We love the cute Gingerbread House which was released earlier this year. It’s a great looking home for this family of three gingerbread people.

Stay tuned, we’re working on a review of this great-looking set!

The Winter Holiday Train is excellent. (We can’t say the same for related set #10259 Winter Village Station. 3/5 Stars, see review.)

It’s nicely detailed, the tree spins when the train moves, and you can make it move by purchasing a motor and battery pack.

Due to an excellent selection of minifigures and brick-built models, Star Wars Advent Calendar was our top-rated advent calendar this year.

Brick Architect rated it “Highly Recommended” (4/5 stars). Read the Review.

New this year, consider the Harry Potter Advent Calendar for fans of the books or movies. The mini-models are nicely designed, but a bit repetitive, and there are several unique Minifigures.

Brick Architect rated it “Good” (3/5 stars). Read the Review.

The LEGO Friends Advent Calendar is a great choice, because it includes a lot of brick-built models for a reasonable price. Minidoll fans may be disappointed, since there is only one figure in the set…

Brick Architect rated it “Good” (3/5 stars). Read the Review.

You might want to get this year’s City Advent Calendar for your friends and family. We liked the lower price compared to other options, but the Minifigures and mini-models weren’t as exciting as we hoped.

Brick Architect rated it “Acceptable” (2/5 stars). Read the Review.

Ever wondered what it’s like to build massive LEGO models at LEGOLAND or for a LEGO Convention? It’s actually pretty repetitive, but there are some interesting building techniques and the end result is worth it!

Brick Architect rated it “Highly Recommended” (4/5 stars). Read the Review.

It’s hard to go wrong with the best designed set in the LEGO Architecture Skyline series. It features interesting parts, creative building techniques, and an outstanding finished product.

Brick Architect rated it “Must Have” (5/5 stars). Read the Review.

Budget pick: This set takes the LEGO Architecture Skyline series to new depth, literally. (It uses forced perspective to give the Golden Gate bridge the illusion of depth.)

Brick Architect rated it “Highly Recommended” (4/5 stars). Read the Review.

Feeling Generous? By far the largest set in the Modular Building series, last year’s set broke new ground with a wider base and a whopping 4002 pieces.

Brick Architect gave our highest “Must Have” (5/5 stars) rating to this massive set. Read the Review.

Something more contemporary? The most recent addition to the Modular Buidling Series has an Art Deco style, bringing the series unambiguously into the 20th century for the first time.

Brick Architect rated it “Highly Recommended” (4/5 stars). Read the Review.

For the whole family: This is an impressive model with no fewer than 3036 pieces. It’s filled with advanced building techniques for older builders, but it’s sturdy so younger family members can use it as a play set.

Brick Architect rated it “Must Have” (5/5 stars). Read the Review.

Splurge! This is the ultimate set for serious LEGO builders who also love Harry Potter. Thankfully, it’s reasonably priced when you consider that it contains 6020 pieces, making it the second largest LEGO set ever created.

Brick Architect rated it “Must Have” (5/5 stars). Read the Review.

Last Chance? Consistently rated the best model in the Modular Building Series, the Parisian Restauraunt is still available while newer sets in the series have retired. It won’t last forever, so be sure to consider this gift while it’s still available.

This is set designer Jamie Berard’s favorite set in the series. Read our interview!

Last Chance? While the build process is a bit repetitive at times, the finished model is one of the most striking in the current LEGO Architecture collection. (Political debates at your own discretion.)

4.6 Star rating at Amazon.

Inspire Creativity: This is an incredibly imaginative set that you can’t put down. In addition to the two stories included in the set, you will be inspired to build your own inserts too.

It’s a Must Have set… 5/5 stars!

Get Organized! My LEGO Storage Guide offers in-depth suggestions to organize, sort, and store a LEGO collection of any size. Be sure to take a look, as there are some great storage rpducts for the LEGO Lover on your shopping list.

See how a well organized LEGO collection can unlock creativity!

Plastic drawer cabinets by Akro-Mils are the top pick for most LEGO enthusiasts in the USA. They have several advantages over other options including: drawers are easily removed and stack-able, drawers are deep enough for 16-stud bricks, drawers are flexible which makes them hard to break, and have competitive prices.

With 25 removeable compartments, this is a great option for collections which are very well organized. A tight-fitting lid makes this perfect for portable LEGO Collections.

They also offer a deeper version of this product with just 10 larger compartments.

Get Sorted! If your collection is large enough, it makes sense to sort your most common pieces by part.

We’ve got you covered, with labels for more than 1000 most common LEGO parts.

Label Printer. You can’t print the labels without a compatible label printer.

I chose the Brother system because the labels print on durable plastic tape, and have a strong adhesive. This one has a keyboard, so you can label stuff around the house, too.

Easy Clean-up! Younger LEGO builders do not want to sort their collection.

Swoop Bags are an easy way to keep LEGO in one place when building on the floor. While it’s best for kids, I also enjoy using it to build medium-sized LEGO sets in the Living Room.

Learn 7 styles of architecture using LEGO. The book includes a brief history of each style, photos of amazing buildings to use for inspiration, and instructions to get started. Written by Brick Architect founder Tom Alphin.

4.7 Stars at Amazon, and available in 10 languages.

This new book is packed with great architectural details for LEGO builders to incorporate into their creations. Best for experienced LEGO builders with a large collection of bricks.

Brick Architect rated it “Highly Recommended” (4/5 stars). Read the Review.

This beautiful new book shows you how Jeff Friesen creates intricate Microscale cities using specialty LEGO parts in unexpected ways. Instructions are provided for a few buildings from within each scene.

Explore world architecture through 350 different buildings across a wide range of styles. This elegant book would make a great gift for someone who wants to learn more about architecture.

5 Star rating at Amazon.

Architecture Geeks: Join author Martin Filler in these collections of long essays exploring the life and legacy of prominent architects. These are not picture books, and are aimed at adult readers who are already familiar with a wide range of architectural styles and prominent architects.

These were invaluable resources while writing The LEGO Architect.

Get Organized! My LEGO Storage Guide offers in-depth suggestions to organize, sort, and store a LEGO collection of any size. Be sure to take a look, as there are some great storage rpducts for the LEGO Lover on your shopping list.

See how a well organized LEGO collection can unlock creativity!

A high quality notebook like these from Leuchtturm make sketching and note-taking more satisfying. This A5 sized notebook is perfect for general puposes, but the smaller A6 notebook is better for travel. (Dot Grid is my favorite pattern for Architecture & Design. Choose from 21 vibrant colors!

4.5 Stars at Amazon.

This is the best mechanical pencil for architectural drawings and note-taking. It’s a fantastic balance of high quality feel and a reasonable price.

4.4 Stars at Amazon.