The 11 Best Gifts for Lego Lovers

Have all your sets now become disassembled, and do you need some inspiration while looking at the giant wheelbarrow of Lego bricks on your front porch? This is my kids' favorite book for ideas on what to build. It has been a struggle to not “lose” it from the library.

All of the builds are fairly easy and so far I haven't seen any builds that require specialized pieces. However, you will probably need more than just 12 red bricks or 14 yellow ones to make many of the builds, so you should make sure your Lego loved one has a substantial collection already. If you want other sources of inspiration, we also like The Art of the Brick ($25) and I would be remiss if I did not include our own Brian Barrett's book, The Art of the Minifigure ($22).

As Lego-branded toys started to roll into my house, I do have the caveat that my kids were very confused. ("Why are all these Lego gifts coming in but none of them are Legos?") However, my son was immediately thrilled and delighted with this mug and demands that I wash it every morning for him to drink.

There are several faces to choose from if your children don't want to match. It's ceramic and can hold about 17 ounces of liquid—so, pretty big for a 7-year-old but nothing his little hands can't handle. It's dishwasher-safe. We've also received these off-brand Lego mugs ($12) as gifts, but again, the clutch power of off-brand Lego bricks is unsatisfactory and the bricks don't stick on very well.

Do you have an artsy little Lego lover? My daughter has been obsessed with this notebook and carrying it around everywhere she goes. It's about 6 inches square, so small enough to fit in a backpack or tote bag, with a decent 176 lined sheets. It has a wonderful conceit—the Lego gel pen matches the color of the binding and clicks right into it, so it both locks the notebook shut and ensures you never lose your pen. That's unless you're 9 and leave your pen on the kitchen table, where your puppy finds it and eats it (see next).

This is a 10-pack of licensed Lego gel pens. They come in 10 separate colors and fit Lego bricks, which is very fun if your child decides that they want to build their own homemade desk organizer as they draw. The ink flows smoothly and they've lasted for several weeks. For more paper and pen ideas, check out our guide to the Best Paper Notebooks. My daughter was so heartbroken when her puppy destroyed her Lego pen that my husband decided he had to replace it immediately (also, the pen was very cool).

These Lego bracelet party favors were incredibly popular with the second- and third-graders at my kids' school. There are a ton of different designs, from Funky Animals ($7) to Monsters ($10), and there's even a party kit ($40) if you want to throw a get-together for a few Lego-lovin' little crafters. I'm still finding these little dots stuck to the bottoms of my feet years later. Do with that what you will.

Far be it from me to tell you what to add to your bag charms, but Lego's night light keychains are quirky and useful. If you've ever dropped something in the dark in the back of a car, while you're walking on the street, or even if you've dropped something in the black hole depths of your own bag, then you know that having a little light around can be handy.

Lego makes a ton of different keychain lights, and all the figures are very sturdy and posable. (I like Banana Guy mainly from his description: “He loves two things: Bananas and partying.”) They also work as a fun little fidget if you're sitting in a waiting room with your son.

This message board is just great. It's a decent-size set with 1,793 pieces aimed at kids that are older than 9, but my 7-year-old had no problem following the build instructions (he is pretty experienced, I guess).

This is a fun evening project. You build the frame, then write your personalized messages by making letters. There's even instructions for adding umlauts, accents, and other special characters if you're writing in different languages, and it includes different stickers to punctuate your message. I've been waking up every morning to my kids greeting me with different messages, which is very, very cute.

Disclosure: We play this game as part of our PlayStation Plus subscription, but you can buy it à la carte. I was pretty surprised by how enjoyable this game is. The graphics are rich and immersive. The gameplay also strikes that fine balance between being easy enough for 7- to 9-year-olds to master, while still being enjoyable for 40-year-olds who are pushing their children aside to take turns fighting in the dojos. I am also way too interested in the Lego Lord of the Rings series ($21) for PlayStation.

I haven't been able to hang art or pictures in my kids' playroom. With the number of stuffed animals, soccer balls, cheap drones, or occasional spaghetti noodles being flung around, I'm pretty sure that any frames would end up as a pile of broken glass on the floor. Do you have a similar problem when trying to display pictures of your rambunctious little trolls that love Lego? These picture frames could be the answer.

These picture frames are made from solid plastic with a slide-in slot to display photos or art. They come in a wide variety of colors, and the wooden ones come in much larger sizes.