Lego for 12 year-old girl

[CoffeeAndCakeBringMeJoy]

DD’s 12th birthday is in a couple of months, so we’re starting to think about presents. She has asked for some Lego, but we’re struggling to find something which would appeal to her. She loved Lego Friends, but feels she has outgrown it. Lego City sets also seem a bit young, lots with age guidance of 6+/8+, and she has never been into the Ninjago range.

There are sets related to film/TV/gaming franchises (Minecraft, Fortnite, Pokémon, Harry Potter), but she isn’t into any of those. I’m surprised she hasn’t enjoyed Harry Potter, but she has read the first two books and watched the first two films, and didn’t enjoy them. There are the “adult” sets (flowers etc., not “adult” in that way!), but they all have age guidance of 18+. Some are also incredibly expensive.

I would be very grateful for suggestions, as we feel that we’re finding a gap between the end of Lego Friends and the sets aimed at adults. Thank-you!

What about some of the flower sets or a book of Lego ideas?

Mine are 10 and 12 and love the flower and architecture sets and are fine with the 18+ ones!

Lego botanicals are often 9+ but I thought adults quite liked them
there are a few Disney ones, like the up house, or ones from Wednesday, most of the pre teen girls I know are quite into that, don’t know if they’d interest her
I think some musicians have Lego, I know Olivia Rodrigo does, and she’s pretty popular with that age range I think?
depending when her birthday is there are Halloween and Christmas sets that are 12+
Or what about Lego creator sets, I’ve seen different animals you can build like giraffes

I love LEGO, I made the Brandenburg Gate, and I am nearly 70.

Creator 3 in 1 sets are brilliant.
There's loads of different ones.

The 18+ Lego sets are usually suitable for younger ones if they are good at following Lego instructions- I think they just say that to make them appeal more to adults.

I have the wildflowers one and built it, there's no reason a 12 year old couldn't. I bought my niece the daffodils and daisies when she was 10 and she built it no issue, and the bigger bouquets are no more difficult it's just more flowers. I believe there is now an Olivia Rodrigo bouquet if that's someone she likes

Just trying to think what else my niece has (she's 11 now) she has the roller skate but she does skate so it's relevant, there's also a creator set with a record player with flowers on it and I think she has a Polaroid camera too, she has them displayed in her room.

My 11yo has done a few of the botanical ones by herself and really enjoyed them; last Xmas we got her the tuxedo cat and she loved that. I wouldn’t shy away from the 18+ ones if she had the concentration for them.

I have all 3 of those.
They're great. I especially love the camera because it's life size !

There are a few Olivia Rodrigo sets e.g. https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/olivia-rodrigos-concert-moon-43029

Or a Halloween wreath: https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/halloween-wreath-40825

A cool science orbit option
https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/planet-earth-and-moon-in-orbit-42179

Various cities e.g. London
https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/london-21034

But the age doesn't necessarily mean it is inappropriate. DS13 has done plenty of 18+ models e.g. tuxedo cat, various botanicals etc. This one looks particularly good along his shelf: https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/tiny-plants-10329

Agree with the flowers recommendation. When I was a similar age though I got a Technics motorbike. Loved it and still have it decades later.

What price range are you looking at? I did find things start getting more expensive at this point as they want bigger slightly more complex builds, and they’re always more pricey. Though staying away from the franchises helps.
Does she like making buildings, or prefer things that move?
What about some of the space stuff?

Or some of the “monkie kid” stuff looks v good - Chinese temples, dragons etc. https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/mythical-creature-qilin-80066

I'm surprised there are no franchises she's interested in at all - Lord of the Rings, Wednesday, Star Wars, Marvel, Disney? Other than though there are sets relating to music, science, football, botany etc so hopefully you can find something to suit.

What about one of the fairground models:

www.argos.co.uk/product/8696650

The tiger is on special offer
https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/the-fauna-collection-tiger-31217

Ask her?

My 10 year old daughter bought the dog which is a 18 plus. Took her 2 days not working on it all the time. However, it looked really good. The tongue and its paw how it moved. £90 or £100 from smiths toys.

My boys 12,14 did the Star Wars sets but I didn’t think they looked as good as the dog.

The cat looked quite rubbish in the Lego shop. So she decided against that one.

My 10 year old has done a couple of the flower sets too which she enjoyed. All 18 plus.

She made a bird which was quite funny looking but that was finished in less than a hr (I think that was age 9) so I’d defo go for an 18 plus one for value regards not finishing it too quickly 🤣

Yes - certainly at that age, mine wanted a lot of input into their Lego sets. Especially because they’re pricier too - it’s not something you want to get wrong. Mine really enjoyed choosing.

Thank-you so much for all the advice, I really appreciate it. She has looked online and in the Lego Shop, and isn’t sure herself, but now we know the 18+ sets are perfectly manageable that opens up a new range of options. She has spotted a Tudor house which she likes, but that’s over £200 so we’ll be steering her elsewhere! I think she would enjoy some of the flowers, and the dog sounds brilliant.

She has also come up with the idea of a Christmas set for her birthday, so she can build it in the time between her birthday and when we put the decorations up in December. She has quite rightly pointed out that if she gets a Christmas set for Christmas, she will build it after Christmas Day, and she said it will be more fun to build it in the run-up to Christmas.

Thank-you again for so many lovely ideas.

My 8 year old will happily sit and make the 18+ sets. I think the age guidance is more to reassure adults that they're allowed to play! His favourite is the Lego Minerals display - £40-50, and looks absolutely stunning.

Great idea re the Xmas set! Hope she has a great birthday.

My Daughter did a few of these for me.

Thank-you, she has done this one and really enjoyed it, but things like this are perfect.

I don’t know if this is any use but I gave my son a one year subscription to Brick borrow when he was wanting more and more expensive sets. You essentially hire a set of LEGO at a time - finish it - break it down and send it back - then get another one. This solved my storage issues and meant he got to try out the expensive sets without costing a fortune. I’m not affiliated just an ex-happy customer whose kid is currently too cool for Lego but likely to return in the future!