For a five-year-old boy who likes to build then play, start with the City passenger jet; the Jurassic World dinosaur hauler suits a boy wild about prehistoric beasts.
*Paid link
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 77978, 115 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Not every dinosaur game is a battle.
If he would rather run the park than fight in it, the transport truck lets him load the young T. rex in the back, drive it carefully to a new pen he has picked out and settle it in, playing zookeeper the whole way.
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 77981, 171 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Owen Grady and Kayla Watts arrive with this Jurassic World set to patch up a hurt Stegosaurus for a five-year-old dino fan.
Pretend vet visits fill his playtime, and here he does the healing himself while the Velociraptor waits its turn.
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*Paid link
Ages 4+Source: Brickset
Set 60370, 173 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Every chase game needs a jail to break out of, and the LEGO City station comes with one, plus a car and a motorcycle for the pursuit.
He can stage the breakout, then send his officers racing after the escapee across the kitchen floor.
Ages 5+Source: LEGO
Set 60487, 122 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Toy figures who always need a lift across town get a ride of their own with a yellow LEGO City taxi.
He plays the driver, and every trip becomes a fare to pick up and drop off. Its first stop might be a block tower he has named the train station.
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 60492, 118 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Back from watching airliners at the airport, a five-year-old LEGO fan can build a jet of his own to keep flying.
Its four minifigures hand him a pilot, ground crew and passengers, the very people he spotted through the terminal windows.
*Paid link
Ages 5+Source: LEGO
Set 11045, 820 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Still choosing a favorite theme, a five-year-old gets more from colorful LEGO Classic bricks than from a single themed kit.
A pirate ship on Monday and a robot on Tuesday can come from the same pile of pieces.
Ages 4+Source: Brickset
Set 11026, 1 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Named on a list by WirecutterSource: nytimes.com
If the LEGO fan you have in mind leaves his builds scattered around his room, this baseplate gives them common ground.
At his age, he mixes pieces from different kits, and a single plate lets every model join the same story. He can carry the finished layout to his dresser and pick the game back up the next day.
Make it easy for yourself next year
Set his birthday alarm once. Each year, 3 weeks before, a link to picks for his new age.
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Check your inbox and tap the link to confirm. After that there is nothing to remember: one email a year arrives before his birthday.
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Check your inbox and tap the link to confirm. After that there is nothing to remember: one email a year arrives before Christmas.
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Ages 5+Source: LEGO
Set 11041, 450 piecesSource: Rebrickable
This LEGO Classic dinosaur box hands a five-year-old dino fan 450 pieces for building a whole herd.
He can pull a finished dinosaur apart and turn the bricks into a creature nobody has seen. Then the new beast stomps across the rug to join the others.
*Paid link
Ages 5+Source: LEGO
Set 42681, 95 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Odd animals tend to star in his stories, and few are odder than an axolotl.
The axolotl boat from LEGO Friends lets him take one down an imaginary river, stopping wherever the story needs a rescue and steering back to port once the adventure is done.
Ages 5+Source: LEGO
Set 42679, 161 piecesSource: Rebrickable
A boy who fusses over every rabbit he meets can put together his own LEGO Friends bunny hotel.
Its 161 pieces become a place where rabbits check in, and then his game begins. He decides which room each long-eared guest gets and who heads home first.
*Paid link
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 43281, 216 piecesSource: Rebrickable
A Frozen castle he snaps together himself fits a boy who sings along with Elsa every time the movie plays.
Raising the palace brick by brick turns the songs he knows into scenes his toys can act out. The finished palace ends up on his shelf, waiting for the next sing-along.
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 43280, 113 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Give it to the boy who already does a Stitch impression, growl and all.
The LEGO beach set puts the little alien and Lilo on a stretch of sand, and even if he has not seen the movie, he gets a mischief-maker for his seaside games.
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 43282, 85 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Ocean voyages star in a Moana-loving boy's games, and this LEGO Disney set gives him a home port.
With 85 pieces, the build stays short enough for him to finish on his own and get straight to the sailing. His finished boat rests beside the house between voyages.
*Paid link
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 11221, 106 piecesSource: Rebrickable
When the boy on your list comes home bursting with news about his classroom, LEGO Bluey School gives that news a stage.
Rusty gets the whole day retold, roll call to recess, by someone who lived it hours earlier.
Ages 5+Source: Brickset
Set 11217, 466 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Bluey episodes get a second run in his living room, with him as the director.
After building the family from bricks, he can replay a favorite episode and voice every dog in the house. It pays off most for a boy hooked on the show rather than on building, since the fun is in the acting.
*Paid link
Ages 5+Source: LEGO
Set 60510, 256 piecesSource: Rebrickable
December mornings begin with a door to open, and behind each one waits a small seasonal LEGO City build he can snap together before school.
Day by day the little models add up to a collection for his games, so the countdown gives him something to make, not only something to wait for.
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 11214, 137 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Gabby's Dollhouse in brick form works for a five-year-old who watches the show and wants its world within reach.
The 137 pieces turn the episodes he follows into a coaster and a tea table he assembles himself. The finished ride ends up on his bookcase, parked beside his other builds.
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 75410, 92 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Mando's starfighter comes together from 92 pieces, ready for a boy hooked on Grogu to swoop around the room.
He cheers for that little green passenger, and now the pilot's seat is his to take. It carries both heroes on whatever adventure he dreams up next.
*Paid link
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 71865, 141 piecesSource: Rebrickable
This Ninjago dragon gives a boy hooked on hero stories a frosty beast to steer across the couch cushions.
Pretend showdowns fill his playtime, and a creature he put together himself lets him decide how every clash ends.
Ages 4+Source: LEGO
Set 71853, 107 piecesSource: Rebrickable
Robot stomps and ninja kicks are how he plays, so a Ninjago mech showdown gives his games a story made from bricks.
Jay joins the ninja fights he acts out, and the pieces snap back together after every crash.
Make it easy for yourself next year
Set his birthday alarm once. Each year, 3 weeks before, a link to picks for his new age.
Almost done
Check your inbox and tap the link to confirm. After that there is nothing to remember: one email a year arrives before his birthday.
Almost done
Check your inbox and tap the link to confirm. After that there is nothing to remember: one email a year arrives before Christmas.
Almost done
Check your inbox and tap the link to confirm. After that there is nothing to remember: one email a year arrives before the day.
Reminder not set
Check each field and try again.
Reminder not set
Enter an email address such as name@example.com.
Reminder not set
Choose the month and day.
Reminder not set
The daily limit for reminders from your connection is reached. Try again tomorrow.
Reminder not set
The form has taken all the reminders it can for today. Try again tomorrow.
Reminder not set
This day moves with Easter, so it works by email only.
Make it easy for yourself next year
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Chosen by our team from store data and what readers pick, not hands-on tests. Nothing is paid to be on this list. Recall notices checked . How we pick
Look for boxes marked 4+. They have larger starter pieces and short steps a child this age can follow with a little help. City, Friends, Disney, Minecraft and others all make 4+ sets, so pick a line the child already knows from a show, a game or the toy box.
Often with some help at first. The instructions are pictures only, so many children this age follow them with an adult nearby, then take the model apart and build it again on their own.
It is LEGO's guide to how complex the build is. A child who builds a lot can manage a set marked a year above their age; a child new to LEGO does better at or just below it.
LEGO sets with small pieces carry a choking hazard warning and are not for children under 3. DUPLO is made for children from 18 months, and most LEGO sets start at 4+.
The Bluey family set gives a boy who knows the show a way to put the characters together and act out his own episodes with the whole family.
Free building points to the Classic mixed brick set, which hands him a heap of pieces to turn into whatever he pictures, while the Classic white baseplate gives him a flat base for spreading a town or a scene across the floor.
A boy who parks his cars in a row does well with the City yellow taxi, a build he can roll straight into that lineup; the City police chase adds a station and a pursuit for a boy who plays out the story around the cars.
The Friends rabbit hotel suits a boy who likes looking after small animals and setting up rooms for them, and the Friends axolotl boat is for a boy who takes his animal play out onto the water.
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