LEGO Christmas Decorations When the Mantel Isn't Enough
Some people decorate for Christmas with one garland and a candle. Others, as you may have noticed, need a wreath on the wall, a village on the sideboard and something new on the dining table before December has properly started.
For the second kind, these eight LEGO Christmas decorations go well past mantel territory. Prices run from $59.99 to $329.99, and every set builds from step-by-step instructions, so no LEGO experience is required. Most are worth the money. A couple need a caveat, and you'll get it.
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LEGO Up-Scaled Santa Minifigure – A Santa With Real Presence
$59.99 | 761 pieces | Set No. 40820
Standing about 10¾ inches tall, this Santa is a minifigure (the small LEGO person you've seen in every toy aisle) scaled up six times. He's built from 761 pieces, with printed details on the face and torso, and the build takes a couple of hours.
The arms and legs move, though only a little, so he's a figure that stands in one spot rather than one you'd play with. That suits a decoration. At $59.99, the price is fair.
The LEGO Up-Scaled Mrs. Claus Minifigure Set: Same Price, More Going On
$59.99 | 904 pieces | Set No. 40875
Mrs. Claus costs exactly what Santa does and arrives with 143 more pieces, which tells you where the extra effort went. Her hair is elaborate, she wears a dress, and she carries a wrapped present. The dress means her legs don't move, so she stands wherever you put her.
On value alone, she wins. Side by side on a mantel, the two look like a matched pair, which is the better reason to buy her. If you can only buy one, buy her.
LEGO Gingerbread AT-AT Walker – The Star Wars Fan's Christmas
$59.99 | 697 pieces | Set No. 40806
Anyone who knows Star Wars will recognize the AT-AT, the enormous four-legged walker from the movies. Here it has been turned into a gingerbread house on legs, and Darth Vader comes along as a gingerbread minifigure.
The sides open to reveal a small living room: a fireplace, stockings, a table with a drink and a cookie. That's what makes it a Christmas decoration rather than a Star Wars set with a bow on it. It stands 7½ inches tall and 9 inches long, and the legs pose.
At $59.99 for 697 pieces, the price is reasonable. It's the gift for anyone who owns a Star Wars mug and a Christmas sweater and has never seen the two in one place.
LEGO Wreath – Christmas Decorations That Hang Where Mantels Can't
$99.99 | 1,194 pieces | Set No. 10340
Most decorations need a flat surface. A wreath goes on a wall or a door, so it adds something a mantel full of figures can't. This one measures about 14⅝ inches across, has four hanging loops on the back, and can also be laid out as a garland.
The set includes red, blue, and white berries, so you can match it to the room, plus orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and pine cones.
The catch is the build. The pieces repeat and some are fiddly, which suits someone who enjoys a long, quiet evening more than a quick win. $99.99 for 1,194 pieces is fair, and unlike a real wreath, it never drops needles.
The LEGO Holiday House Set: A Christmas Card You Can Build
$119.99 | 1,354 pieces | Set No. 11387
Think of a Christmas card, built from 1,354 pieces. The Holiday House has a wrap-around porch, a horse-drawn sleigh, garland, bells, and holly outside, and a fireplace and record player inside. Four minifigures come along, and a built-in light makes the tree glow through the windows, which is the payoff in a dim room.
It's shallow, more of a display front than a dollhouse, so it works best against a wall or on a shelf, not in the middle of a table. It's about 8¼ inches wide. Builders usually treat 10 cents a piece as a fair price, and at roughly 9 cents this one beats it.
LEGO Holiday Express Train – Charming, Priced Like a Bigger Set
$129.99 | 956 pieces | Set No. 10361
A toy train running around the base of a Christmas tree is one of the oldest decorating ideas there is, and the Holiday Express does it well. The 16-piece circular track is sized to loop around a tree, the smokestack bobs, and a polar bear rings a bell. Four minifigures come along.
The honest part is the price. $129.99 for 956 pieces works out to about 13.6 cents a piece, well over that mark. Reviewers flagged it, too. The train also doesn't move on its own, because a motor is sold separately.
I'd still buy it for someone who loves trains. For everyone else, the Holiday House above gives you nearly 400 more pieces for $10 less.
The LEGO Home Alone Set: Nearly 4,000 Pieces of Kevin's Chaos
$299.99 | 3,955 pieces | Set No. 21330
This isn't a mantel decoration, and it isn't trying to be. It's a $299.99 gift for someone who quotes Home Alone every December, and for that person it's close to perfect.
The house opens up like a dollhouse, with paint cans that swing, a zip line, and a furnace that glows. The Wet Bandits' van and a treehouse sit outside, and five minifigures come with it. The 24 bags follow the movie's order, so building it feels a bit like watching it. Plan on nine or ten hours.
At about 7.6 cents a piece, the price is fair, which isn't the same as small. It's about 14½ inches wide, and it's a movie set that happens to look right in December. It looks just as good in July, which no Christmas tree can claim.
LEGO Family Christmas Tree – The Build Six People Can Share
$329.99 | 3,171 pieces | Set No. 41843
The tree stands about 17¾ inches tall, the biggest thing on this list, and it's designed to be built together. The 3,171 pieces come in 24 bags with six separate instruction booklets, so up to six people can build at once. That's the real pitch: a family afternoon, not one person's weekend.
Inside are four little rooms, seven minifigures, and a sleigh. It also comes apart into sections and stores in its box, so it can come out again every December.
It's the most expensive set here, though, and at about 10.4 cents a piece it's priced as expected, not as a bargain. Reviewers report leaves that fall off and sides that don't close neatly. Buy it for a household that will actually build it together.
The Rest of the Decorating Year
Christmas is the loudest stop on the calendar, but it isn't the only one. LEGO Holiday Decorations: From Easter to Christmas walks through every holiday in order, and LEGO Easter Decorations That Won't Get Eaten covers the spring end of it.
If the house also goes all out in October, LEGO Halloween Decorations for the House That Goes All Out is the matching guide. Want to keep the budget down? LEGO Halloween Decorations Under $50 for a Haunted Shelf stays small on purpose.
