My sister and I played for hours, sprawled out in different positions on the floor. Sunday afternoons were dedicated in this fashion: a large sheet rumbled on the ground with piles of Lego around us. It’s one of my strongest play memories, and we still talk about those times to this day. Now I’m the parent, and it’s my turn to watch my kids form friendships through play.
Toys that encourage a special bond are at the top of my list, and Lego in particular, is fabulous. I’ve purchasedLego Friends sets before because my daughters resonate with the designs and characters, and the cute collections have become a wonderful addition to our extensive Lego collection.
Lego Friends are designed to engage girls with relatable stories that facilitate friendships, and encourage the joy of creating and building with Lego. Set in Heartlake City, the five main characters are Mia, Stephanie, Emma, Andrea and Olivia. Below is a snapshot of their personalities and interests:
- Olivia is friendly and intelligent; she likes reading, hiking, nature, and science.
- Mia is helpful and caring; she likes animals, magic, sports and playing the drums.
- Stephanie is confident and down to earth; she likes baking, ballet, soccer and organising parties.
- Emma is kind and fashionable; she likes designing clothes, cars and horseback riding.
- Andrea is practical and dramatic; she likes singing, dancing, acting and cooking.
I’m featuring some of the new sets for 2015:
- Heartlake Lighthouse (41094)
- Vet Clinic (41085)
- Mia’s Roadster (41091)
- Little Foal (41098)
- Olivia’s Garden Pool (41090)
You can find individual mini reviews over on my YouTube Channel.
There’s an attention to detail in these sets which my daughters adore. It’s the chain that holds the boat to the lighthouse and the indoor toilet. They LOVE the toilet. Ha! It’s the cherry for the glass and the different ice-cream flavours. It’s the heart shaped pool and the way the x-ray machine in the animal clinic moves. It’s so fun to play with!
Heartlake Lighthouse
Set on the lake, there’s ice cream to eat and fun to be had in the water.
* This set comes with 2 figures, Kate (on the far left) and Stephanie (second from the right)
Vet Clinic
Groom, care and play, the clinic has it all.
Mia’s Roadster
Fill the car with petrol; wash and fix it.
Olivia’s Garden Pool
The pool is a heart shape! Refreshments, music and a slide means a fun time.
Little Foal
All you need to feed and care for the foal.
Figures
Figures come with cute flowers, sunglasses and hats so you can change up the looks.
Now, I’m not exaggerating when I say the girls played with the sets for 7 hours straight, with a 10-minute break for lunch. It started with creating, and then playing, and later, I set up a tent in the backyard and gave the girls afternoon tea there. I had to go out and drag them in for dinner. The girls agreed it was “the best day”. The fun and enjoyment continues, and that’s the beauty of Lego.
I’m sharing five ideas on how to facilitate friendships with Lego Friends below.
1. Play Dates
Make a backyard tent for play dates or just for somewhere different to play. This is deceptively easy to set up, and friends could take their Lego bricks outdoors and have a cute picnic. Find step-by-step instructions for setting up a simple sheet tent here.
2. Travel
Create travel sets for holidays, parks and playgrounds. Print a paper play mat, throw it in a cute box and take Lego Friends anywhere. Download the printable lake for the boat here.
3. Parties
Have a Lego Friends inspired birthday party.
- Lego Brick Cake with mini cardboard flat bunting.
- Make mini Lego Brick gift bags by attaching 6 circle shapes with double sided mounting tape to a paper gift bag. This makes it look like a Lego brick. Inside the bags you could include a Lego Friends Mini Figure, a lollipop and gel pens
- Build a Lego brick cutlery holder. This is easy to make – simply build a box shape with an empty centre and pop your cutlery in.
- Download lego Friends colouring pages and set up a table with drawing items.
- Serve cheese blocks: cubes of cheese with a pretzel stick handle.
- Bake brick biscuits: rectangle iced biscuits with the same coloured smarties on top.
- ‘Paint’ a favourite Friend character on marshmallows (tutorial here).
4. Craft
Couple play with craft and make cute matchbox beds. Printable here.
5. Room Set Up
I notice my daughters enjoy setting up Lego in their room as decoration (and for play). The Heartlake Lighthouse in particular looks absolutely adorable and you set it up on a blue paper to extend that water look.
You can find a range of Lego Friends sets to buy on Amazon.
The heart of Lego Friends is friendship. It’s about building, creating, imagination, and bonding through play. And that is why it’s a top gift idea and on that note, here’s a giveaway!
Giveaway
GIVEAWAY ENDED
I’m giving away 3 Lego prize packs over the next three weeks (1 winner per week). Each pack will contain:
- Lego Friends Bunny & Babies
- Lego Friends Olivia’s Garden Pool
- Lego Friends Vet Clinic
To enter, simply leave a comment below with the answer to this question: Who would you give the prize pack Lego set to and why? and end your entry with #LegoFriendsLove.
Open from 9:01 am Australian Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday 29 April 2015 and ending Sunday 17 May 2015 AEST. Please read the full terms and conditions here.
90 Comments
Michelle
April 30, 2015 at 9:27 amI’d give this to my 5 year old. She is obsessed with lego which gives me an excuse to buy it and re-live my childhood! #LegoFriendsLove
Demelza Monfries
April 30, 2015 at 9:50 amMy 3yo daughter has watched her dad and older brother play with Lego for her whole.life and has only just now been allowed to join in with them. Although she is only 3 she still has great joy in finding the pieces she is shown and putting the sets together and then possesively hoards her completed sets and plays with them. She too loves all the little details so much!
#LegoFriendsLove
Kerry
April 30, 2015 at 9:53 amI would give it to my 5 year old daughter – she absolutely loves Lego and it is something she is happy to share with her 2 year old brother. It really is a great activity for the whole family. #LegoFriendsLove
Rebecca
April 30, 2015 at 9:54 amI would be torn who to give it to, either put it away for 12months until my daughter is ready for the little leggo. Or give it to my friends kids, they call me Auntie, they are my nieces and nephews even if not by blood…… and they LOVE lego. 🙂
Rebecca
April 30, 2015 at 10:05 amI’d give it to my eldest daughter as she loves the Lego friends! I can’t wait until my youngest is old enough to play together with her big sister.
Janeen Swanson
April 30, 2015 at 10:08 amI would give it to my 5 year old, as she sees her older sister playing with hers and she would love to have her own set to play with.
Tea Poulsen
April 30, 2015 at 10:12 amI would give it to my nearly 6 year old daughter – she and her friends loves playing with their Lego friends – we got a long table set up in my living room they love to play at – and often tells me not to it tidy up!
Karen Edwards
April 30, 2015 at 10:17 amI’d love to win to give the Lego set to my 9 year old daughter, I have fond memories of playing Lego for hours on end with my sisters would love for her to love lego just as much as I did 🙂
Louise
April 30, 2015 at 10:19 amI would give this to my 7 year old daughter. She too, can spend hours creating and playing with Lego. The day is quickly coming when my almost-3 year old daughter can join in with the Lego Friends fun. She can’t wait!
Katja Bishop
April 30, 2015 at 10:22 amI would give this to my 6yr old son, as he loves to create things & show his 4month old sister. I know he would love to play with this with his little sister in the highchair. He loves to make things for her & play with her. ?
#LegoFriendsLove
jade
April 30, 2015 at 10:31 amI’d give it to my 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter to share …. because we are big LEGO lovers in this house.. and they love to spend hours creating and playing together. #LegoFriendsLove
Jodi Glover
April 30, 2015 at 10:42 amI would give it to my 8 and 5 year old daughters as they love Lego and were both so brave at the dentist today, it would be a wonderful reward for them.
Jackie
April 30, 2015 at 10:57 amWe would love to win Lego Friends because lego is one of the most awesome toys that brings my three children together, yes, they still argue over who is being what while playing lego, but they spend hours playing and creating together that builds strong relationships for life. Love that lego can do this. 🙂 #LegoFriendsLove
Karen
April 30, 2015 at 11:10 amThis would be a great addition to the lego friends my daughter already has. She loves setting these up in her room and creating a little town with them. These are great for building their imaginations and they enjoy hours of play.#LegoFriendsLove
Fiona McGrath
April 30, 2015 at 11:34 amI’d love to give my 6 year old daughter this set, she loves Lego Friends but only had a couple of the small sets. I’m from a family of girls and don’t remember growing up with Lego at all, I love how much my children love Lego, trucks are the current favourite for my 4 year old son, but he would play Lego Friends with his sister too! Great review, thanks #LegoFriendsLove
Cassie
April 30, 2015 at 11:45 amI would give this to my daughter who is turning 6 next month. She always gives a squeal when she sees these lego sets in the shops so it would be the perfect birthday surprise for her. #LegoFriendsLove
Mary Preston
April 30, 2015 at 11:47 amMy Jane loves nothing better than to let her imagination fly. An ideal activity for sleepovers & friends coming to play too. Fabulous opportunity thank you. #LegoFriendsLove
Kim Miller
April 30, 2015 at 11:51 amMy girls 5 and 3 would have to share, but as your post describes it’s more fun to play with a friend. We are still struggling with the idea of sharing our treasured toys but it’s a valuable battle.
Nicola
April 30, 2015 at 12:03 pmOooh just stumbled onto your blog today (via the thermo review, very helpful thanks!). The posts I’ve read on this blog really resonate with me, being a fun mum is in my top 5 mum aspirations! Some beautiful and fun ideas in this post ????.
Comp Answer: I would give the Lego Friends sets to my daughter for her 3rd birthday as her first Lego (she’s #4 of 5 kids, the Middle of 3 girls), why? Because as you say special bonds and friendships form via Lego! And what fun sets to bond over (my eldest daughter wants to be a vet!). Lego, books and dress ups are our top 3 toys! #LegoFriendsLove
Simone Tregoning
April 30, 2015 at 12:09 pmMy daughter (6) loves the Lego friends collection and my son (2) plays with all the horse figurines. It’s great to watch them have fun together. #LegoFriendsLove
Julie
April 30, 2015 at 12:14 pmI would love to be able to give this to my 11 year old daughter who still loves Lego and would love the “girly-ness” of these sets as our house has “normal/boy” Lego from her 3 brothers. Thankyou 🙂 #LegoFriendsLove
Ann
April 30, 2015 at 12:39 pmMikayla would never forgive me for not even trying to win her a Lego Friends pack!! She spends hours setting up her “village ” and her imagination does the rest…
Lego Friends is number one on wish lists for birthdays and Christmas:-)
Thank you #LegoFriendsLove
Lyndall Saygili
April 30, 2015 at 12:44 pmI would give it to my 5 year old daughter who loves building Lego with her 3 year old brother. They love the Lego friends episodes so much that when you take a photo my son says “glamor pose”
Thanks
Lyndall Saygili
April 30, 2015 at 12:45 pmI would give it to my 5 year old daughter who loves building Lego with her 3 year old brother. They love the Lego friends episodes so much that when you take a photo my son says “glamor pose”
Thanks
#LegoFriendsLove
Anna
April 30, 2015 at 12:51 pmMy nearly 5 year old LOVES Lego but everything she has is handed down from her big brother, she loves the one small Lego friends set she has, and will play for hours! These sets would fill her heart x #LegoFriendsLove
sapshu
April 30, 2015 at 12:51 pmI would gift it to my 7 year old niece – she loves LEGOs and plays with her brother’s collection. She would love to play with pink legos with her friends.#LEGOFriendsLove
Natalie
April 30, 2015 at 12:54 pmI would give it to my daughters. Eldest just turned 7 and had a Friends Lego party. Youngest is 4. They generally play nicely together for hours with Friends Lego. I love that Lego has evolved so much from when I was a kid. #LegoFriendsLove
Polly
April 30, 2015 at 1:00 pmI would give this to my five yr old. She has a couple of the little Lego sets and she just loves them. I would give it to her as a prize for all the terrific work she has done in prep so far this year as I think she has earned it.
Jessica Newton
April 30, 2015 at 1:22 pmAll of my children are inlove with Lego from Duplo to Lego City they love it all. I especially admire the Lego friends line as my princess just loves to be able to play her way alongside the others with the delicate scenes that Lego Friends provides. So I would give the set to my princess Jaz, a budding architect. Thankyou 🙂 X. #LegoFriendsLove
Alyssa Dunn
April 30, 2015 at 1:23 pmI would love to give the vet clinic to my 7 y.o daughter. She is an animal lover and wants to be a vet when she grows up. I would love to encourage this dream with the lego friends. #legofriendslove
Kristin webber
April 30, 2015 at 1:41 pmI’d love to give this to my 8 year old daughter who absolutely loves little figurines and think withe the addition to the Lego she would create some beautiful memories.
Belinda
April 30, 2015 at 1:43 pmI would give it to my 8 and 9 year old daughters. They love to build them together and also play for hours with the sets they have. #LegoFriendsLove
Sandra
April 30, 2015 at 1:45 pmI would give it to my daughter and set up a Lego play date with her cousin so they can play together….little Lego loves #LegoFriendsLove
Elizabeth Collins
April 30, 2015 at 2:39 pmI would give it to my middle daughter who is 3 as my older daughter very rarely let’s her touch her lego cause it’s so special to her!!!!
#legofriendslove
Shelley
April 30, 2015 at 3:42 pmTo my 5 year old daughter, she loved playing with her big brother’s (7years) lego, then she discovered friends lego! Now they combine the two and have some amazing sibling time with no fights and lots of imagination.
Katie Vulling
April 30, 2015 at 3:57 pmHey Heartlake girls, you have like just totally won 5 tickets to Isabel’s ‘One Direction’ Barbie Doll performance- including backstage passes, like omg!!! Performing at Isabel’s doll house on 17th May. Including a special performance by 80’s band ‘Barbie & the Rockers’.
Isabel can’t wait for you to join her!
Tanya
April 30, 2015 at 4:00 pmOur family love lego, all kinds, all colours, all characters, from spaceships to horse stables, cruise ships to baby animal homes – and we’re 1 daddy, 1 mummy, and 3 girls. This particular set I’d give to my eldest daughter for her birthday in a couple of months as she would like to be a vet when she’s grown up.
Louise
April 30, 2015 at 4:27 pmI would give this lego pack to my daughters (5 and 6) but im sure my 1 year old boy would try to help as well! They love the friends lego, they can sit for hours playing with all the different animals, and people, not just building houses but swapping hair a clothes between them as well!
Melissa
April 30, 2015 at 4:32 pmI’d give the set to my daughter Miss 5, who’s discovering the world of fun Lego is providing. I’ve even kept my old Lego to pass onto her. (Much like the old spaceship guy from The Lego Movie) #Lego Friends Love
Linda
April 30, 2015 at 4:39 pmFor my 6 year old who loves Lego! She’s been asking daily for the lighthouse for her birthday which isn’t until October!
Hannah
April 30, 2015 at 5:11 pmI’d give the lego to my girls and hope that they would play all day. Seven hours would be great removing time for computer play.
AmberB
April 30, 2015 at 5:40 pmMy beautiful niece Bella. She’s such a sweetheart and a fantastic big sister to my baby niece. I’d love to be Aunty of the Year and give this to her when she stays over next 🙂 #LegoFriendsLove
Elise
April 30, 2015 at 6:05 pmHmmmm…..I’d love it, but I’d probably cave and give it to my 6 yr old daughter ????.
Miss 6 spent hours the other day putting together her new caravan Lego (a pocket-money purchase) and then playing ‘holidays’ on the lounge room floor.
Sarah
April 30, 2015 at 6:09 pmOh, how I wish this type of Lego was around when I was a kid! In saying that I made some pretty epic things with my brother’s Lego – the ultimate being a hotel with fountain in the foyer.
As the mother of four boys I would definitely have to give this prize pack to my niece. She is only 1, however, so I may have to ‘keep it safe’ for her until she’s old enough. Cos I’m nice like that! ; )
Sam Gibson
April 30, 2015 at 6:57 pmMy 5.5yr old daughter who loves creating. She would have a ball with her bestie 🙂 #Legofriendslove
Sally
April 30, 2015 at 7:47 pmI would give it to my 5yo daughter who totally loves her Lego Friends. Not to mention building it and playing with it are a really important part of her wind down after school. She is then great at sharing the completed sets with her little sister and friends. #LegoFriendsLove
Louise Moll
April 30, 2015 at 7:56 pmI would give this to my 3 daughters as I have seen the many benefits and joys they have had playing together with their Duplo Lego. Now that they are getting older I would like to continue that experience for them. We just purchased a set for my eldest daughters birthday and they all loved it and wanted to join in. 🙂
Kathleen
April 30, 2015 at 9:05 pmMy 4 year old’s birthday is coming up and she has watched her older brother play with his Lego sets for years. She tries playing with his, but he can be a little territorial over his Lego. I’d love for her to have a set she can call her own.#LegoFriendsLove
Lisa J Messenger
April 30, 2015 at 9:25 pmHi, I have two girls aged 7 & 8 they love their lego friends and they always bring them out when we have a lego night because their dad still has his lego from when he was a child and we just build everything for hours and hours #LegoFriendsLove
Emma Binello
April 30, 2015 at 9:31 pmI’d give this to my miss 5 who just loves Lego. She currently had a pile of her dads “retro” lego and has a ball – so I’m sure she would love some pretty modern lego to play with! #LegoFriendsLove