The best Lego sets: Lego Star Wars, Lego Ninjago and Lego Friends

2022-10-09 11:43:44 By : Ms. Maggie King

— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.

Lego sets are a ubiquitous part of childhood. They are a favorite holiday gift and they may very well be one of the best toys ever invented. That may sound like a bold statement, but hear us out: Legos have been shown to improve social skills that build collaborative relationships, they encourage creativity and evidence shows that they help with motor skills, spatial abilities and problem solving.

Get on the nice list.Sign up for our newsletter to get all the best gift guides, deals and holiday planning advice. 

In short, they pack a whole ton of learning into play. Kids love them, parents love them and they are a hit toy for any kid. From Lego Star Wars sets to Lego Ninjago to Minecraft builds to Lego Duplo to Lego Friends, here are some of the best Lego sets for kids of 2022—and they're all conveniently available at Amazon.

Best for ages: 7 and up

Every kid should get at Christmas morning train set at one point in their childhood. This fully functioning, build-your-own train set may be our favorite new Lego set of the year and may be our favorite train set ever. This bullet locomotive has all sorts of cool, electrical components that make this the ultimate DIY train set that will appeal to builders and toy train enthusiasts alike.

This Lego City set is fun to build and comes with loads of clever details including working lights, a fully stocked dining car, doors that open and close, luggage and bike racks, two crew mini-figures and four passenger mini-figures with luggage. Accompanied by plenty of track for loops and turns, kids will get miles of play out of this set.

Best for ages: 7 and up

The iconic starfighter from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones has everything a rebel fighter needs to travel beyond the outer rim to defend the rebel alliance, including four mini-figures and the satellite Obi-Wan Kenobi uses on Geonosis.

This nostalgic ship is a throwback to Attack of the Clones and is bursting with details like red-haired Obi-Wan with lightsaber and hood, storage clips, landing gear and a working blaster.

This Lego Star Wars set comes with three mini-figures: Obi-Wan Kenobi, an R4-P17 astromech droid and the very first Kaminoan mini-figure Taun We, for fans that love to collect rare figures.

Best for ages: 8 and up

Drama-loving kids can act out all of their big ideas in this charming Lego Friends theater set that is a replica of London’s famed West End Theater.

This extensive playhouse has loads of fun details, including customizable backdrops, a full prop room, a dressing room and costumes, lights, a balcony with seating and more. This is the ultimate Lego Friends set to spark imagination for creative play.

Best for ages: 8 and up

For your budding Potterheads, this set is filled with favorite characters and iconic locations from the beloved movies, including Dumbledore’s office, a fully stocked Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom and a section of the Icy Ballroom, complete with holiday decor and a decorated, snow-covered Christmas tree.

This Lego Harry Potter set include eight festive minifigures; all come dressed in their Yule ball best, including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory, Viktor Krum, Albus Dumbledore and Madame Maxime

Best for ages: 6 and up

Let them say it loud with the biggest message board of the Lego Dots line. Lego Dots are one of our new favorites for kids that favor creative self expression. They allow kids to essentially draw, doodle and write with flat Lego pieces. The free-form expression of this message board will make the tween in your life think you’re actually cool for gifting this.

This set comes with four 16x16 plates and frame and hanger elements, plus 800 plus tiles that include a range of colors and shapes to give kids all they need to speak their minds and express themselves. While this is a favorite Lego Dots set this year, we highly recommend you check out the whole Lego Dots line if you have a creative kid in your life.

Best for ages: 9 and up

Lego Ninjago just dropped a new season, so if you have a fan of Sensei Wu’s kid ninja clan it’s certain to be renewed this holiday season with Cole’s four-headed golden hydra dragon. Lego says this is the biggest Ninjago dragon ever, with its posable legs and tail and a pair of wings that fold out into three golden blades.

As any Lego Ninjago fan knows, golden minifigures are a coveted bunch. This set relives adventures from the Ninjago: Crystallized TV series and comes with nine exclusive minifigures including Golden Oni Lloyd, Golden Kai, Golden Jay, Golden Cole, Golden Zane, the Crystal King, a Vengestone Warrior and two Vengestone Brutes.

Best for ages: 9 and up

You never really have a true Lego collection if you don’t have an extra large Lego ship. This Lego 3-and-1 Creator kit not only creates the most epic ship it creates a full Viking adventure. While this isn’t actually branded as a Thor play piece, it will certainly appeal to any kids who love Thor: Love and Thunder.

This 3-in-1 kit comes with four minifigures, an impressive Midgard Serpent and it creates three fantastic Viking toys: A Viking Ship, a Viking house with a dragon and a Fenris wolf.

Best for ages: 8 and up

We are huge fans of the Lego 3-in-1 Creator toys. They add so many dimensions to creative play and, since they can be built and rebuilt, they are a smart choice for gifting if you’re hoping to keep a kid busy during holiday travel.

This set is sure to set fire to their imaginations with a posable octopus, giant lobster and giant manta ray with movable parts like eyes, pincers and wings. It also comes with an underwater adventurer, a treasure chest, a coral reef and a smiling skeleton deep water explorer.

Best for ages: 4 and up

What little kid doesn’t like castles, dragons, knights and princesses? This Duplo set has just enough pieces to challenge preschoolers, but it’s easy enough that they can build and create on their own without frustration. Plus, it has some of their favorite iconic Disney characters, like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck.

Best for ages: 8 and up

If there’s one trend that goes perfectly with the classic elements of Legos, it’s Minecraft. Kids can’t get enough of Lego Minecraft builds and the blocky nature of the wildly popular video game lends itself perfectly to Lego bricks.

This set takes the gaming features of Minecraft to the next level with interactive features like a rock slide, a rotating skeleton spawner and a dripstone cave.

Best for ages: 2 and up

Kids ages 2 and older can take a trip to the wild side with this Lego Duplo set that’s specialty designed for preschoolers.

With jungle activities and and animals, including rocks, waterfalls, trees, a baby jaguar, toucan, sloth and alpaca, this is our favorite entry into the world of Legos this year.

Best for ages: 8 and up

Fun and festivities abound at this Lego Friends farm. One of the best features of the Lego Friends line is how interactive it is. This socially conscious set does not disappoint.

For kids who love animals, this traditional farmhouse comes with chickens, a hen house and a horse to ride and groom. After they are done playing with the animals, the four figures can tend the crops on their tractor or get to work selling eggs and apples—or cook up healthy meals in the outdoor kitchen.

Best for ages: 9 and up

As part of their 20th anniversary Lego Harry Potter line, this is quite possibly the most epic Lego Harry Potter set of the year and it’s sure to make for the most magical of holiday gifts.

With 11 minifigures, a posable Basilisk snake with opening jaws, a golden Voldemort and numerous magical rooms secret chambers, the interactive play of this set is ready for hours of magical and spellbinding play.

Best for ages: 7 and up

This easy-to-build playset has loads of payoff with real stunt action that add a truly exciting element to Lego play. Lego Stuntz are a relatively new addition to the Lego City line and they are the best choice for builders that like a little excitement.

This set is loads of fun with two loops, two tension-loaded mechanical motorcycles, a snapping serpent head and two flame features. The two motorcycles take a little bit of technique to get going through the loops but we got to test this one in person—not only is this set tons of fun once you get the hang of it, it’s the most used during play dates.

Best for ages: 2 and up

For your tiny budding astronaut: This totally manageable 23-piece Lego Duplo set is small on size but big on imaginative possibilities.

This space set includes male and female astronaut figures, a buildable space shuttle with an opening body and wheels that turn, a movable ladder, and a buggy with wheels and a turning radar on top. This fun interactive set can be configured in numerous ways and has loads of play possibilities.

Make holiday shopping easy with help from our experts.Sign up for text message alerts to get deals, gift guides and shopping advice delivered straight to your phone. 

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.