Legos has become a household word. At Christmas, a Lego set of some sort will almost certainly be under the tree or in some lucky kid’s stocking. Throughout the year, it’s a gift chosen by a busy relative to grab and wrap and give to a grateful niece or nephew. It’s an understatement to call these magic blocks toys. They are the seeds of a young engineer’s expanding imagination.

Lego’s history reads like a phoenix rising from the ruins of a wooden toy factory in Denmark. As predicted by the popular film entitled The Graduate, plastic would become the substance with which the future would be built in many fields, especially in the world of toys. If it weren’t for the development of plastic in the early 50s, the Lego factory might have gone down in history after the fire. But the imaginative staff saw a future in this magical substance.

If any fault could be found with the Legos, in some households the children may have to fight with dad to get access to the Lego sets. Many adults who were introduced to Legos as children have never lost their fascination with these building blocks. Many of these people not only have the original outfits from their youth, but hundreds more added over the years.

Some Lego collectors are fans of getting each and every set as it was produced. The variety of Lego products is amazing. He wants to build a fire truck. No problem. Perhaps a police command center is more to your taste. They got one. If you’re a Star Wars fan, you can spend hours putting together Lego sets.

The beauty of these sets is that after becoming familiar with the basic assembly and perhaps following the instructions to build a dedicated set or two, the child’s or parent’s imagination will know no bounds. Build a castle today and a spaceship tomorrow.

There is no discrimination with this toy. The architects of tomorrow can start their career with the Lego Pink Brick set. For the most ambitious there is the Ultimate Building Set with more than 400 pieces. Something for everyone, from stocking stuffers to cartloads, and at prices that won’t break the budget.

Perhaps when you’re nearing the end of your shopping list and you’ve run out of ideas for the latest boys and girls of almost any age, one of these special Lego sets could solve your problem.