Legos For Seniors

 LEGO Creator Expert Volkswagen T1 Camper Van 10220 Construction SetLegos For Seniors: A Simple Activity That Can Provide Hours Of Entertainment

I can’t take credit for this article ‘Legos For Seniors’ as it was suggested to me in a comment on my Facebook Good Gifts For Senior Citizen page. So, thank you Irene H. I not only appreciated your comment, but I learned so much when researching Legos – and I had some fun shopping – my Legos will be here Monday….

So, once Irene suggested Legos as a good gift for senior citizens, I sat and thought about it. She was 100% right! Particularly if you have a senior friend who is bed bound or has a mental diagnosis, such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia, Legos can be a great way to spend quality time with them doing an easy creative project.

A gift of a Lego set would be a wonderful gift for a retirement home or rehab facility. Anywhere people can sit around a table making (and destroying) structures is bound to be a good time.

To see more building sets, visit my article Lego Model Car Kits.

Benefits Of Legos Building Bricks For Senior Citizens

I can see a lot of benefits of presenting a set of Legos to an elderly loved one.

• Legos are a great tool to work with cognitive functions such as identifying colors, shapes, sizes, items, etc. Even those with Alzheimer’s or Dementia may be able to remember these types of things from their youth.
• Legos invite creativity into you senior citizen friend’s life. With endless building options, your senior friend can create their own town, build fences, or buildings. The ideas are endless. I particularly love that Lego Birds Model Kit there to the left. My Mom would have loved the hummingbird.
• Legos exercises motor skills. Remember though, if your senior friend has arthritic hands like my Mom did, you’ll want to buy either the medium or large size bricks. More about this below.
• Sitting around a table working a set of Legos invites the social side of your elderly loved one to come out and play – literally!
• A Lego session can promote family bonding. What better way to have some family fun than to open a new set of Legos for your Grandma, Grandpa, son, or daughter? Get as many generations around the table as you can. And, make sure to grab your camera for future generations.

Types of Legos – Stick With Me Here….

As I was researching the article, I found that Legos come in various sizes, and, the sizes were confusing as heck to me. Here’s the best way I can describe them:

• Traditional Lego bricks, marketed by Lego – these are the ones most of us are familiar with; I still remember how much those suckers hurt when I stepped on one….
• Duplo blocks, marketed by Lego – these building bricks are twice the length, height, and width of the traditional Lego bricks. They are still compatible with the traditional Legos.
• Mega Bloks, marketed by Mattel. Mega Bloks comes in both maxi (pieces over 2″) and mini size (pieces 1-2″)

Due to fine motor skills degrading as we age, I think I would prefer the Mega Blocs Maxi Lego Set for an elderly loved one. This building block set is marketed for very young children (ie, 1 year olds) so the pieces are very large and easily handled (some pieces are 2″x2″, some are 2″x4″).

But, if it’s an involved project you want, you pretty much are restricted to Lego building sets which are meant for children over 5. The pieces are smaller but there are some amazing projects your senior citizen friend would love such as recreating a carnival or building the London Bridge.

Note: Since some of these Lego sets are typically bought for younger children, I suggest you buy a small duffle in which to store them. I don’t think my Mom would have liked the packaging clearly targeting young children and not senior citizens (note: seniors love the things!).

Lego Building Sets For Adults

 LEGO Ideas Old Fishing Store (21310) – Building Toy and Popular Gift for Fans of LEGO Sets and The Outdoors (2049 Pieces) LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle 21313 Expert Building Kit Model Ship, Collectible Display Set and Toy for Adults (962 Pieces) LEGO Architecture London 21034 Skyline Collection Gift LEGO Creator Expert 10244 Fairground Mixer LEGO Star Wars 75095 Tie Fighter Building Kit LEGO Agents Mobile Command Center LEGO Creator Expert Expert Tower Bridge Play Set Iconic- Paired Towers And A Drawbridge That Really Opens And Closes LEGO Creator Log Cabin 5766 LEGO Creator 31048 Lakeside Lodge, Includes A Male Minifigure Plus A Buildable Moose And A Frog LEGO City Pickup & Caravan 60182 Building Kit (344 Piece) LEGO City Forest Tractor 60181 Building Kit (174 Piece) LEGO Architecture Las Vegas 21047, Multi

Basic Legos

All of these Lego building block sets are very basic. They could be a good starting point if you’re not sure if your senior citizen friend will like the exercise.

 LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box 10698 LEGO Classic Bricks and Gears 10712 Building Kit (244 Pieces) LEGO Classic Creative Fun 11005 Building Kit, New 2020 (900 Pieces) LEGO Classic Creative Suitcase 10713 Building Kit (213 Pieces)

Legos Advent Calendars

Entice your senior citizen into a fun activity of creating an advent calendar! If you’re lucky, they’ll share.

 LEGO City Advent Calendar 60155 Building Kit LEGO City Advent Calendar 60201, New 2018 Edition, Minifigures, Small Building Toys, Christmas Countdown Calendar for Kids (313 Pieces) LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar 75981, Collectible Toys from The Hogwarts Yule Ball, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and More, Great Christmas or Birthday Calendar Gift, New 2020 (335 Pieces) LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 41420, Kids Advent Calendar with Toys; Makes a Great Holiday Treat for Children who Love Toy Advent Calendars and buildable Figures, New 2020 (236 Pieces)

Mega Bloks Maxi Lego Sets

 Mega Bloks Deluxe Building Bag 150-Piece (Amazon Exclusive) Prextex 150 Piece Classic Big Building Blocks Compatible with All Major Brands STEM Toy Building Bricks Set for All Ages UNiPLAY Jumbo Multicolor Soft Building Blocks Plump Series 2 Different Sizes of Blocks for Ages 3 Months

Lego Duplo Building Bricks

These Lego Duplo building sets are usually meant to be used as the very first experience with these building blocks. But, for some seniors, particularly those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, these might just be perfect for an afternoon entertainment.

 LEGO DUPLO 10572 Creative Play All-in-One-Box-of-Fun LEGO DUPLO Town School Bus 10528 Building Toy LEGO Duplo My Town Family House 10835 Building Block Toys for Toddlers LEGO DUPLO Town Big Construction Site Best Toy LEGO DUPLO Creative Play 6059074 Educational Toy LEGO DUPLO Town Truck & Tracked Excavator 10812 LEGO DUPLO My First Number Train 10847 Preschool Toy LEGO DUPLO My First Cars and Trucks 10816 Toy for 1.5-5 Year-Olds