What do you do about Lego?

[Pyjamaramadrama]

Ds has had 5 or 6 Lego sets for Christmas from us and other people.

On Christmas Day ds wanted to open everything but didn't have the concentration to build whole sets as he was overwhelmed with toys. He's 7.

Dh has done nothing but moan about the Lego. Moan, moan, moan at ds not to open them, how expensive they are. He's made no attempt to build he Lego with ds or put it out the way.

Now the excitement of Christmas is over ds wants to build the Lego. He's sat all morning and built the sets but one has a few pieces missing. Dh is moaning now " oh I told you ds, I told you not to open them, I'm not going to bother buying Lego if you're going to do this', he's even told him he's got no self control ffs. Ds just keeps saying he didn't lose them.

It's driving me mad, I see his point, it's annoying, but ds is just a kid, I think we should have put the sets out of sight ds was bound to want to open them. The boxes are quite hard too 8+ and he's sat and built them really well.

He also moans if the sets eventually end up getting broken up and mixed. I've said he should glue them together if he's going to be so anal about it.

When you get Lego (our house is awash, with sets built, sets taken apart, and sets waiting to be built!) you open it up, build the set (it's only polite to follow instructions first time around ) then you play with it.

Bits inevitably fall off and get put back/changed slightly. Eventually, it falls apart too much to be put back 'right' and so it is either substantially adapted, or it joins the rest of the Lego (in a tower of drawers, sorted by co,our/size). Is collection is raided whenever bits are needed, or just for a Lego potter/create session. The instruction books are kept for future reference (in another drawer or folder), we have rebuilt a few sets over the years.

Boxes are kept if you have space in the loft, or chucked if not.

But the whole point of Lego is to play with it, which means falling apart/rebuilding and adapting. Ere are some sets which warrant but,ding and displaying/definitely keeping track of all the bits for resale value, but it is a TOY. For playing with.

In my head I have this idea of perfect lego storage, sorted by size and colour. But it would only work if I could be arsed to sort them every time and I really can't.

So it's a folder for instructions, one big box and a smaller box for most of the tiny pieces.

we have these drawers for Lego storage. Top drawer has instruction books in, then 1 for minifigures/accessories, one (with a couple of inserts) for little bits - 1x1s, studs, etc, then sorted by colour.

Some colours double up (eg pink and purple, yellow and orange).

Work reasonably well, and any model currently being built or not yet ready for general playing (ie needs to be admired a while) sits nicely on top our of he way of general play.

Oh yes. The re-sort.

Took me a day to sort out colours first of all, but I've not touched it since. We do have a couple of 'working boxes' to hold bits currently in use.

I am due a big Lego sort out once the dc are back at school... Although, tbf, it is at least 6 months since the last one, and we have acquired loads of new sets in the meantime!

I'm sat looking at this 1252 piece Ninjago brick set that DS has just asked me to build for him. He is 5 and builds the smaller ones with me. Such a great thing - he plays with Lego all the time, never gets old.

Actually, I don't mind..it's quite um..therapeutic? lol

DS got about 6 new sets for Christmas. We sort of just take our time with them (he too wants it all out and built now - just the excitement but yes, I have a grumpy DH so do understand!!)

If any of the smaller sets get broken, I usually put them in a box (can get 2 nice ones for £10 in The Works, download the instructions and rebuild at some point. The bigger sets are in a safe place in his bedroom away from DD!

Right, bag 1 here I go!

Last week DS (also 7) threw out all his instruction books for his various sets. I asked him why and he said he didn't need them.
I was about to argue, but realised he makes the sets once then destroys them to make new things. Ican get the instructions off the website if he ever asks, but the reality is he won't and I'm happy for a little less papery clutter.

Tell DH to belt up and DS to find alternative pieces which they both did

There is a website brick.com I think where you can order replacement bits. We have often had a piece missing from new sets and sent off for a replacement - especially unusual bits that can't be replaced with something out the general Lego box.

My ds (4) has a big tub of Lego classic to build his own stuff from, if he gets smaller sets and vehicles they get mixed up here too and we keep the instructions so I can help him build them back up as he wants, but he makes great creations, scenes and vehicles, and the special items from the sets do enhance this.

This Christmas he got two bigger sets that were part of an overall theme. These I opened and helped him build on Christmas and Boxing Day and he has been playing with them since. These are going to be kept in a separate themed box, because there is quite a lot you can do with the set as a whole and this would be lost if it was redistributed. I don't mind that it gets broken up and rebuilt but as there's so much of it and he wants to collect the whole theme it make sense to keep it separate.

He is still little but basically sets are only opened when I can sit down and help him build them - he can look at the manuals and the stuff in the bags before then and I make sure he doesn't have to wait too long!

So at the moment, superheroes and vehicles small sets just join the general melee, but "space", "underwater" "arctic" are kept together separately as he gets more enjoyment out of them this way, and he still gets to freestyle as well.

I try to keep the sets together a bit - the only one we have really kept separate is Benny's spaceship - because it is a bit special.

I resisted getting the Millennium Falcon this Xmas because I knew that it would just disintegrate into a load of grey pieces on the iiving room floor and it seemed too much of a shame..Ds did however get a Kindle and a bike so not too hard done by.

I have to admit my DS is the opposite, he'd rather not even see the instructions, so that's what I'm used to. He likes the big sets where you just get loads of random bricks. (And pick and mix in a lego store is bliss!)

But yes if your child likes keeping it as a set, that's different.

Don't throw away instruction books. They sell well on e-bay. I print and laminate books though since my son likes using the instructions and gets mad when he accidently tears a page etc. Rules in our house are that any set can be opened but he has to complete the bags he has opened before he can start another set (so currently we have part of a fair ground, part on a prison and part of a police lorry made) Once made they get played with and then broken up into bags/boxes and labelled. Parts can be mixed but when I want to play with him I then make up one of the mixed up sets with him.

Lego is endless fun for all ages!

Here, sets get built, admired, adapted and eventually join the numerous tubs of Lego.

I'd like

Except some very very special sets which will get built and displayed (like the Eiffel Tower I got for Christmas! :o) and the train set the DCs were given which is to be kept separate.

We don't interfere with the DCs building their sets (except the odd bit of conflict resolution if it's a shared set and they can't agree who does what!), they did occasionally open things and lose pieces before building them, but they learned from it! They're very careful now.

Mostly they just build whatever they feel like, new sets generally only appear at Christmas and birthdays.

Oops. The second paragraph was meant to say that I'd like to get them to rebuild the different options (in the Creator 3in1 sets which is what they like best) but sometimes they get amalgamated into the existing Lego too quickly! We do keep the instructions in a box though so if they ever really wanted to try and find all the bits then they could.

We've found the best storage for lego is the trofast storage from Ikea. You can pick different sizes for all manner of spaces and then different size trays. We have our lego seperated into colour, then a star wars tray, a city tray, friends tray etc.
Boxes are chucked but instuctions kept should they want/ need rebuilding.
DS DD & DH had ten sets of lego and the advent calendars between them this christmas. All have been built and are being played with, the larger sets like the tie fighter and imperial shuttle and tour bus will stay as it is the but smaller things and the Ninjago will have bits added and removed in time.
It helps a great deal that DH loves it too, he spent all his christmas money on it! And still has sets from when he was young, all built and played with and mixed in with the new stuff. He loves it but isn't precious about it.

Lego is endless fun indeed! I'm 51 and got two sets for Xmas! The Simpsons House and the Toyshop. Also bought Santa's Workshop myself before Xmas instead of an advent calendar although I didn't get time to build it before Xmas in the end. DS is 14 and not really interested but wanted to open the Santa's workshop over Xmas so that is now started.

DH got me the Death Star a couple of years ago. I loved making it. Took me ages but I find it really relaxing.

We are Lego geeks; both DCs love it, DH loves it, I love it (and we got three Star Wars sets from Santa). We have a huge train table from Melissa and Doug that holds loads of sets. The DCs have so many tubs under beds and all over the place; some is kept in boxes, most is jumbled up and built into other stuff. The table is currently covered in lego storm troopers, a death star, and at-at and a police station. If the DCs dismantle them and rebuild other bits, that's fine. I take a photo of the finished article and then it's up to them to create whatever they like.

Life is far too short to keep Lego in the correct boxes.

I hate Lego sets! Don't mind it for younger ones (the blocks). But for older ones, The little tiny pieces get lost, my toddler moves them about, then DS dismantles it as soon as built.

We have absolutely tons of the stuff. I don't try to keep sets separate but we do have separate storage tubs for different themes eg Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lego City.

The dcs love playing with the official built models but also making their own creations. They also learned the hard way not to open bags until they're ready to build them

Your dh is being an arse btw.

Is your dh generally like this? He needs to unclench and get over himself.

My ds sounds like yours - and dh used to get a bit anal. In the end we got a system to organise the pieces which made it easier to rebuild sets if ds wanted to.

I would have a serious word with your dh - and get a system for your ds to organise his Lego.

All kids play differently. But I will admit to hiding DD's sets upstairs for her if other kids come round. They can play with the mixed tub and base plates but her cousin once 'deconstructed' her cinderella castle and she was very upset.

you can download instructions for each set from the internet, so if you want to remake sets you can.
We have colour coded boxes and some special sets that never get broken up.
In the Summer holidays we had a 'lego week'.. where we tried to remake lots of sets. it was fun, if you can't quite find all the exact bits then you can improvise a bit.

I don't know it it has been said but you can order missing bricks individually from lego.

WE keep all of ours (about 30 kits) in a big really useful box.

My lego I build and keep it together. I dont give a damn that I'm 31 and have my own lego OK ;)

DS (8) builds the kits, plays with them for a while then they all go into the big box. Sometimes he sorts lego and rebuilds them. Instructions are kept in a folder for later.

your dh is being very mean, i have a lego mad son! me or my partner will get him to pick one box at a time to build, and we'll build them with him together (usually ends up being on our own) he'll then play with the model for until it starts getting broken up then he'll just break it up to rebuild how he likes.

We also find that as long as we're careful there's never bits missing as they give you spare parts of the small ones.