A 2026 gift guide for the LEGO enthusiast

This post is about a wishlist for the Lego enthusiast in your life.

He may have a shelf (or three) of finished builds, a coffee table that's been "temporarily" taken over by a half-built something, and a strong opinion about whether you should sort bricks by color or by type. They're also weirdly hard to shop for. Pick the wrong set and you've bought them something they finished last spring. Pick a random accessory and you've bought them a mathom.

So here are sets people are excited about right now. And there are a couple of things a LEGO person would genuinely use or display, from wherever they're best sold, not just wherever is easiest to link. Here's the wishlist I'd put together:

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The sets

The PlayStation is a 1,911-piece, near 1:1 replica of the original PS1, and the controller actually plugs into the console. It's also the one set on this list you won't find on Amazon: it went on sale October 1 as a LEGO.com exclusive, at least for now. If the person you're shopping for grew up playing Street Fighter II, this is the one.

The Hubble is for the enthusiast who likes a build with a little science homework attached. Pull the exterior panels off and there's a detailed instrument bay with gyroscopes and both mirrors inside, and the display stand carries three of Hubble's deep-space images. It came out August 1, a little over 36 years after the actual one went up.

The Bookstore Book Nook is LEGO's newest bookend, and it's the rare set that works for two kinds of people. Closed, it sits between your novels like a window into a tiny shop. Opened, it's a two-story bookstore with balconies and a spiral staircase, plus an author and a reader minifigure. It's also one of the only adult-focused sets this October sold at regular retailers instead of just LEGO's own store.

The AT-AT is the budget-friendly Star Wars pick. It's a midi-scale walker from the Battle of Hoth, caught mid-step, with a micro snowspeeder wrapping its tow cable around the legs. Reviewers are split on the value: Brick Fanatics called it a masterclass, while New Elementary thought it was priced a bit high for 525 pieces.

Eevee comes from LEGO's very first wave of Pokémon sets, which launched this year after what felt like decades of fans asking. Even the set number is a joke for the nerds: 151 is how many Pokémon were in the original Pokédex. There's also a hidden surprise built inside that nods to Eevee's many evolutions. I won't spoil it.

Derpy Tiger and Sussie Bird is the pick for the younger LEGO fan, or for the adult who has had KPop Demon Hunters on repeat since last summer. It's the first LEGO set from the movie, and the reason there's only one is kind of funny: Netflix expected a niche hit and didn't line up many licensing deals before it became a worldwide phenomenon. Rumi and Jinu's love notes stick onto Derpy's removable tongue, his head opens up into a secret storage compartment, and there's a flowerpot included for gently knocking over.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, which makes the Avengers Tower the most timely gift here. It's four floors with six minifigures: Doctor Doom, Yelena, Red Guardian, Bucky Barnes, Human Torch, and Sentry. My favorite detail: Thor's Stormbreaker and Mjölnir are hidden in the trash can out front, which feels about right for how the Avengers treat their stuff.

The not-quite-LEGO stuff

A true Lego person already has a list of sets they want, so sometimes the better gift is the thing that makes the sets they already own look better.

The display case pairs with the AT-AT on purpose. Any LEGO person will tell you the real enemy of a finished set isn't the cat, it's dust. Wicked Brick is a UK shop that makes dust- and UV-proof cases sized to specific sets, and they ship to the US (import fees are on you). They make cases for hundreds of other sets too, so if your person isn't a Star Wars fan, swap in whatever's sitting on their shelf collecting dust.

Light My Bricks makes plug-and-play LED kits designed for individual LEGO sets, and once you see a lit-up build you can't unsee it. I went with a gift card instead of a specific kit for a practical reason: they don't have kits out yet for most of this fall's brand-new sets, and a LEGO fan knows better than anyone which of their builds deserves the spotlight. The company is Australian but has a US distribution center in Texas, so shipping isn't an ordeal.

The storage head is the most fun item on the list. Room Copenhagen makes these as officially licensed, oversized minifigure heads that stack on LEGO's storage bricks. They come in different sizes.

The book is for the enthusiast who likes knowing how things came to be. Jens Andersen got access to LEGO's archives and long conversations with Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the founder's grandson, and it traces the company from a small Danish carpentry shop to the biggest toy maker in the world.

In conclusion

The good news about shopping for a LEGO enthusiast is that they almost always know exactly what they want. So whether you gift something from this list or not, the best move might be to send them here and have them make their own wishlist. If there's another kind of hobbyist you'd like to see get the gift guide treatment next, send them my way.