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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

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Original poster

Harry Potter Lego or Wii for Christmas?

24 replies

oneofsuesylvesterscheerios · 10/09/2010 10:21

Was considering getting the dds a Wii for Christmas a joint pressie. They are 4 and 9. Neither of them are very bothered about computer console stuff; although love playing on the pc but that tedns to be websites and drawing, etc. They have a Gameboy between them but it is an occasional past-time for them (once a month if that). We have played on other people's Wiis recently though and both have enjoyed it, esp the dancing game and Wii sports, so we thought it'd be somethign we could all do together.

... and then I saw the new Harry Potter lego advertised (£99)!!! They are both crazy about Harry Potter but haven't much lego yet but I guess it's something they can just add to as well.

or are both things a bit OTT anyway?

OP posts:

rubyrubyruby · 10/09/2010 10:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

oneofsuesylvesterscheerios · 10/09/2010 10:24

That's what I thought, but I'm still not convinced. have other people's Wiis actually encouraged them to play more?

Part of me thinks if neither of them are too bothered then leave it, but it looks like good fun.

I know the HP lego would go down a bomb with them but it does seem ££££

OP posts:

nettie · 10/09/2010 10:25

Lego, plenty of time for consoles when they are older. Would only consider getting them a Wii if they've asked one.

pippylongstockings · 10/09/2010 10:36

I would go for the lego - but then I am not over keen on games consoles. Lego is fab and I find I can always immerse myself in a spot of lego building (as does my DH too).

I found it sad the other day when we went to a car boot sale and there was a boy of about 8 or 9 selling micro-machines & lego etc which to me he should still be playing with, but it was because he wanted to buy a new game for his DS.

I have terrible eye to hand co-ordination and have no desire to play on a Wii, therefor my DC would miss out on playing time with me.

Look out for lego stuff on e.bay?

spacedog · 10/09/2010 10:42

I've never really understood the appeal of the Wii, poor graphics and not a gamers choice, I think most boys I know have progressed quickly onto PS3 or Xbox. Most adult friends who have bought them never play them. Lego is fab. Can you subtly find out what they'd prefer?

MrsJohnDeere · 10/09/2010 10:48

Lego

I'm very anti wiis. Once my 4yo started playing with ours he didn't want to do anything else and his behaviour was dreadful. Even when he wasn't playing it he talked about it non-stop and wouldn't do anything constructive. We took it away and just bring it out once in a blue moon for a treat. He has got into Lego now in a big way and it is a joy to see.

The Harry Potter lego looks fab but I think a 4yo would get much more out of big box of mixed standard bricks, doors, wheels.

spacedog · 10/09/2010 11:17

Agree with MrsJohnDeere, your 4 year old might struggle with the complex build of Harry Potter. I'd get seperate sets, a 10 year old will enjoy the complexity of the HP set.

FluffyDonkey · 10/09/2010 11:23

Lego all the way.

My brother and I still talk happily about our lego playing days (hours and hours of fun together).

DH also loved/loves lego even now - last Christmas he got me a lego advent calendar

Our future DC will be inheriting 6 MASSIVE boxes of lego pieces - neither of us have gotten rid of any bit of lego (our parents must have spent a fortune) - almost the only toys we've kept.

PinkyDink · 10/09/2010 12:05

I would say Lego.
We have a Wii (bought for the family), but like MrsJohnDeere our ds would be non stop about going on it (like most of his friends) and was driving us mad!! Because he gets like this every time he plays it we don't let him play that often. If it had been a present it would have felt a little unfair iyswim?

I also agree with spacedog about your 4 year old struggling (obviously you do know what his capabilities are though!), so how about the the £60 set for your 9 year old and then the £20 set for your 4 year old?

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 10/09/2010 12:22

Just be aware that you might end up spending most of Christmas Day struggling with teeny tiny, minutely different blocks and incomprehensible instructions, and end up having to resort to large amounts of sherry to retain the last shreds of your sanity.

I speak from bitter experience.

belgo · 10/09/2010 12:24

Lego, but I would go for smaller sets - you can buy Hagrid's hut for example which is cheaper - rather then the huge castle.

belgo · 10/09/2010 12:26

Stayingdavidtennantsgirls - you see it would be the oppisite for me - the Wii instructions would be totally beyond me and we have me reaching for the bottle!

potplant · 10/09/2010 12:31

I can't get over the price of the HP lego sets. Same with the Star Wars ones as well. £100+ and by the end of the week its in a big jumble all over the floor!

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 10/09/2010 12:33

Actually, belgo - I think we should have a sneaky drink anyway - the sun has got to be over the yardarm somewhere in the world - right?

Oneofsuesylvesterscheerios - if you want to go for lego, it might be better to go for a whole lot of more generic lego, so they can use it to make all sorts of things - you could add in figures and stuff like railway tracks (I think), and wheels/axles/hinges, to give them more options, too.

In my experience, the specific kits got put together into whatever they were supposed to be, and then sat gathering dust for ever and a day, or bits got lost from them so that they could never be complete again, which was very frustrating.

preghead · 10/09/2010 12:36

Lego Harry Potter game on the wii?

Both lego and wii go down very well in our house - you do have to keep a lid on the gameplaying tho as they will do it over anything else (or my sone will) if you let them.

wonka · 10/09/2010 12:37

I've been debating the Wii thing this year and have decided to go down the toy route my boys are 6&7 well the older ones. If I get them a wii at this age what will they expect next year or 10&11 and they'll have missed out on the years of getting childish toys.. so its pogosticks and wheelies. lego and puzzles.

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 10/09/2010 12:37

I've just had a quick look at the lego website, and you can buy themed sets - house/car/town/firefighter etc - that would give your children some ideas of things to build, but would allow them the freedom to do more than one thing with a particular set.

The prices seem to vary from about £8 to about £30 - for the ultimate vehicle building kit - so you could buy a selection of these plus a pile of basic lego, and give them a huge amount of options.

HTH

belgo · 10/09/2010 12:37

wideratthehips · 10/09/2010 12:45

last christmas my ds (5.5 at the time) really wanted power miners lego..........poor dad spent most of christmas day fiddling with it. in actual fact they tend to take them apart and make their own models with them.

we have a wii...but its a family present. we only have a few games...lego batman, mario and sports resort. we all enjoy playing it together and our 3 yr old finds it really exciting to watch!. the 6 yr old has to earn 'credit' to play it though. 15 mins of out loud reading = 15 mins play time etc.

if they are more into lego i would get that and you and dh can give each other the wii?

Original poster

oneofsuesylvesterscheerios · 10/09/2010 19:20

thanks for all the replies.

Dh and I wouldn't really bother with Wii ourselves anyway. My game-playing days ended after my singledom 11 years ago, playing Crash Bandicoot for hours on end with a splif and a G&T . Think we'd rather buy clothes or smellies for one another these days, or a weekend away.

It's dd2's b'day next month and I was thinking of asking family to buy lego for her anyway so she can start building up a collection.

I just liked the look of the HP lego as it had all the characters and they would both enjoy creating scenarios and acting it all out. Lego it is then - just have to get dh to pay now....

OP posts:

julie83 · 27/09/2010 16:01

I recommend the getting the Harry Potter building sets I found this blog post Harry Potter Lego Exclusive Building Sets giving you a breakdown of the new themes being released by Lego on the 1st of October to go with the release of the new movie. The prices range from £9.99 to £99.99.

I loved lego as a child and so does my kids age 4 and 7. They make fantastic gifts for kids at any age especially Harry Potter mad fans.

fatzak · 27/09/2010 19:03

Does anyone know if you can buy the minifigures on their own? We've got boxes of handed down Lego but think the DSes would like some of the Harry Potter and Toy Story characters. They just seem to be sold in the packs where you can't see what you're getting!

BooBooGlass · 27/09/2010 19:06

I am at the prices of the Harry Potter lego sets so I have come on here to be smug that I got a massive box of the stuff in Oxfam today for a mere tenner

Saltire · 28/09/2010 08:08

We already have Hagrid's Hut, Freeing Dobby and the quidditcih game lego sets from last time they were released.

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