As much as I love lego - its only 'made' once and then its a pile.

[bacon]

Do you know what I mean? The kits are lovely, boats, buildings, lorries etc are expensive and look fantastic however, after they have been made up they are smashed up popped into the lego box and never to be made up again - just the usual buildings, inventions etc. Is it worth buying anymore lego stuff for DS1 at 7yrs?

[SarkyWench]

"popped into the lego box"

no, no, no!

You must have an array of appropriately sized boxes. One for each kit (or set of kits). Or they are indeed a waste of time :)
My boys have a ludicrously large lego collection and we have definitely got our money's worth out of these.

[SarkyWench]

These are perfect

[NormanTheForeman]

It depends on the child - my ds would quite often rebuild the models, but modifying them into different things. However his friend had no interest in rebuilding once he had made the original kit.

[Obiwan]

Oh yes, you can never have too much Lego.

We have loads of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Super Heroes, Winter Village and LOTR sets, and to be honest they don't get taken apart. My eldest is 8 and the youngest is a toddler, and they use the buildings and vehicles as playsets for the much loved minifigs. We have random brick sets too, so that they can get creative.

I have one big cabinet in the dining room for the sole use of Lego sets though, so that has helped.

We love lego.

[aufaniae]

Father Christmas used to bring us lego every year. Opening the stocking and making our new lego toy became an essential part of Christmas for me and my DSIS.

It delayed the moment when we excitedly woke our parents up as ridiculous-oclock in the morning by at least 20 precious minutes! I'm sure my parents would say that lego was worth it :)

I intend to encourage the same with my DCs when they're old enough too :)

[RedBlanket]

Lego Hogwarts and the Lego police station are still standing. most other kits are in a general pile. I store by colour and have separate tubs for People and things like light sabres and stuff that gets lost easily.

I has intended to keep kits in their boxes with instructions but it all got a bit unmanageable and DH threw all the boxes away.

[RosemaryandThyme]

Buy the lego book that shows how to make hundreds of different models instead of more lego (assume you've a fair old pile already.
It's about £10 from the Bookclub.
If child doesn't have the bits already they are often inspired to use their own imagination, to adjust the model, or if their a bit of a perfectionist then packs of particular colur bricks and just the bits and bobd they need (rather than a whole new set_) can be bought from the lego store.
Also there is an app that gives a model a day to build from bits and bobs though I'm not savvy enough to have used it yet.
Oh and there is a website that (lego_) that you can get free mag's sent to the children -0 lots of ads but also some further construction ideas.
Oh and we also showed them some mini-0figure movies on Utube and they built things and wrote a script and videoed their production.
Just some ways to make more use of the lego they have already.

[swampster]

Lego is the ONLY toy I would want to keep forever. And the bits are small enough to do so.

It encourages creativity, make it once, take it apart, make it into something totally different with all the other lovely bits of Lego from other Lego kits.

My boys all love Lego and play with it together pretty much daily which is more than I can say for the other toys they have gathering dust around the house. They are 3, 6 and 8 but my three-year-old has been playing with it very constructively for at least two years now.

I dread Christmas for all the bits of plastic tat we receive from generous relatives. But last year when asked what the boys wanted for Christmas I said 'Lego' and as a result they were given (pooled) presents that are still loved and played with albeit often in a different form.

And because it all works together, a single small new (to them) Lego item rejuvenates all the rest of it and makes it ultra-exciting again.

[Indith]

Our lego is not stored in kits but we have trofast with little drawers and lego is divided up into building parts (roof tiles, doors and windows etc), car parts (steering wheels, bases, wheels, grills for the front, doors etc), figures and their stuff, specialist bits (road signs, little lights, odd bricks with holes in for a specific model) and then flat bricks, thin bricks and fat bricks. That way if they want to make a kit using the instructions they can easily find the pieces and they can also easily find what they want if making up their own models. Ds now makes his own things far more than when it was all in one tub as he would get frustrated at not being able to find the brick he wanted and give up.

[swampster]

We have Trofast too and also the little Glis boxes which fit nicely inside the Trofast boxes.

Any logic as to what is stored where tends to be determined by DS1.

[fuzzpig]

Watching with interest. Ours don't have any yet - they are 5 and 3 so still on duplo, will probably replace it with Lego next Xmas. Itching to get some as I never had any

I am not sure if I'd want to go for specific sets - I always thought it was a bit unimaginative as it tells you what to build! But then, it must be great for learning to read instructions, spatial awareness from copying the diagrams etc.

I may be over thinking this somewhat :o

[fuzzpig]

We have Trofast units for most of their toys but I have a feeling Lego will be stored in various really useful boxes - I have an obsession and a half with that brand!

[Indith]

fuzz you need to get some this Christmas! 5 years old is plenty old enough for lego!

IMO you need a box of basic bricks and a box of house bricks. Then you need little sets. Lego creator ones are good as there is one box of bricks and then instructions for 3 different builds from it and Lego City is great for things like police cars and things.

[MegBusset]

Mine build the model once then it goes in the Lego Box with everything else. They are FOREVER making their own inventions (mostly alien spacecraft or robots) out of whatever they find by rummaging around in the box, we do have the original instructions but they prefer doing their own thing!

[Ciske]

But ... but.... isn't that the whole point of LEGO? You make the actual model once, and then it can turn into anything you damn well please!

[CiderwithBuda]

You are over thinking it fuzz pig!

I think there is lots to be said for both the kits and the more basic construction Lego. I love the kits. Spent a happy few days building a big Star Wars barge one Xmas! But DS also loves the more basic stuff. We bought the Lego ideas book which he liked but he would have liked more actual instructions. I think it depends on how you feel sometimes. Sometimes more creative and sometimes more structured.

I wish we had gone for the trofast storage for it all though. Ours is a bit more complicated thanks to DH! I will try and find a link to what I aspire too!

[swampster]

Yup, Ciske, I really don't understand why people get so precious about Lego - making, re-making, un-making, creating new... that is the magic of it.

[fuzzpig]

Too late we have gone for a playmobil castle this year! DD is also quite a young 5 and still finds proper Lego too fiddly, as does DS. Could start building up a collection on their birthdays though (June and August).

So, if they don't ask for specific sets (they aren't into Harry Potter, Star Wars etc) and I refuse to get that new girly Lego Friends crap what does one get?

[Itsjustafleshwound]

You cannot call yourself a parent until you have stepped on a rogue piece of Lego while rushing to answer the phone.

My mum kept all our Lego from our childhood in their original boxes and gave it over to DS. It is now in trays (one for white, one for grey pieces, one for red pieces...) in Trofast cabinet in his room sans boxes and instructions are under the bed. It keeps DS very busy ..

[notso]

For a long time I thought DS1 would no do anything other than go on the Wii... and then there was Lego.
He loves it, he keeps all his models displayed on various Lack shelving, and has battles with them, all the minifigs have their own slot in couple of old printers trays which are on the wall. He also has lots of general blocks to build his own stuff with.
He saved for the DeathStar for 18 months and it has taken him another 9 months to build.
DS2 is getting is first duplo for Christmas and DS1 can't wait.

[SeveredEdMcDunnough]

We have so much and it was becoming so ubiquitous on the floor that I have designated part of our cellar as the 'Lego Room'. It is in fact a small room, with a radiator, and a little wooden desk, no carpet, and various plastic crates.

All the Lego lives down there.

It was becoming a bit of a problem as I couldn't hoover withut picking up tons of it first, it was getting lost, going under things, just everywhere.

I do love it. But it needed its own room. Ds builds things that are much better than the official buildings it comes in - though I do have to build those for him initially. Which I enjoy. After that it just becomes completely random.

[CiderwithBuda]

I can't link as am on iPad and have stupid head and stupid fat fingers! Google "Iheartorganizing legos". That is what I would love!

Also there is some great Lego storage ideas on Pinterest.

[Indith]

Cider that kind of is how we have our lego but it is all about splitting it by size etc not colour, you can easily spot the colour you need it is the size that is harder so find.

fuzz there are loads of sets that are not starwars or HP. You can get vehicles of all types, dinosaurs, buildings, space rockets, cravans...loads! Just browse the lego website! I yearn for the log cabin with the canoe.

[SeveredEdMcDunnough]

I think it would take up my entire life if I was to try and organise it.