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 124 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
31143 Birdhouse ($29.99 / €29.99 / £24.99)
Here at Brickset Towers we are fortunate to receive sets to review from LEGO which means that I don't tend to buy many because I always seem to have a backlog of things to build. However, I made an exception with 31143 Birdhouse which I thought looked charming when I first saw it.
It would make a wonderful gift for young nature-lovers who will have fun building the main model and colourful birds then turning it into a bee hive or park bench with cute critters.
As always with Creator sets, it's great value for money: just under 500 pieces for under £25/$30.
MeganL
10314 Dried Flower Centrepiece ($49.99 / €49.99 / £44.99)
This was such a great set to build. The parts usage throughout is remarkable, but I love recommending this set to non-AFOLs. It's a great way to introduce people to the hobby.
I don't know that this set needs a recommendation from me, though - the set has been recommended by a mainstream publication here in the US that the set was offered at Costco! I expect this set will be the centrepiece for many Thanksgiving tables later this week (including mine).
For those who look to me for a Friends recommendation, there are also a lot of great choices here, and I really liked 41742 Cat Hotel.
CapnRex101
77012 Fighter Plane Chase ($34.99 / €34.99 / £29.99)
Indiana Jones made his much-anticipated return this year and 77012 Fighter Plane Chase perfectly encapsulates the theme's incredible potential. The three exclusive minifigures are excellent and the vehicles are even better, achieving both accuracy to The Last Crusade and satisfying functionality.
The value is worth highlighting too, as I think both smaller Indiana Jones set offer impressive value for money, relative to comparable sets from other licensed themes.
I must also mention 76420 Triwizard Tournament: The Black Lake in this category, which is another near-flawless set. In fact, my only issue with the set is its price, which is bound to be reduced at this time of year.
TheBrickPal
43226 Disney Duos ($44.99 / €47.99 / £42.99)
There are many fantastic sets in this category, making it hard to choose just one!
On one hand, you have well-designed City sets like 60386 Recycling Truck and 60388 Gaming Tournament Truck. On the other, there are great licensed choices like Indiana Jones' 77012 Fighter Plane Chase and 77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb, 76421 Dobby the House-Elf, or 76959 Triceratops Research.
Some of my favorite sets of the year overall are also in this range, like 41728 Heartlake Downtown Diner and 76991 Tails' Workshop and Tornado Plane.
However, my absolute favorite is the unique 43226 Disney Duos. Eight figures are provided, and most of them are brilliant. (Sorry, Meeko!). There are some outstanding building techniques used, and the figures convey the animated characters quite well. I especially adore Nemo and Squirt! It all makes for a magical display, worthy of Disney's 100th anniversary.
I must also mention 40622 Disney 100th Celebration, containing four iconic characters in BrickHeadz form. For a more play-oriented Disney pick, 43231 Asha's Cottage may be ideal instead. If you're looking for a gift for a younger fan who is just starting out with LEGO, try 43212 Disney Celebration Train!
Alice
10314 Dried Flower Centrepiece ($49.99 / €49.99 / £44.99)
I tried not to pick the same as anyone else in this category, but my two favourites have been picked! So I will agree with Megan and go with 10314 Dried Flower Centrepiece as like I said before, the Botanical Collection sets are great gifts for non-AFOLs!
I had fun building it earlier this year for review and discovering the interesting building techniques and parts usage. The autumnal colour scheme is different and definitely gives me Thanksgiving vibes, so as Megan said, it’ll look great as a centrepiece on your Thanksgiving table!
My second favourite from this category is 43226 Disney Duos as I think this is the perfect gift for Disney fans.
benbacardi
21340 Tales of the Space Age ($49.99 / €49.99 / £44.99)
I am a sucker for both space-related sets and the artwork-style sets designed for display, and 21340 Tales of the Space Age ticks both boxes!
The four small postcard-style dioramas look excellent either apart or together, and are different enough in design to avoid feeling repetitive when building. They're flexible in display, too, as they can either be hung on the wall or stood on a shelf.
This is the perfect gift for the space fan in your life, whether they're an existing lover of LEGO or not. Perhaps it could draw somebody into the hobby!
SetToBuild
40649 Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure ($49.99 / €49.99 / £44.99)
The Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure is a charming addition to any LEGO fan's collection. This classic figure is free of a specific theme, and is just happy to see you!
It's interesting to see what techniques are used to scale up the minifigure while also keeping the structure strong and poseable. There is even a hidden surprise…
For the MOC builder in your life, 40649 Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure is the perfect template to expand on. We've already seen fans make other classic LEGO figures using this set.
FlagsNZ
60386 Recycling Truck ($29.99 / €34.99 / £29.99)
I like populating my City dioramas with real-world vehicles, and this year 60386 Recycling Truck appealed to me. I really like the clean lines and teal colour of this truck.
The set comes with a recycling station where rubbish can be sorted into organic, paper and glass categories - each with its own colour-coded bin.
Along with two refuse workers wearing dark azure 'neoprene' gloves and a third unique minifigure that comes with this set, there is a lot of playability, and conversations to be had around recycling and sustainability.
As one of 16 City sets released this year in this price bracket ($25-$50), it stands out as being more true to life than the others in the group.
What would you have chosen from the 124 sets in scope?
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14 comments on this article
Have to agree on the upscaled minifigure. Would love to see a whole bunch of these covering different themes.
You can't go wrong with either of the Indiana Jones sets. 40623 is another option if you know somebody who's really into Brickheadz.
Good reminder about the Indiana Jones sets.
I know it wasn't great value at launch, but I did really enjoy making the 76224 Batmobile. I've seen it on offer for a lot less recently.
My favourites are the Dried Flower Centrepiece and the Birdhouse. Got both at a substantial discount too, which makes it even more satisfying.
This year’s Indy sets don’t seem to have really sold that great, either, so this might be people’s last chance to get Indy in LEGO form for a very long time.
Gee, I don't own any of these sets (although I did recently pick up the Black Lake set). What was I doing all year?
Admittedly, there isn't a set in this price range that immediately stands out to me.
If I had to pick one I'd go for 40649 Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure. The set itself looks a bit bland, but provides a great base for endless customization.
@WemWem said:
"This year’s Indy sets don’t seem to have really sold that great, either, so this might be people’s last chance to get Indy in LEGO form for a very long time."
Aren't they? Strange, I would've thought the long-awaited return of Lego Indiana Jones would ensure them selling well.
I recently bought the two smaller sets, which were already fairly priced at MSRP, for a significant discount, and am planning on adding the last one as well.
If you're a Speed Champions fan, the car in 77012 is a Speed Champions equivalent build.
40649 upscaled minifigure gets my vote this year!
@StarWarzFan7777 said:
" @WemWem said:
"This year’s Indy sets don’t seem to have really sold that great, either, so this might be people’s last chance to get Indy in LEGO form for a very long time."
Aren't they? Strange, I would've thought the long-awaited return of Lego Indiana Jones would ensure them selling well.
I recently bought the two smaller sets, which were already fairly priced at MSRP, for a significant discount, and am planning on adding the last one as well."
The sets originally sold out in my stores, but they haven't been moving ever since the restock. I think it was just AFOL demand, and that has been satisfied. Unfortunately, Indiana Jones is not a strong IP anymore, so the likelihood of us seeing more sets is indeed small.
My top 20 ($25 to $50) picks.
Lots of great sets in an affordable range...
- 10791 Team Spidey's Mobile Headquarters
(Top notch playset for your 4 -6 year old. Great fig selection, excellent vehicles especially Spidey's truck, useful elements).
- 10997 Camping Adventure (excellent Duplo figs and play value).
- 11029 Creative Party Box (great parts pack value. 900 elements for $50).
- 31137 Adorable Dogs
- 31143 Birdhouse
- 41736 Sea Rescue Centre
- 43226 Disney Duos
- 43229 Ariel's Treasure Chest
- 60360 Spinning Stunt Challenge
- 60369 Mobile Police Dog Training
- 60396 Modified Race Cars
- 71783 Kai's Mech Rider EVO
- 71792 Sora's Transforming Mech Bike Racer
- 75361 Spider Tank
- 76247 The Hulkbuster: The Battle of Wakanda
- 77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb (great playset, great price).
- For the Harry Potter fan, any of the House Banners (76409, 76410, 76411, 76412).
Difficult category. Looking at that list of 100+ sets seems to highlight the regional fluctuation in price. A lot of the cheaper end sets definitely feel like they should be in the under £25/$25 category (such as the recycling truck and the Indiana plane set). And the higher end sets seem to be a tad overpriced.
Would love to pick up one of the Upscaled Lego figures (as mentioned there are some great mods out there, which perhaps feels more the reason for the set itself being a 'blank slate') but would be happier if it was under £40.
I have 77012 and 21340 they are great!