2021 Gift Guide: Best LEGO Sets for all ages

By Kristin Cook on November 9, 2021

LEGOs are nothing new. Most of us grew up playing with them. Many of us still have plastic storage bins full of them in our basements, or have passed down those treasured collections to our own children. They’re literally the best selling toy in the world!

But while LEGO used to be primarily thought of as a toy for kids, in more recent years they have really started designing and marketing towards adults (in many cases, adults with a lot of disposable income!). From nostalgic movie and TV tie-ins, to displayable builds that double as home decor, to conversation starters for your office, here are 12+ LEGO sets that truly will bring a smile to anyone “ages 4 to 99”.

Best LEGO Set for the Whole Family

The new LEGO Art Project: Create Together Set (21226) comes with 9 “canvas” plates and over 4,000 little pieces to design them with. The panels can then be connected together to form a collaborative piece of art to hang on your wall. The box comes with ideas, but it’s also great for DIYers who prefer to just make something up!

Not that the $120 price tag is “cheap”, but when you factor in the family activity time and the fact that you end up with a unique piece of decor to display, it’s definitely easier to swallow. Release date is 12/4.

MSRP: $120 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Holiday LEGO Set

When I first laid eyes on the new LEGO Ideas Home Alone (21330), I practically grabbed my face in my hands and screamed like Kevin McCallister after a dab of aftershave. The attention to detail in this set is unreal. Each room in the house is booby trapped with all the best pranks from the movie–the iron to Marv’s face, the torch that lights Harry’s head on fire, Kevin’s fake Christmas party. It’s all there.

What makes it extra special and extra perfect for the holidays, is that the pieces (all 3,955 of them) come split into 24 bags (like an advent calendar) and the building instructions follow the movie’s plot line. You could build one bag a night and get almost a whole month’s worth of fun out of it.

It’s already temporarily out of stock at LEGO; set an alert on Ben’s so you don’t miss out when/if it comes back!

MSRP: $250 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: $250

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Best LEGO Set for the Batman Fan

There’s always at least one or two new Batman sets each year no matter what, but thanks to the upcoming “The Batman” movie (the one with the Twilight dude, out March 2022), we have even more to choose from.

The coolest is definitely the LEGO Technic The Batman Batmobile (42127). I know I know, there’s already been like 5,000 LEGO Batmobiles released, but I’m pretty sure this is the first one to join the Technic line. It has light-up bricks (one for the engine at the back, one for the front grille), an opening hood, realistic steering, etc. An awesome gift for someone who loves Batman (sorry, “The” Batman) and cars!

In the sub-$100 range, this LEGO The Batman Batcave: The Riddler Face-off (76183) ($80) also looks really fun. And if you’re just not feeling yet another Batman reboot, this LEGO Batman Classic TV Series Batman Cowl (76238) ($60) and this LEGO Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile (76188) ($30) are also both new this year.

MSRP: $100 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best LEGO Set for the Kid Who Wants a Pet

Kid asking Santa for a hamster? No fear, LEGO is here to spare you (and probably the hamster) with these new LEGO Brickheadz Animals. In addition to the hamsters, they have a variety of cats, cockatiels, goldfish, budgies and German shepherds ready to be “adopted” for the low price of $15.

Your kids might be able to break ‘em, but they won’t be able to kill ‘em!

The LEGO Creator Fish Tank (31122) ($30) is also super cool, but it’s been out of stock for a few months now (will likely come back at some point).

MSRP: $15 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best LEGO Set for the Music Lover

Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly. These are all musicians who played a Fender Strat, and now you can “play” with one too! The LEGO Ideas Fender Stratocaster (21329) set allows you to build a super detailed 1970s Fender Stratocaster (in either black or red) and a 65 Princeton Reverb amplifier.

The guitar measures about 14” long, making it the perfect size to display on a recording studio desk or just on the shelf next to your sweet vinyl collection.

MSRP: $100 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best LEGO Set for the Writer (or Antique Collector)

I first saw the LEGO Ideas Typewriter (21327) and was like “oh wow, that looks really neat!” Then I read that it actually functions like an actual typewriter (meaning the keys work, you can feed actual paper into it!!) and I started wondering how I might come up with an extra $200 and write it off as a home office expense (kidding, kidding).

This 2079-piece set has gone in and out of stock since being released, so if you want it get it now, before it becomes an ancient relic of the past.

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Best TV Show LEGO Set

The new LEGO Ideas Seinfeld (21328) is another one that’s made to be displayed. Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment is packed with easter eggs fans will love and recognize (giant pretzels, muffin tops, and yes, a Festivus pole).

Other TV show sets new this year include the LEGO Creator Expert Friends Apartment (10292) ($150) and the LEGO Creator Expert Queer Eye The Fab 5 Loft (10291) ($100).

MSRP: $80 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Marvel LEGO Set

Well, there are a bunch of new Eternals sets that we’ll see clearanced out by next month (the movie is getting panned), and, uh, not much else. You can make a pretty good argument that Marvel makes better movies, but DC has better LEGOs!

Working with what we’ve got, the LEGO Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop (76185) is gonna be popular thanks to the third Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie coming out next month. Already backordered at LEGO and sold out at Amazon, but Target currently has it in stock

MSRP: $40 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: NA

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Best Special Edition LEGO Set for Extreme Potter Heads

If you’re at all into Harry Potter, you’ll find the LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Icons Collectors’ Edition (76391) undeniably cool. But in order to justify dropping $250 on it, you need to be really into Harry Potter. Basically, this set should be reserved for the fans that like to share “which Hogwarts house do you belong to based on your astronomical sign” quizzes on social media, and have cursive spells and quidditch snitches tattooed on their wrists.

That level of Harry Potter fan will no doubt want this giant displayable set that includes Harry’s wand and glasses, Ron’s chocolate frog, Hermione’s potion tray, Tom Riddle’s diary, the Golden Snitch, a customizable school scarf, and Hedwig the owl (holding a an invitation to Hogwarts).

MSRP: $250 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Star Wars LEGO Set

When the holiday rush gets to be too much, relax and unwind with this charming LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Meditation Chamber (75296). Based on this special scene from The Empire Strikes Back, the chamber opens, closes and rotates. To make it an even more dramatic display piece, people sell lighting kits for it.

And because it feels like a crime to not include a Baby Yoda something here, the LEGO Star Wars The Mandalorian The Child (75318) ($80) is pretty darn cute.

MSRP: $70 / Lowest Price on Ben’s: N/A

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Best Historically Large Historical LEGO Set That You’ll Never Actually Buy

Imagine for a moment…you decide to shell out $630 on a 9990-piece LEGO set–the biggest set they’ve ever made. It arrives. You spend hours and hours putting it together, page by page, brick by brick, until your fingers are cramping and you can barely see straight anymore. Finally, you finish. You marvel at its beauty and place it ever so carefully on a bookshelf. Then, one day as you’re busy cooking dinner, one of your kids notices it and says, “Cool! The Titanic! Let’s CRASH IT!”

Moral of the story: this one is probably not for kids.

The LEGO Creator Expert Titanic (10294) measures over 53” long (that’s over 4 feet!) and the cross section reveals interior details like the dining room, grand staircase, and lots of passenger cabins.

It’s temporarily out of stock at LEGO despite just coming out this week, so I guess someone’s actually buying it after all!