Click and play with the model above. It's virtual reality! Every model in this guide can be spun around. Click in every link to do it.
For some, it's the childhood memories, for others it's just the intellectual challenge of creating something. Whatever it is, there's something in these plastic pieces that makes everyone smile while their are building.
So perhaps, instead of all the electronic nonsense, you can give Lego.
Some of the sets in the guide are simple and small. Others—like the R2-D2—are amazing mechanical works, complex engineering that will make you ooooh and aaaah as you build them, marveling at the genius of the company's designers in Billund, Denmark.
And all of them have something in common: once you finish with the instructions, you can destroy them and build something entirely new.
That's the true joy of a toy that has become way more than a toy though decades of play. A toy that is now an amazing tool too, from education and modeling to engineering, architectural design or robotics.
Above all, however, it's endless hours of fun.
I built all these sets and then Michael Hession photographed them as interactive virtual reality objects, so you can see them from every angle. Make sure to click on the links to see them in detail and learn more about the sets.
Hey there! You might notice our gift guides look a little different this year. That's because we're hoping to get you more involved in them. All of our suggestions are posted in the discussion section. If you have experience or an opinion on one of our selections, let us know! Got a better idea? Share it with us. We truly want to make sure these guides help people buy epic holiday gifts, and many minds are better than a few.
