are the lego advent calendars worth it

paul2louise

My DS is really getting into his lego. My DH suggested getting him a lego advent calendar. I have seen they are about £20 and I am not sure what you get for this. Would it not be better to buy a lego set worth about £20 and break it up into smaller pieces so he could make the lego item up.
Please bear in mind DS is 31/2 so is still quite young to all this Christmas thing.
He loves the lego stuff, cars and trucks but cant build it himself.

thanks

Spendless

I've never bought one, as ds had outgrown lego before I became aware of them. I also think they used to be dearer than £20. Having a google you get small figures that might just be a few bits to put together.

http://shop.lego.com/en-GB/LEGO-City-Advent-Calendar-60024

My son was slightly older at 5 when he got his first lego, but he never had the kits you put together. He was never interested in building to someone else's instructions. He had a generic set and used to build his own ideas from that. becoming more elaborate as he grew older. Would that be a better idea than the kits for him?

nonnatus

Oh god YES!!

They are FAB...

My kids are 16 and 17 this year and would be bereft if I didn't provide the Lego calendars. Boy is getting the Star Wars one this year and my daughter is getting the City one complete with reindeer and Xmas Tree.

So much fun every day getting the little gifts and using the Calendar to create a little "scene". I reckon if I ever get rid of the kids on a more permanent basis, I'll still get the Lego Advents for myself...:o

paul2louise

i have some of the starter set bricks, that big cube. He cant build too much on his own yet i build it for him to play with. Will have a think, thanks

LittleMrsThrifty

I've just ordered one of these from Amazon. The reviews suggested that they often run out of stock so I ordered early. They're £20 so much more expensive than a normal advent calendar but hopefully fun. I am going to wrap it up as an early Christmas gift.

zanuda

I've bee to the toy shops recently looking for birthday presents. Wherever I've been they dad 3 types of calendars. City and Friends (2 girls and some wintery staff) for ~£20 and look OK, 5 figurines showed on the side of the box but by description it's 24 gifts. I like Friends series because figurines have more details but it girls only.

As for Starwars, it was ~£27. A little bit overpriced but if you could find one for the same price as the former ones it will be good deal.

As for myself, I need 2 (presents). So if my kids don't wand something really expansive I'm going to buy 2 of these calendars.

Luckystar

Personally I would wait until he is little older for the lego ones, last year i managed to get one half price in Argos on 2nd Dec you could try and get one reduced and save for next year. They are great fun playmobil also do them

nikki&asha

My son has just turned 4 and had a playmobil one last year - I think he has played with that more than anything else all year! I have him another one for this year. Its worth keeping an eye on amazon throughout the year as they go down to £10/15.






Like your son, mine has lego but I have to build bits for him, he's not building with them himself much yet but does with duplo/megablocks. I think its still a bit fiddly for him tbh.

WestonDave

Skinflint confession time - we've had 3 of these, and as the kids have more lego than LEGOLAND, we keep them separate from the normal lego and repack them, put them up in the loft and then get them out again next year. (We started with one, added one each year since).

paul2louise

thanks some really helpful posts, methinks that he would be happy with some chocolate as he doesnt really understand the christmas or advent thing. He has only recently discovered lego and been to legoland for the first time this year. So maybe worth waiting to see if i can pick up a reduced one and save till next year. The playmobil option is good idea too, not thought of that.

zanuda

WestonDave wrote: »

...we keep them separate from the normal lego and repack them, put them up in the loft and then get them out again next year....

Wow, good idea, mine are still at the age they might enjoy playing with the stuff they remember rather then new one.

paul2louise wrote: »

... he doesnt really understand the christmas or advent thing. ...

Like the older ones really understand :A They only know the story behind (that is like fairytale for them) and that it will be Christmass tree and a lot of presents. I don't see that my kids understanding moved far from their 2 years old time...:rotfl: