Do you give Lego as gifts to your non-AFOL friends/family?

Natebw

I am at the very early stage of contemplating Christmas gift-giving....

Last year I made the family (youngest child to grandparents) out of minifigs and gave them to my parents to display. They seemed to like them, but I don't think they play with them. :)

As I think about people, I keep thinking about small sets that I think they'd like, but it probably is just a reflection of sets that I like......

-Nate

matticus_bricks

No, not unless there was some sentimental value involved. For example, I have considered making one of those mosaics with 1x1 plates of something special to someone, say, a favorite album cover.

Thanos75

I have two children ages 8 and 6. Between schoolmates , co-workers, family and friends it means lots and lots of birthday parties. Almost one every week and I'm sure much to some parents dismay , the only gift I ever give is LEGO.

augen

I have done, but nothing major and had mixed results. If you know someone particularly likes a theme like Star Wars, it's a fairly safe bet. I even gave the British Policeman to my 83 year old dad as he's ex-Met and he displays it with all his other police models.

mnbvc

I think gifting Lego to children is a great idea. I wouldn't consider giving a non-AFOL adult a Lego gift.

The exception I would make for adults is as part of a going away present - perhaps a minifig of themselves, or something like that...

But that's because going away presents are very different to all other presents. Birthday presents and Christmas presents should be all about that person and what they love...not what you would like to receive.

A going away present can be a mix of what they want and something of yourself, as you might want them to look at it and remember you (and a Lego figure will probably make them think of you fondly anyway).

KingDave

I am not a real AFOL as I just buy lego for my many junior relatives. Having said that, I got creationary as a pressent a few years back (before I was taking much interest in lego again) and I thought it was a great pressent. So I would say yes, lego can make a good pressent to a non AFOL if it is a set they will actualy appreciate (not just one you like or found cheap).

klatu003

I have given minifigs to many of my close adult relatives, mostly the CMF series that represented their job or a major interest. I was one of the few people feeling the minifigs up for a climber! My daughter-in-law got the character that she has a crush on and she uses him as her Facebook profile picture.

gifinim

I gave my dad the CMF painter figure for fathers day and he was so happy with it he has it on display next to the TV (much to my mums disgust!). When a friend of mine was joining the Navy my daughter suggested giving him one of the CMF sailors as a sort of going away present and he was really touched she'd thought of that. I guess it depends on the recipient and how relevant the Lego is to them.

yuffie

I think if you give a friend or relative a minifigure that represents them or something they like doing it's a clever little gift and one that - at a couple of quid - is not likely to be their main present.

On the other hand if you buy some who doesn't like Lego a big set it's going to seem a bit odd and they'll probably think you are getting so you can build it yourself. A bit like if I went and bought my wife a shirt of my favourite football team.

jockosjungle

I'd be very reluctant to give members of my extended family a Lego figure I thought looked like them.

That being said I might make minifigs of my family for my wife.

Any kids I buy for get Lego, it's generally deemed a high quality gift and I normally have a spend limit, so kids generally get a better Lego set because I'm on the prowl for good deals, so if my limit is £20 they get a pretty decent £40 set usually. If its some random kids party they also get Lego, which I think is a good gift generally.

As for adults I have done in the past and will continue to do so in the future, there is plenty of opportunity for crossover with other interests especially with the new supercars sets. I've bought my brother classic Star Wars sets and Formula 1 sets. He was quite chuffed to learn a Michael Schumacher set I got him was worth £300.

He loves Speed Records so fancy MOCing a Bluebird boat or car or something.

WoutStopmotion

Previous year i gave my dad one of these for his birthday. He liked it a lot. I must say that i replaced the head of the figure included with a really crappy one i had laying around somewhere so that i could use it for figures. He still hasn't noticed, haha.

natro220

The only time I've done this was for a close friend who I knew USED to like Lego, and used to collect Harry Potter sets 12 years ago. As a house warming present, my wife and I got her the Lego Creator Tree House. She actually really loved it.

plasmodium

natro220 said:

...used to collect Harry Potter sets 12 years ago.

Harry Potter sets have been around that long already?! Now that makes me feel old...I think of them being a new-ish theme...

binaryeye

plasmodium said:

Harry Potter sets have been around that long already?! Now that makes me feel old...I think of them being a new-ish theme...

Next month, it will be 13 years since the first movie came out.

Incidentally, the only LEGO gift I've given to an adult non-FOL family or friend was #30111 to my sister, who is a big fan of Harry Potter. Last I knew, she had it displayed on a bookshelf in her living room. Of course, it was a polybag and a small accompaniment to a larger gift.

Otherwise, my son isn't an AFOL (yet) and I give him LEGO probably more often than I should. :)

starfire2

I gave my former boss a Frodo keychain for Christmas last year.

Shib

plasmodium said:

natro220 said:

...used to collect Harry Potter sets 12 years ago.

Harry Potter sets have been around that long already?! Now that makes me feel old...I think of them being a new-ish theme...

Don't forget the first sets still had Yellow heads!


Apart from children, I've only given Lego as a gift to two non-AFOLs. I gave my brother (who is more of a nerd than I am) the Ecto-1 and I think it went down really well - he tweeted me pictures mid build. I also gave a friend (who is a former Navy man and avid sailor) a City boat, which he had on display in his living room for ages (might still be there) but this was only after he'd told me (in response to my collecting) that he used to have a lot of Lego as a child.

Minifigures, key rings etc I think work well as little gifts, but otherwise unless there is a trigger to give Lego as the gift then I wouldn't.

GallardoLU

last year I gave my Brother-in-law who is a US Marine, a citizen brick figure of a Marine in Dress blues, he thought it was just awesome. My father gets small firefighting sets from me as well, and the feeling I get from him is its a gift to remind him of me (Lego) and firefighting (his job and passion). I do this all the time with friends and family of all ages. but I tailor the gift to the passion that I know the person receiving it has.

BuriedinBricks

I've given LEGO to non-AFOLs twice. The first was a basic 3:1 Creator set for my brother-in-law, who had shown frequent interest in my collection. (The bug did not take).

The second was the CMF Thespian for my mother-in-law, a (now retired) high school English teacher. This was pre-LEGO movie Shakespeare fig. She thought it was cute, but I certainly did not expect her to jump into building because of it.

cheshirecat

For my kids friend's parties they almost always get something lego related - brickmaster books, sets, sticker books etc. For my kid's parties the party bag is almost always LEGO filled too - recently with mixels.

This year I'm buying my dad a #10226 Sopwith Camel for christmas as last year he spent almost all his time building his grandkid's lego (even when they weren't) so its become something of a family joke.

mcvitie

I sent my Ice Hockey mad brother a sealed 'Minifigure Series Hockey Player'. Although he appreciated the gesture he wasn't that bothered and lost the 'puck' somewhere when opening it

Blakstone

I agree with most of the comments on gifting LEGO to non AFOLs. However, I once bought 8 Star Destroyer polybags for about $1 each. I decided to gift them to all my team mates at work. I think that was fair because Star Wars has a lot of fans and it was a cheap, out of the blue gift.

I like the context of the going away gift but for a obligatory gift you are better to match it with their interests. It looks like we all try to match those interests.