The fantastical world that is Lego! (Lego in General)

Member Name: liss_e

Product:	Lego in General
Date:	10/07/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Versatile, educational, high quality and FUN!

Disadvantages: Some larger sets can be expensive, such as Star Wars vehicles

Is there anybody out there that doesn't know what Lego is? It's a massive brand of toy that reaches children's (and adults!) minds, tempting little hands to build something out of the tiny bricks. Brightly coloured with huge ranges of themed sets that you can collect. You can get Indiana Jones sets, battle with Batman against bad guys, collect the Lego City range of fire engines and police vehicles, or compete with Pod Racers in the Star Wars sets. In the past they have sold lots of different themed add-ons, like Spiderman, pirates etc. So many of which you can find on Ebay for reasonable prices. It's truly a gigantic brand that even has games available on many different platforms such as Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

For the slightly older children there's the Bionicle offshoot, which is much more exciting and challenging to put together - we've not reached that stage yet but I am sure it is going to come with our son!

I can remember being about 10 and receiving a basic box of Lego with baseplates (green bases that you can build onto), and the hours upon hours I spent in my bedroom creating different houses for the little Lego people to live in. I built my collection up as I got older and earnt pocket money and then babysitting wages, I would go into my local toyshop or Woolworths and buy a small set or vehicle for around £2.50-£5. I absolutely adored it.

My eldest son was two when he received a massive box of Duplo for Christmas off a close friend of mine. Duplo is the version of Lego for toddlers, big chunky bricks and they also have additional ranges available, he got a wonderful James train out of Thomas the Tank Engine from the very same friend. We'd both spend hours with him simply building up towers that he'd then knock down. It was great for his coordination and when it came to learning colours it was so easy to make things out of the blue or red bricks. As far as educational toys go it is in my mind the most versatile and fun thing you could ever buy your child. Counting the amount of bricks in a tower was another firm favourite thing to do. It was used regularly right up until he turned five and is now played with by his younger brother.

Then last summer during his first summer holidays I wanted something to help entertain him and still keep his brain working when I spotted a box of Woolworths' Chad Valley version of Lego for a very cheap price. I would have bought him the original, and far superior Lego brand but at the time I was on a strict budget for the summer. Every single day up to Christmas he would play with it without fail. It would frustrate him at times however as it didn't go together well, nor did it pull apart smoothly either so I'd often have to help him. I don't recommend buying cheaper versions at all.

Then on Christmas morning Santa bought him a big box of real Lego. I got it from Argos as it had £5 off at the time, but you can get Lego absolutely everywhere! Ebay has a huge selection, you can sometimes find it in second-hand shops, Amazon sells it, and some of the figures are extremely collectible and fetch a lot of money.

I had great fun following the instruction book that came with the set and building houses for him. It bought back so many memories - the dainty flowers and stems that you can place outside buildings, the teeny see though coloured bricks you use as lights on vehicles. It's a wonderful toy that there is just no end to. It takes a lot of battering about, but it lasts for years. I have a friend who's children inherited her younger brother's Lego (he's now 24) that had actually been passed onto him by an older neighbour - this toy is the toy that keeps on giving!

Yes some of the pieces can be pricey, but like I said there is always a potential bargain to be had on Ebay, or on car boots. For the years that Lego will last a child it is not at all expensive compared to pricey Ben 10 Omnitrix fads that last a short time before your child grows bored with them. We've not actually bought our son any of the extra sets yet, he is still thrilled with his basic starter box from Santa, but it is something to consider in the future as he becomes more skilled at creating things with it. He has just turned six and loves to copy the instruction book, which is made up of simple pictures showing you which brick goes where, and make his own cars and houses, he especially enjoys it when either his Dad or myself sit down with him and make something. It really gets the whole family involved as it's so addictive and easy to use!

I only wish my Mother hadn't given my collection away after my younger brother grew out of it, it was only a couple of years later that I had a child of my own and would've thrilled my son!

If you're buying a child a gift and unsure what to get them, then get them this - even if they have some already more is always welcome and if they haven't then you have the exciting job of introducing them to it at home! Schools all seem to have Lego, which goes to show how highly rated it is by our educational system.

I'm well aware that not all children do like to put things together, both of my sons seem to enjoy it, but I wasn't all that into it, and yet I still liked the role-play aspect of it, building a house for my little Lego men to live and work in that I would keep set up for weeks just playing with it as I would a doll house and Barbies. They even do much girlier ranges these days which I would've adored. We bought my other half's niece a beautiful Cinderella carriage Duplo set one year for Christmas.

So if by some freak chance you haven't yet gotten any of this phenomenal Lego in your home, then what are you waiting for!

Summary: Every home should have some in it.