Anonymous wrote:Tell me about it.

Santa brought the $400 Death Star for my. 8-year old.

I have 2 young boys and have amassed thousands of dollars of Legos in that timeframe.

Yes my 2 probably have about $7,000 worth of Legos. The sets are expensive. Thankfully they get a lot for birthdays and Christmas from other people. Bit I've personally probably spent $3,000 over the last 5 years.

If Legos are beyond your budget you can try K'nex, which are less expensive. I checked whether the pieces were the same size and they are; K'nex pieces fit together with Lego pieces. K'nex does have holes going through each piece, which the Lego pieces do not have. I don't see any difference in function, but some Amazon reviewers seem to find a difference. Check out the reviews.

Anonymous wrote:They are a wonderful toy but extremely expensive. Both Target and Toys R Us price match. We were just there on Sun. and Toys R Us price matched the same two Lego sets to Amazon's price that I pulled up on my phone and showed them while we were there. Saved me $15 on two sets ($30 for two v. $45 for two).

Yes!! Toys R Us even price matched Mindstorms for me the week it came out- I saved $50!

I love Legos! Better than video games anyway, which is the other major 9 year old boy obsession !!

Tell me about it.

Santa brought the $400 Death Star for my. 8-year old.

I have 2 young boys and have amassed thousands of dollars of Legos in that timeframe.

Anonymous wrote:Why don't show your boys how to make their blocks out of real stuff, like wood?

So just bring in a block of wood and have my 5 year olds whittle away, huh?

Anonymous wrote:Why don't show your boys how to make their blocks out of real stuff, like wood?

Why not show...

Why don't show your boys how to make their blocks out of real stuff, like wood?

Anonymous wrote:OP, my nephew is 11 and obsessed with Legos. Costs his family hundreds, if not thousands, annually, their entire basement is stuffed with completed sets, and the kid keeps begging for more and more. Almost like an addiction.

I, for one, am hoping my child will never discover Legos. We'll have to find more versatile toys to play with.

My child is 7 and still firmly a hater of legos - except for a one month period where he decided he like them and then went back to hating them. So there is hope : )

Although what sucks is the poor kid gets legos as gifts all the time (because everyone assumes that all boys love legos).

Whoever said they are versatile is crazy. My son builds them and then takes them apart and makes all kinds of things. I've discovered the way to save money is to just buy a few minifigures on Ebay that he wants instead of buying the entire set. He also uses his allowances to buy pieces on Ebay.

Maybe invest in this book rather than lots of sets: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/book-shows-kids-how-to-use-imagination-to-turn-old-lego-sets-into-something-new/2011/12/16/gIQAZaTWpP_story.html

I, for one, am hoping my child will never discover Legos.

Ha, ha, ha, good luck with that. Your child will get one set as a birthday present from someone, and that's it. We have a minor obsession in our household. But as some PPs have mentioned, kids can be totally creative with the blocks. Mine builds the sets a couple of times, then rearranges things into his own creations.

My son much prefers the kits than the free play/design.

The bricks of misc. pieces are a much better deal than the kits. On Black Friday, they run about $15. In the Lego Store, you can buy a small plastic cup and fill it with neat little pieces, which can also help you build cars and such. They are expensive, but my kids get so much use out of them. They are great for fine motor development, too.

OP, we've found that consignment shops and sales are the way to go. I go to the multiples clubs consignment sales in Spring and Fall and also to stores like Once Upon a Child and Lego sets are one of the things I look for. Frankly, although it's neat to have a set and build that, after the first time they build the set, the pieces get mixed into the pile and then they can't always find those pieces, so they have to make something of their own creation. They enjoy the Legos just as much if they are being self-creative rather than building a pre-designed object, so I don't think it's worth it for the extra expense to buy the specialty kits.