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 159 eligible items released during 2021 in that price bracket, which equates to about £20 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
40482 Hamster ($14.99, £13.49, 14.99€)
The under $25 price bracket is occupied by sets that make good stocking-fillers for kids and adults alike and the one I've chosen is likely to be appreciated by both.
BrickHeadz pets were a surprising introduction to the range of blocky characters this year and any one of them would make a great gift for a pet owner.
The one you choose to give is likely to be influenced by what animal they have, but I think most will appreciate the cutest of them all, 40482 Hamster, whether they keep the rodents or not.
MeganL
41677 Forest Waterfall (£8.99 / $9.99 / 9.99€)
This is a price point for stocking stuffers or impulse purchases, and for the money, I can't think of a better set to fit both needs than 41677 Forest Waterfall.
Whether you're a Friends fan or not, it's a great forest scene filled with new-ish parts, two minidolls, wonderful brick built trees, and of course the requisite cute Friends animal. You can't beat that for $10.
For those who don't want a forest scene and have a devoted AFOL on their list, check out 41935 Lots of DOTS, which lives up to its name for over 1000 Dots pieces for $20.
CapnRex101
60287 Tractor (£14.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€)
Farming has been consistently overlooked within LEGO City, hence 60287 Tractor stands out beside other sets. This model provides excellent play value and looks superb on display too, incorporating some interesting new elements for 2021.
The price represents great value too, especially in the UK where the cost of £14.99 compares very favourably with equivalent sets! I would therefore certainly recommend this tractor to those seeking a relatively inexpensive, but fun, set for any age.
DrDaveWatford
40460 Roses (£11.99 / $12.99 / 12.99€)
At this price point I really can't look beyond 40460 Roses. I have already gifted this set during 2021, or more accurately I built the roses myself and gave them to the recipient, and they went down an absolute storm despite the fact that she isn't even particularly interested in LEGO.
While LEGO roses admittedly don't smell as nice as the real thing, they have the advantage that they can be displayed and look beautiful long after their organic counterparts have faded and died.
In addition to looking good, some interesting building techniques and elements are pressed into service during construction. Furthermore, at the time of release at least the set included a number of recoloured earth green and dark green elements which hadn't been seen before.
Overall, the set looks great, it's an interesting if brief build, and the set is well-priced. In fact, if you're really looking to impress you can also buy 40461 Tulips to add to the bouquet, and you'll still have change from your $25...
Alice
41909 Mermaid Vibes Bracelets (£5.99 / $5.99 / 6.99€)
There are plenty of DOTS sets to choose from in the under $25 category, but I’ve gone for one of the bracelet packs.
41909 Mermaid Vibes Bracelets, or any of the bracelets for that matter, would be a great stocking filler for any boy or girl or even AFOLs who want to show off their love of LEGO. I personally think they look more attractive, and perhaps more adult, on their own as a single bracelet, that’s why I’ve chosen this one as opposed to a two-stud bracelet.
The bracelet packs also come with an excellent variety of printed tiles but if bracelets aren’t your thing then any of the Extra Dots packs would be a good gift for AFOLs too.
FlagsNZ
40498 Christmas Penguin (£13.49 / $14.99 / 14.99€)
Being from the southern hemisphere, it is great to see penguins featuring in Christmas sets and this is the largest LEGO version of these flightless birds.
To me, it looks like a Fiordland crested penguin which is endemic to New Zealand’s South Island and a few offshore islands. It could, however, be any one of several crested penguins.
There are some interesting SNOT building techniques and one or two hidden features in the build. It is certainly the largest LEGO penguin with the greatest number of parts.
The penguin would not look out of place alongside your northern hemisphere Christmas winter village and it will look great next to another endemic New Zealand flightless bird: Kakapo.
What would you pick from the 159 eligible items?
89 likes
33 comments on this article
Looking forward to reading this series. 2021 has been a great year so there will be some tough picks.
For under $25, I’ll go with 40492 La Catrina. I’m not typically a Brickheadz collector but she’s fantastic.
Here, have to go with 76900 . I really love the speed champions line and the single car packs. Like the newer 8-wide scale. And the jesko is really nice in design, build techniques and part use.
I think those are some great choices, and I even have a few of them.
Alongside 40498 Penguin, 40497 Halloween Owl is also a nice build & a good representation of what looks like a horned owl.
The Tractor is good value now, it is one of the sets scheduled for price rise (UK), going to £18 from 1st Jan
For me it's HP 76386 (polyjuice potion mistake): It comes with over 200 pieces, four minifigures, and alternate faces and haircuts (plus a cat head of course). So it's great value for just 20 euros, and especially for a licensed set too!
I agree that the tractor is a fair choice :D because of all the price hikes it's not easy to pick other good valued sets at full price, but I would also mention 60285 which features surprisingly detailed design and lots of elements in the scarcer dark azure color, all for only $10.
If polybags also count, 30578 is an overlooked set in my opinion, it features three great builds and lots of useful rare parts, and it began to show up in toy stores and on the secondary market in Hungary for around $3-$5, so I guess it is more widely available elsewhere too.
And 41932 is the best DOTS accessory set by far in my opinion with its vibrant colours and funny graphics, $4 for 120 (plus 7 extra) bits and pieces seems like a fair value. And these three would fit into the $25 bracket conveniently, even together :D
(By the way, @Huw I think the first two hyperlinks at the Penguin section are broken)
60287 City Tractor is $19.99 in the US, not $14.99 as @Huw mentions.
That said, Walgreens has it erroneously listed as $9.99 in store, so if you happen to find one, that's 50% off right there.
From those that I own I recommend
- 31112 Wild Lion for anyone who likes brick build animals
- 42117 Race Plane as a pleasant technic gift.
Besides that I think the 60287 Tractor is a nice play set that cannot be wrong.
That list (query) does not seem to have polybags (such as30465 Helicopter) but any (tiny) Dots supplemental set.
Just bought a bunch of small LEGO sets with a huge discount yesterday, including set 41677 . It only cost me € 6,40, as did the other sets. I'm planning to use the scenery build of set 41677 in my castle set-up, so one of the Forestmen can fight a knight on the log across the stream. I like the minidolls for what they are, even if I don't display them, but their hairpieces, especially Andrea's and Stephanie's, do look really nice on regular minifigs as well.
A personal recommendation for a stocking filler: set 60285 Sports Car. Not a huge car fan myself, but this is a nice build with a wonderful color, it's greatly shaped and has no stickers whatsoever. Win! It's also not as beefy as the cars from the Speed Champions series. Best thing of all: the minifigure looks exactly like Owen Wilson. Surely made me smile.
The tractor is definately fun, one of the few 2021 sets I own so far. I think 60283 Holiday Camper Van is also a good pick for only €/$ 20.
I've got 4 out of the 6 Brickset picks. The bracelet just wouldn't suit me and Friends minidolls are just to creepy! Remind of Cobi figures. I particularly like the tractor, not least for comparison with my first Lego Tractor 604-2.
I've got 40 out of the 159 eligible sets of which the Easter Bunny 40463-1 is one of my favourites... excellent shaping for so few pieces.
What I dislike about that penguin is the 8 sided snowflake. All snowflakes are hexagons in real life.
Battle packs are also great for any Star Wars fan in your life!
Though there are slim pickings currently, I highly recommend the Mandalorian Battle Pack. You might still be able to find it in some stores, and it should be on sale at Amazon in the US.
CapnRex's choice of 60287 Tractor is exactly what I bought at Target 2 nights ago. Amazing! (Target had it for $14.99.) I picked it for my 6 year old son. My boy wanted a big vehicle and also minifigs. (There was also the choice of the new Stuntz theme.) He's gonna be happy what "Santa" brings him.
40469 Tuk Tuk, charming little set.
The 60287 Tractor and the 42117 Technic race plane are both great choices, as are any of the small Speed Champion sets
The Tractor 60287 and The Wild Lion 31112 are great sets to gift and good value. Also, 31114 Super Bike is a good choice.
My pick is definitely 75130 Duel on Mandalore. Yes, I know there’s a bit of controversy regarding the price, but if the lucky one likes Star Wars they’ll love this for sure. It’s just a great small display piece for a desk or something along those lines. For what it is, it features great details and building techniques also.
A second choice for me would be 76154 or 76173 ; two sets with one solid build and three desirable minifigs. If they like Marvel only a little I’m sure it’ll be enjoyed by both AFOLs and kids alike.
My favorite sets in that price range have been the City Tractor, the Easter Bunny, and Olivia's Electric Car.
The correct answer is 76386
Lots of nice options this year. I'd like to add 31115 to the list.
@Reinier said:
"What I dislike about that penguin is the 8 sided snowflake. All snowflakes are hexagons in real life."
Relax. It's just an 8 pointed Christmas decoration. Lego don't identify it as a snowflake. So the only people getting it wrong are those calling it a snowflake, in an effort to show off their astounding knowledge of snowflakery!
The 40498 Penguin was in stock on the LEGO US website yesterday and is now "Sold Out."
I love these gift guides, and the best part is getting the perspective of a variety of different people instead of just one person's opinion.
I'd be even a little happier if each of you submitted *two* sets each, instead of just one. (At least at these lower price points.)
Personally, I'd suggest one of the 4+ Disney "Mickey & Friends" sets, even for AFOLs, because they are so much fun.
If I had to pick just one, I think I'd go with Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse's Space Rocket (10774 for $20), which has lots of fun play value even if the minifigs in their space suits look a little weird out of context. (But the weirdness is part of what makes this set great.)
On the budget end of this price range, Mickey Mouse's Propeller Plane (10772) is one of the best $10 sets Lego has released in years. Some fantastic printed pieces, loads of play value, and the Mickey Mouse minifig in a pilot's outfit still looks great out of context.
Again, I love these Brickset Gift Guides. Big thanks to the staff of my favorite website!
Any of the single release Speed Champions arw a great buy. Every model is like a tiny Creator car in the level of detail and fun building techniques. PPP ratio is often really solid as well, even considering most of the pieces are small.
I don’t get presents for Christmas, or at least haven’t asked for any since I was 14, so these aren’t of much interest to me. Most, if not all of them, are great picks, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not getting any of them for the holidays or otherwise. My brother used to have a hamster, he was really cute and I wish I appreciated him more while we had him. On an unrelated note, the larger Brickhead might be bigger than an actual hamster.
My top picks for different audiecnes
Young Builders - 10771 Mickey Mouse's Propeller Plane
Adult Builders - 40460 Roses (as mentioned by @DrDaveWatford)
Playability - 60283 Holiday Camper Van
Display - 76386 Hogwarts Polyjuice Potion Mistake
My top three under $25 sets are Tractor, second is the other Tractor I bought, third is the other other Tractor I bought.
@Minifig290 said:
"My top picks for different audiecnes
Young Builders - 10771 Mickey Mouse's Propeller Plane
Adult Builders - 40460 Roses (as mentioned by @DrDaveWatford)
Playability - 60283 Holiday Camper Van
Display - 76386 Hogwarts Polyjuice Potion Mistake"
I have 76386 Hogwarts Polyjuice Potion Mistake, it’s a great set imo, my favorite of this year’s Hogwarts expansions. It worked well for one of my Brickfilms, which wasn’t even themed after that scene (rather, it was for the troll part from Philosopher’s Stone). It could also work pretty well as any sort of higher-quality bathroom, plus we get Crabbe and Goyle for the first time in a decade (even longer in the case of… well, I can’t really tell them apart :P).
Nice selection. For me it has to be the BrickHeadz Pets: particularly the German Shepards.
The Duel on Mandalore and Polyjuice Mistake are also good options IMO.
I really like Forest Warerfall, but I think the better set would be Vet Clinic Rescue Buggy, since it has much more play opportunities and includes two great Minidolls
My under $25 bucks picks...
- 10774 Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse's Space Rocket/ 10944 Space Shuttle Mission
For you wee one with dreams of going to the stars! Cute and fun!
- 31111 Cyber Drone
One of the better 3 in 1's where ALL the models are good. Also unique minifig and only $10 beans to boot!
- 40453 Batman vs. The Penguin & Harley Quinn/ 40454 Spider-Man versus Venom and Iron Venom
Excellent minifig superhero packs for the kids and fig collectors!
- 40464 Chinatown/ 40465 Food
Excellent accessories for your town and moc's and great stocking stuffers.
Any of the Friends Cube's and any of the NinjaGo Epic Battle Sets.
Any of the Marvel Superhero Mechs. All sturdy and great for play and easy on the wallet.