Son wants a $400 Lego set

[Carlyzmom]

Get it if you can- My son will be 20 next month and Legs were his LIFE! He had to hve every set in every theme- He played with those things forever! And they stayed on my kitchen table all set up for weeks! We even had the lywook in his room to put them all on- nope- the kitchen table and I could hear him pretending forever! Priceless!! Now when we went to the Lego store in August- Downtown and everything was color sorted- I wqas like "Nick, this looks like your room!" When it came time to put them away we color coded everything into bins. This way when he was 16 and wanted to make a set-he got the directions and all he needed was to fish through the bins to get the colored bricks and then build

This is a kid that had to save every box an wrapper for everything too!

Out of all the toys I have left- Legos, Hotwheels, Fisher Price fliptrack Railroad, GI Joe's, the metal Thomas and friends trains.

He's going to be 21 next month and I am thinking od surprising him with something Lego-for fun. His keychain for his car is a Lego- I saw a little kid with Lego sneakers the other day- his mom let me take a picture to send to my son- I told him they made them in a size 13- dd he want me to pick them up for him-

WOW! Your son sounds a lot like mine! He is an artist and keeps EVERYTHING!! I just threw away a bunch of Lego boxes a while back - without him knowing, of course!

 

[JaneBanks]

Yes I would buy it.

The best Christmas I remember having is when I received my Cricket doll. My mother told me not to get my hopes up and that Santa couldn't bring it this year. To my utter delight, he did!

We were POOR growing up, but my mother made it work somehow and gave me the best Christmas memory.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

I've got at least $1000 of Lego's in the attic from my kids growing up years!! I remember freaking out at $110 for a Lego train set my DD just had to have.

If you every decide to clean out your attic and need a place to send those Legos...just let me know My DD and DS just getting into Legos and WOW!

 

[RadioNate]

At his age no I would not....when he is old enough for it..YES! It has an age of 14+ and I think I would wait till he was a little older so he could actually put it together. My DS loves Legos and we have spent a fortune but I have no regrets because Legos are one of those things he has never outgrown and always enjoys putting together. But I have made the mistake in the past of buying the ones he was not old enough for and he ended up not liking them or playing with them at all because he was so frustrated with not being able to put them together. Some of the sets can get very intricate and require you to be a little older. I think this is one of them!

I would encourage him to ask Santa for ones that are closer to his age and save that one for Santa to bring when he is a little older.

This is my opinion. I have a 9 year old Lego freak & the more grown up sets can be really hard to put together.

My DS got the space shuttle this summer. It was 16+ I think & he saved & saved for it. It was a long & frustrating project for him. DH & I spent hours redoing things & helping him. It still isnt 100% right.

I'd wait a few years unless you plan on building it with him.

 

[WeCantWait]

We got this for my son for his 7th birthday. He absolutely loved it. He spent 2 weeks with DH putting it together. Loved every minute of it. Now a year later it is in shambles, half put together, I'm sure pieces are missing. I cringe every time I walk past it. The problem for him is he would play with it, it would break a little and DH was not there to help him put it back together. The smaller sets he can put back together by himself. I still don't regret getting it for him. I have wonderful pictures of him when he opened it and while he worked with his father putting it together.

 

[Hannathy]

This is my opinion. I have a 9 year old Lego freak & the more grown up sets can be really hard to put together.

My DS got the space shuttle this summer. It was 16+ I think & he saved & saved for it. It was a long & frustrating project for him. DH & I spent hours redoing things & helping him. It still isnt 100% right.

I'd wait a few years unless you plan on building it with him.

I was just coming back on to say this very thing!!! When I said it was for older Lego fans to display it I meant that in more ways than just cost.

You do realize this set has 3,800 + pieces!! That is almost 4000 pieces.
It will take hours just to sort them out to start putting it together. there is probably 2 books of instructions. There is no way a 7 yr old will do this without a tremendous amount of parental help. And it will take hours and hours of building. And also not simple building but the frustrating got to get it just right and hold it just so till you add the next piece building. And then when it is built he is going to have to be careful with it because who wants to start putting 4,000 pieces back together and sometimes when a certain section is disturbed you do have to go way back to fix it.

so if you do get it expect to spend a lot of hours putting 4,000 pieces together with him.

 

[Carlyzmom]

This is my opinion. I have a 9 year old Lego freak & the more grown up sets can be really hard to put together.

My DS got the space shuttle this summer. It was 16+ I think & he saved & saved for it. It was a long & frustrating project for him. DH & I spent hours redoing things & helping him. It still isnt 100% right.

I'd wait a few years unless you plan on building it with him.

We got this for my son for his 7th birthday. He absolutely loved it. He spent 2 weeks with DH putting it together. Loved every minute of it. Now a year later it is in shambles, half put together, I'm sure pieces are missing. I cringe every time I walk past it. The problem for him is he would play with it, it would break a little and DH was not there to help him put it back together. The smaller sets he can put back together by himself. I still don't regret getting it for him. I have wonderful pictures of him when he opened it and while he worked with his father putting it together.

Well, the more I think about it, maybe I SHOULD wait a little bit. The last thing I want is to pay a FORTUNE for something and he ends up getting frustrated because he can't finish it. Maybe I'll get him one on e-bay after someone else gets tired of it.
Oh, well, I have a few more weeks to decide. DH kinda freaked when I mentioned it, so that's another roadblock.

 

[tink_lover]

I would not get any of my kids a toy that was $400. Yes, we can afford it. Yes, we too, are DR fans. I just keep thinking - "where does it stop?" Next year, it will be a $500 gift and so on..... I don't think children need to receive everything they want. But that is just me (and dh). My sons are also huge Lego fans. Just have them take apart one of the MANY items they already have and put it back together.

 

[hambirg]

Would this be completely insane? It's the Lego Star Wars Death Star set. It's $399.99. He REALLY wants it! He asked for it for his birthday, but I don't spend that much on birthdays. I just don't know if it is responsible to spend that much on ONE toy!! But he sure would FREAK out of he got it! What would you do?

P.S. He did tell me that he was going to ask Santa for it too!

Sorry. . only if he is old enough to get a job and pay for it himself. I know as parents that we want to give our kids what they want. . .and maybe this is something that is totally within your budget. But I still think it is irresponsible to indulge our children to this level. He most likely has no concept of money. . .my sons biggest wish gift last year was Stratego. . .I was like. . .really??? But for whatever reason that was the thing he REALLY wanted. . lucky me.

ETA-You do realize that Hasbro makes a Star Wars Death Star toy. He might be a lot happier with that since it isn't a gazillion pieces and he doesn't have to build it. He can just play with it right out of the box.

 

[PatsGirl]

No. Buying a gift with that pricetag at his age only makes the stakes higher next year and even higher the next year, etc. I limit each child to $250 including stocking and Xmas Eve (pajamas/bathrobes) so game systems and computers never made the cut Those are the things they had to work for themselves or at least pay 1/2 of when I could afford the other 1/2. I should add that regardless of how much $$ I had I would still put a limit on gifts, it might be more than the $250 but not much more and would most likely include some of the brand name clothing or sports equipment they like.

 

[bellebud]

the money wouldn't stop me, but ALL those pieces would. I think he's too young for it.

 

[hentob]

Would this be completely insane? It's the Lego Star Wars Death Star set. It's $399.99. He REALLY wants it! He asked for it for his birthday, but I don't spend that much on birthdays. I just don't know if it is responsible to spend that much on ONE toy!! But he sure would FREAK out of he got it! What would you do?

I would (and did) buy it The Legos that my children have are like artwork all over their bedrooms.

I have no regrets.

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

We got this for my son for his 7th birthday. He absolutely loved it. He spent 2 weeks with DH putting it together. Loved every minute of it. Now a year later it is in shambles, half put together, I'm sure pieces are missing. I cringe every time I walk past it. The problem for him is he would play with it, it would break a little and DH was not there to help him put it back together. The smaller sets he can put back together by himself. I still don't regret getting it for him. I have wonderful pictures of him when he opened it and while he worked with his father putting it together.

This. I would LOVE to buy the Death Star for my son. He's crazy about Legos. He even joined the Lego Robotics Club at his school (he asked me for his own set, I said I don't think so) He has so many Lego sets that are in pieces b/c he decides to "create" something completely new and borrow from one set or because friends come over and think they can take it apart and put it back together (it never happens). I'm tired of the tears because he's missing this piece or that piece and he can't complete the set anymore.

ONE DAY I will go through all the Legos with the building guides (we keep them all) and order the missing pieces but it won't be anytime soon.

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

I would (and did) buy it The Legos that my children have are like artwork all over their bedrooms.

I have no regrets.

What happens when their friends come over? No matter how many times I say, don't touch it, they pull the sets apart. Then I have to send them home and DS is upset.

 

[hentob]

No. Buying a gift with that pricetag at his age only makes the stakes higher next year and even higher the next year, etc.

Not at all It is what you teach your children. My kids would NEVER expect to be given something bigger and better next time. If they did, that would be the end of the big presents. They are surprised and thankful for what they receive.

 

[hentob]

What happens when their friends come over? No matter how many times I say, don't touch it, they pull the sets apart. Then I have to send them home and DS is upset.

I have to say, they have some wild friends, and they have never touched them.

Many are up high. Some are suspended from the ceiling. Most are sprayed, so they can't be taken apart anyway.

I would be upset too if somebody took apart my Legos

 

[minkydog]

What happens when their friends come over? No matter how many times I say, don't touch it, they pull the sets apart. Then I have to send them home and DS is upset.

That's easy. You put the stuff away.Just like you wouldn't leave cash lying around when kids come over, don't leave the special toys and video games unattended. I find that a LOT of kids just have no boundaries. Telling them "don't touch" means nothing to them because, of course, the rules don't apply to them. Then they're confused and hurt when you get mad because they touched something--after all, they only touched it "once."

 

[ICF]

IMO, that's a crazy amount of $$ for lego's....and my son loves them (and Star Wars) but I cant justify $400.

If you can, go for it. You may check to see if Borders has it. They carry "some" lego sets and you can use the 30 - 40% off coupons they send out on it too!

 

[marcyinPA]

I would not be able to spend that kind of money on one gift, and even if I could, I wouldn't. I have two kids. Normally, I spend about $200 on each of them for Christmas.

My DS 11 loves Legos too, but he has never been responsible enough to keep the sets separate. I can't imagine a $400 set of Legos eventually being mixed up with all the other sets.

If I did consider buying it, it would not be the BIG gift. It would be the ONLY gift.

As for the priceless look on his face on Christmas morning....hopefully you have taught him to be happy with everything he receives, for Christmas is not about what you GET. I have always told my children that they may not get everything on their list, but Santa knows what they like. I've also taught them to open every gift with a thankful heart!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Really cool Lego set?? YES

Worth it for Christmas?? NO!

Could you help him save up for it? Maybe see if there are people at church or your work (or spouse/partner/family's work) that may need help with odd jobs through the winter (shovelling snow, cleaning off windshields of cars, etc.) and then again in the summer (pulling weeds, help carry groceries). For something of that size, I think it would mean more for him if he earns it. Even at 7, you could provide a great financial/life lesson here.

We barely spend $400 on our WHOLE Christmas, let alone 1 gift. But your finances aren't ours. If you can afford it and you want to do it, by all means, go for it. But I still believe that something to this magnitude should be earned.