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 kind of things does she like? I love Lego, but I like building things that work or have a structure. Someone bought me Lego flowers and I couldn’t be LESS interested, because they don’t move or do anything like a car would - or have posed the challenge that designing a house from scratch might. Have you ever taken her to a Lego cafe to see what kind of things she’s drawn to??

I was just about to mention Brick Borrow but PiperSouth have beat me to it.

Me and DD have been using it for the past 2 years or so and it's great. We're on the £25 a month plan so we get two sets at a time. We each pick one, build it then tear it down and swap. We probably get through two sets every 3 weeks usually.

You do get the occasional missing piece, but it's usually only a tiny bit that doesn't stop you building the set. Only once have we had a serious problem, and on that occasion a good half the set was missing!

I reckon I've built a good £10,000 worth of lego over the past two years, and have probably actually spent around £700 in that time on the subscription.

There is a lego subscription service you can sign up for, where you pay a monthly fee and get a lego set to build, then send it back and get another. Depending on whether she most enjoys the building part, or displaying/keeping what she's built. Not sure the name of it, I think Sara Davies talked about it on her social media recently

Like , @Agapornis we went for the fake lego micro-blocks. The real lego was getting too expensive for us, and she could finish even the largest sets within days. She’s got dinosaurs, other animals, two cherry blossom houses, several famous architecture eg the Louvre. I aim for sets with a minimum of 1,000 pieces.

There’s a new Wallace & Gromit set.
Also, look at the Lego Art stuff -
it’s like painting by numbers with Lego. Of famous paintings

The kind of girl that has the focus and dedication to want LEGO aged 12, is completely capable of doing the 18+ sets. My DD loves the flower sets. We tend to do 2nd hand sets from eBay as we get through them quickly, I know it’s not everyone’s thing doing 2nd hand bday presents, but it could be an option if you aren’t sure and want to try some sets out without the expense of the adult sets.

Creater sets seem the obvious choice. The koalas are pretty cute atm. There are lots of olivia rodriquez sets atm too if she likes her music. The creator sets also have a perfume bottle decorative set which is nice.

The lucky cat is s nice devirative set too.

If its the playing element she likes rather than building there are usually a few sets lego friends 12+ age range

Yes, I am very aware of that fact as a Lego veteran of over 40 years standing @Needmorelego 🙄
It does take skill and understanding of model design to appreciate how all Lego models are designed. I was just pointing out that you can build other stuff from the Creator sets and how rewarding it is. My DC's recent models have been a face hugger, capybara, Pokémon's and a fabulous kingfisher - all constructed with help from a builder's club online. They're now starting designing their own builds. I'm a fan of do the build as instructed and then have the fun of building other stuff or changing it with your imagination 😊

My 12 year old granddaughter likes the Lego bouquets and botanicals, does them herself no problem. She also liked the Lego creator house and a couple of the city architecture sets.

What she really enjoys is buildings so I've got her several of the fake Lego buildings from Amazon. I was very worried at first because I didn't know what they'd be like but they are very good indeed and a fraction of the price. She's done cafes, bookshops, hotels etc. They all have lights which adds to the enjoyment.
The instructions have been exactly as clear as Lego too.

When buying make sure it's compatible with Lego as some are micro bricks which are much smaller. I read the reviews and only buy ones with a lot of reviews and a very high score.

@Mothrasstillmoshing I was being a bit tongue in cheek 😁
It was the way you said the Creator sets are good because you can re-build them to anything.
But why just the Creator sets? That was my point....you can do that with any and all sets. Even the themed/licensed ones.
(Lego fan since 1981 here.....)

My daughter made this one… it’s very pretty and can hang on the wall

www.lego.com/en-gb/product/japanese-cherry-blossom-landscape-31218

Ask her. Lego sets are so varied, but if she's asked for it she must have an idea of what she wants. It would be a shame to buy a flowers set (presumably suggested because she's a girl) when she's imagining getting something completely different (Star Wars or the train for example), especially as they are not particularly cheap.

@Needmorelego
"It was the way you said the Creator sets are good because you can re-build them to anything"
Yeah WE know that but a lot of adults don't. I got into an argument on here about 7 or so years ago with an OP who was refusing to buy their DC an expensive Lego kit for Christmas because they'd 'ruin' it like the previous kits where they'd had the audacity to dismantle a large kit and use the bricks to build other stuff. The OP honestly believed that given the expense of the kit, that their DC should build it and then display it only. Poor kid, having their creativity squished like that. I sometimes wonder what he actually got for Christmas because she said that she wasn't buying any more Lego full stop - she was an utter loon over it!

I am signing myself up for that Lego Borrowing thing NOW!

My 11 year loves the Lego architecture sets, and the flowers.

Love the flowers and have the orchid, which I did last Christmas (not a wham) whilst doing my 1000 piece jigsaw. This is a yearly festive thing for me.

Got some similar flowers dupes from Aldi last February, which I'll do during this Christmas.

Birthday is in November so understand where your daughter is coming from.

My ds started doing the 18+ ones at about age 9 but he was patient and dexterous and loved following instructions. I would guess most 12 year olds could manage them though. I'd get an adult set - maybe the orchids, or bonsai tree, or a guitar or kpop thing if she's into that. My ds likes the architecture sets but again, he's not average in his lego tastes.

The 18+ ones are just collectors sets rather than not being suitable for under 18s.

My 12yo loved the Minerals set last Christmas.
https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/mineral-collection-21362

Lego dots are brilliant. You can make photo frames, pen holders, decorate wristbands.

@CoffeeAndCakeBringMeJoy If she really wants the Tudor Corner one, it's £160 at Argos.
Buy LEGO Icons Tudor Corner Miniature House Kit for Adults 10350 | LEGO | Argos
You need to use the code LEGO with it to get the discount.
It was a really lovely build - nothing too complicated for someone who's familiar with lego.

If not, have a look at John Lewis or Smyths too, they often have reduced prices on some kits.

They’re aimed at a lot younger than 12 though, my 5 year old loves them! They only take a couple of mins to make so wouldn’t hold a 12 year old’s interest for long.

@CoffeeAndCakeBringMeJoy
How about this? LEGO Icons 10339 Santa's Post Office

or you could get this? Alpine Lodge 10325 | Icons | LEGO

my DD LOVED the brick head sets at that age. They were so cute and the perfect difficulty for her.

The creator 3 in 1 animal sets are lovely and cover quite a price range.