My love of embracing the best parts of my childhood as an adult has led me back to a familiar place: creating with Legos.
For the second Christmas in a row, I got our family a LEGO botanical set and we’ve enjoyed putting them together. We also got Z the tuxedo cat set for the holiday, but she hasn’t started on it yet.
When I was a kid, I don’t remember us getting big fancy LEGO sets like they have now, where you build a specific thing. Instead, I remember just big jumbles of blocks and parts from which you built your own imagined creations.
One of my favorite LEGO creations ever as a kid was a little penguin figure I built. I can still remember the colors and types of blocks I used to put him together. Eventually, I grew out of wanting to play with Legos – but I do have fond memories of working with my brother on various projects. My dad may have even joined us for some of them.
Today, we’re all grown up and my parents are older now, but my dad still loves buying and putting together huge LEGO creations and other complicated build-it sets. For Christmas, he got my hubby a massive racecar set from one of the big Chinese knock-off building block companies. Putting LEGO sets together is a great activity for a family or individuals – it’s fun for everyone.
Last Christmas, on a whim, I purchased the LEGO wildflowers kit as a family gift and we all spent several evenings putting it together around the kitchen table. It was such a huge success – and my daughter still proudly displays the resulting LEGO bouquet in her room – that I decided to get another this holiday season.
This year, I went with the bonsai tree set. I got it for the family, but it’s really for me – and I’m the one who has put it together, along with some support from my dad and E. I like this LEGO set because once the tree and base are built, you can vary the tree’s foliage from either plain green blocks and parts to resemble leaves, or pink and white to resemble cherry blossoms plus 100 pink frogs!
It’s an adorable set but it’s been giving me fits – parts of the trunk are quite tricky. Also, the trunk does not seem super stable – it has fallen over and broken apart several times, which is quite frustrating. So far, not my favorite LEGO set for this reason.
I loved reading this NYT review of the various LEGO botanical sets and I now have a few new ones on my wish list. I find working with LEGOs very relaxing and calming, plus it’s fun to have a creative outlet on the kitchen or dining room table that I can return to anytime I have a few free minutes. It beats phone-scrolling any day!
Have you done any of the “for adults” LEGO sets, and do you find them relaxing and fun, too? I’d love your recommendations for which set to try after I complete their botanical series. I have my eye on the little succulents set next. It would be nice to have plants that I can’t kill!
If you love Legos and live in Columbus, be sure to check out the Legoland Discovery Center at Easton Town Center – it’s a lot of fun for kids of all ages!
