need two vehicles to do successful races.
My choice - Monster Jam Monster Mutt Dalmatian - is based solely on the aesthetics of the primary model, although this has been achieved with the use of a moderate number of stickers.
42149 Monster Jam Dragon is an equally attractive set and has a likeable B-model. I am sure that the recipient of either of these inexpensive holiday gifts will have hours of battery free, pull-back racer fun.
What would you pick from the 125 eligible items?
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31 comments on this article
I can't believe we're this far into 2023.
40650 land rover.
31144 Pink Parrot - a model made with Lego bricks does not have to be 100% real(istic).
31136 Exotic Parrot definitely stands out. It's very colorful and an attractive display model.
Though not as festive in colors as the parrot, I also really like 31133 White Rabbit, especially the cockatoo alternative model.
For the Star Wars fans, while at least $5 if not more like $10 overpriced, both 75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack and 75359 332nd Ahsoka's Clone Trooper Battle Pack are pretty decent battle packs, so it just depends on what kind of fan you have. Someone that really loves Clone Wars, you gotta go with the 332nd Troops. For someone that's a big fan of Battlefront, you go with the Elite 501st guys.
Both Battlepacks feature actual vehicles from the Star Wars mythos instead of just some weird speederbike, bad walker, or some piece of battle damaged ground, which is fantastic. Having a smaller scale Heavy Canon is great, and it's captured beautifully. The Swamp Speeder isn't associated with the 332nd Troops, there's no need for such a vehicle on Mandalore, but if you have 75280 501st Legion Clone Troopers, you can mix and match the minifigs around for more accurate depictions from Clone Wars.
If it weren't for the backpacks on the Elite 501st guys, you could honestly just swap the minifigs from both 2023 Battle Packs and be golden, too. A bit pricey, but the minifigs are great, and they each have decent vehicles to accompany them, too, so if you're not sick of Clones yet, it's not bad to get both.
76958 "Dilophosaurus Ambush" depicts my favourite scene in the movie and rainbow unicorns are always welcome.
The Exotic Parrot is a superb 3-in-1. I thought the pink version was hideous when it was first released but even that's starting to grow on me now!
The Monster Jam trucks make a great start into Technic and are quite a bargain as they always end up around £10.
40641 Birthday Cake makes an excellent novelty gift.
I'm for the parrot and the unicorn. My two favorites in this price range at the moment.
I think 71453 Izzie and Bunchu the Bunny and 71454 Mateo and Z-Blob the Robot are great small sets.
Edit: to all those complaining that Lego is so expensive, note that there are 125! sets under $25.
This guide is perfect because each of you in the team has picked a different gift. There are no repetitions under this price range.
Reiterating 60394 and 76915 here. Some of the best sets of the year for under 25.
Definitely routing out for the parrot. Lovely model for display and excellent value for money.
@beige2 said: "I can't believe we're this far into 2023. "
No. How the hell did that happen?
Excellent choices here. I loved the magical rainbow unicorn, and the Slushie Van was a great addition to the big city vehicles.
Also, I adored the SW mecha, more than I thought I would.
I would probably recommend spider man vs morbius. Main draw is the figures but it has a surprisingly great car.
I’d recommend 60394 ATV and Otter habitat. It’s a small set (90 pieces at $9.99) and it’s one of the smallest sets that I’ve bought for myself in years. Building of the set isn’t noteworthy but it has great play value, especially for its price and piece count.
Some amazing sets have already been listed, often going even cheaper than $25. I would like to go even further and say the Kai v. Rapton polybag. Two highly detailed Minifigures and a little build for $5 is fantastic value! Other polybags like Doctor Strange and Batman are really great as well. I'm looking forward to next year's lineup of polybags.
Probably a speed champions set like 76914
I'm glad that the Morbin' Time set was mentioned. It's not only cool because of the meme but I unironically like the car, just like TheBrickPal and beige2.
To mention a hidden gem that wasn't named yet: 30655
I somehow never was that much interested in Technic, probably because it had no Minifigures. But this forklift... It was a really nice building experience and for such a tiny set also quite complex. Plus it has a lot of play potential.
AND it's even below 5$!
Excellent choices from all the contributors. To this list, I would add: Land Rover 40650, Space Shuttle 31134, snow groomer 42148.
31111 Cyber Drone is a little gem that is retiring. A must have in my opinion, with excellent alternative builds and retro Spyrius-themed minifigure.
42148 Snow groomer continues the unfortunate (depending on your point of view) tradition of the smallest Technic sets being the best ones the last few years. 3 functions and a B-model for 10 euros, what more can you ask.
I always love this series!
Dilophosaurus Ambush is probably my favorite, I’d get it but I’d prefer to make my presents be replacements for missing and broken pieces instead, as some can get unbelievably expensive.
Of these picks I'd go with the Parrot or the Dilo ambush. Rare not to see any Speed Champions picks though! The Pagani is the best of them in my opinion, although the best of the year has to be the McLaren F1LM which obviously doesn't fall into this price range. I'd also agree that two of the years tiny Technic sets, 30655 and 42148 are surprisingly good.
So MANY good set in this range. Very affordable for any parent for their kid(s) at Xmas.
For all budgets. Quality sets, GREAT selection of minifigs and parts.
My Top 20 picks/faves under $25 beans (many at $10 bucks. Excellent!)
- 10987 Recycling Truck
- 11027 Creative Neon Fun
- 21240 The Swamp Adventure
- 40639 Bird's Nest
- 40641 Birthday Cake
- 43213 The Little Mermaid Story Book
- 31134 Space Shuttle
- 42149 Monster Jam Dragon
- 60384 Penguin Slushy Van
- 71453 Izzie and Bunchu the Bunny
- 71781 Lloyd's Mech Battle EVO
- 71784 Jay's Lightning Jet EVO
- 71789 Kai and Ras's Car and Bike Battle
- 75344 Boba Fett's Starship Microfighter
- 75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack
- 75370 Stormtrooper Mech
- 76244 Miles Morales vs. Morbius
- 76260 Black Widow & Captain America Motorcycles
- 76958 Dilophosaurus Ambush
- 80040 Monkie Kid's Combi Mech
I would also vote for 42148, as it has all the functions a snow groomer might have, and a perfect companion to 8263.
I do like the 2023 Friends' rooms sets : https://brickset.com/sets/subtheme-Bedrooms/year-2023
They might be sticker heavy but I think they make great add-ons or starter packs to build something around it, and there's good variation between the 4, and each comes with different people, accesoires, or animal.
I also enjoyed 11027 : Creative Neon Fun and 11028 : Creative Pastel Fun , having smaller more color focus brick box instead of just a few parts spread across 20+ colors is nice for a change.
That time of year again! My top three would be: 76260, 76958 and 75345
back in my day you could buy a 6-inch tall bionicle man for 10 dollars
I would throw in my two cents for the Dilophosaurus Ambush as well as the Asohka Trooper battle, pack now that the price has dropped a few bucks. I think the next one I'm going to get is the 76906 1970 Ferrari. It will go will the 76908.
No one has mentioned 76917 Nissan R34 GTR, which was my favorite SC set of the year.
Creator 31133 white rabbit gets my vote!
2nd place to speed champions Nissan skyline 76917