AIBU to give off brand building sets rather than Lego as birthday presents?

[SoManyQuestions52]

Would anyone be offended for their child to receive “fake” off brand ‘Lego’ for their birthday?

I’ve just picked up some really good priced sets in Lidl that I was planning to gift at some the soo many parties we’ve got coming up (mainly 5th birthdays), but then I wondered if that would be offensive or considered cheap?! Photo of one of the sets for reference (not my photo).

I obviously wouldn’t be offended if my little one was gifted something like this but would anyone else be?

We had Tesco brand wooden rail track & it was good. I haven't tried their brick sets yet though.

I would just stick this in the charity bag as fake lego rarely fits as well and the instructions are rubbish.

I'd be fine with receiving this at 5, kids of that age that like to build aren't too fussed it isn't Lego.

Any older, if they were Lego fans then this would go unopened to a school fair or similar charity event.

I've never found any that the bricks click in as tightly as Lego.

It depends on who you're giving it to. I wouldn't want dodgy temu brands but I've had Lidl toys that were good for the price. If someone is a big Lego fan then I'd only buy them the real thing.

Not offensive, but not a great choice for a child you know loves real Lego. Things like Brio train track, we’ve found the generics or own brands genuinely are compatible and you can’t really tell the difference. That’s not my experience with LEGO, unfortunately. People are saying “kids that age won’t care”, but we’ve had off-brand before and my son definitely knew which pieces were “wrong” and avoided them. We’d probably regift it or donate it.

Perfectly fine as a generic “I don’t know what you like” gift.

We got given a load of Wilko ones and ending up keeping the people but binning thevtest

Wouldn’t go down well at our schools to be honest. We must be the snobs and twats according to pp… I’d say it’s better to give a low value book/ store voucher or a fiver than some cheap plastic stuff that the kids won’t really want. Sorry.

Thanks everyone.

We have had several off brand sets of various kinds (including the Wilko Blox) which we’ve had no issues with but we haven’t tried this brand before, so I’ll give my little one a set before settling on the decision to keep or return.

Although as a lot of people say they’d straight throw it or give to charity shop it I wonder if I’m better off not bothering!

Unfortunately as my child is 4 they have no idea what any of the children like or dislike so I’ve got to do just generic presents. I’m personally not keen on giving children money

It's absolutely fine to give unless the child asks specifically for Lego. But tbh it's the parents who won't like it- the kids don't care one bit. I wouldn't care fwiw.

I wouldn’t be offended but tbh I don’t think it would get used here as they tend to be crap quality.

There’s a reason Lego costs what it does!

I'd let mine build it but try to keep separate from real lego and dispose of it discreetly.

Fake lego is crap and much harder to build so really tricky for a 5yo. It pings and doesn't click properly.

Offended - no. But I would probably cry if someone gave my DD a 481 tiny pieces of anything for her birthday. They'd be lost in 10 seconds and I'd be forever wrestling them off her younger brother.

Depends which alternative brand you buy.
Some aren't that great but others are just as good.
Mega (recently renamed as Mattel Bricks) is pretty much the same quality as Lego.
Block Tech wasn't great several years ago but has much improved over the last few years. A lot of "own brand" bricks are made by Block Tech.
Zuru Max - their flowers can be a bit fiddly but other sets and generic bricks are excellent quality.
I tempted to go and buy some of these Lidl sets to try them out.

OP, the reason that Lego is so expensive is that it’s made to really high specifications, which is why it all fits together so well. Knock-off Lego isn’t made anything like as well, and often, the instructions are difficult, too. I wouldn’t ever buy “pretend” Lego, especially not for a five year old. The thing about Lego 4+ is that the instructions are really, really clear and accessible for someone of that age. Don’t buy pretend lego either get the real thing, or get something else instead.

I personally don’t like it as it gets mixed in With the real stuff, it’s not offensive though

I wouldn’t be offended but as a massive Lego fan and having been gifted various off-brand Lego’s to DC over the years my view is it nowhere near as good as actual Lego and so is always disappointing

Does that matter if it gets mixed?
If you are re-selling as "Lego" or displaying at a Lego branded show then yes you can't mix it up but for actual playing - it doesn't matter.

Yea they don’t fit properly

Looks good and it says it’s compatible.

I think the sets we had from Tesco were Mega and as I said upthread , you can't tell the difference.

If my kid liked building things and you got a building things gift id be chuffed to bits

I don't buy branded stuff and so generally would be fine with this.
As a gift I would always gratefully accept with a smile. And I wouldn't be annoyed etc at being gifted it, a gift is a gift and my kids will play with it.

But really? No, I don't buy and would never give off brand lego. The main reason is that lego all gets thrown into a a large lego box (once made and dismantled) and off brand has to be kept separate, as it doesn't fit.
It is the one thing where I would only buy the real thing.

Sadly fake Lego is not good. I had the lidl ones and they gone to the charity shop as honestly they are rubbish. They don't click together right and the people look strange. I wish someone make fake Lego that works!

I can't speak for these Lidl sets as I have yet to build any.
Alternative brands (not fake...just made by a different company) that are perfectly good include Mega Blocks (currently being renamed as Mattel Bricks), Zuru Max and Block Tech. Some retailers "own brand" will be made by Block Tech.
Sometimes the licenced character Mega sets have actually been better than the Lego ones (for example the Pokémon ones).
I am a total AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego) but this snobbery over different brands is hilarious.

I wouldn't want it. I wouldn't even open it.

Id put it in my 'regift' box as a last resort gift or bin it.