* This post contains affiliate links so if you happen to buy something after using my links, I may receive a small commission and use it to buy more DUPLO.
We are BIG DUPLO fans in our house. My husband and I are both former LEGO Master Model Builders (just like in the LEGO Movie but real live Master Builders). So when our little dude came along 3 years ago, one of the best perks was the incentive to purchase lots and lots of DUPLO sets. We've collected quite a few sets and scored some deals on some older sets on eBay and craigslist.org to complete our collection and build lots of cool stuff out of one of our favorite toys.
DUPLO has to be on the list if you have a 1.5-5 year old. This is the little kid version of LEGO and it is great because it is creative, colorful, not too messy, and there are so many things you can do with it. You can build the actual set with the instructions, you can get creative and build something else, you can count, you can stack towers, you can use it to build things that work with other toys, like a tunnel for cars and trains, a house for action figures, or you can just play with the figures, vehicles and blocks. We built a DUPLO "Berk" which is the land from "How to Train Your Dragon" this year!
I'm going to showcase some of the newest and best sets out there, this year, with links to both the Amazon and the LEGO.com products so you can make sure to get the best price. If you shop at LEGO.com, make sure you are signed up for VIP points to get points which get you cash back on purchases.
Without further ado, here are some of my MUST have sets for this year:
Play House on LEGO.com $59.99
Lego Duplo 10505 Legoville Family House on Amazon.com
Lego Duplo 10505 Legoville Family House is my first pick. It is a bigger ticket item and is fun to build and fun to play with after it's built. You can turn it into a 2 story house or just have fun with your other pieces and build whatever kind of house you like with it. Some people are saying it isn't "gender neutral" because it's pink, but I suggest NOT telling your son that pink is for a girl and he won't feel like he has to play with it in the closet.
Horse Stable on LEGO.com - $29.99
Lego 10500 Duplo Horse Stable
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
If you buy the DUPLO house, you may want the Horse Stable out back. This is a great set by itself, too!
Big Royal Castle on LEGO.com - $59.99
LEGO DUPLO Big Royal Castle (10577)
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
If you are feeling like the DUPLO house is for girls and want something manly and medieval, there is a really cute new castle out call the Big Royal Castle. It comes with all the pieces to make a castle, some knights, fire, weapons, and my son's personal favorite, the real working cannon piece! Every time we find the cannon piece in our bin of DUPLO, it brings such joy to my son's eyes and terror in our dog's. It actually doesn't really hurt to get shot with this cannon (I should know) and we are working on aiming it at the DUPLO blocks and not his momma's behind.
Treasure Attack on LEGO.com - $29.99
LEGO DUPLO Town Treasure Attack 10569 Building Toy
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
The Treasure Attack is another set that goes along with the Castle theme and is the mid-price point set. I am in love with the little horse and carriage. My son will be nuts over the catapult that he can add to his aresenal.
Knight Tournament on LEGO.com - $9.99
Lego Knights of the Middle Ages Duplo 10568
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
This is the cute little set that goes with the Castle theme and it is a great stocking stuffer OR if you just want the horse, like I do, I mean my kid does...
Deluxe Train Set on LEGO.com $109.99
LEGO Lego-Duplo Deluxe Train Set 10508
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
My little boy was train CRAZY when he was a little guy. All of his friends were getting the wooden Thomas sets and the train tables and he really did love those, but we opted for the DUPLO trains. Why? Because we liked the idea of building our own tunnels, customizing our own landscapes and being creative with the trains we wanted to build with all of our other DUPLO parts. If you want your child to have the flexibility and creativity rather than straight up role play, then get started with a DUPLO train set for the holidays. The Deluxe Train Set is the ultimate. Everything you can add to it is gravy.
Creative Ice Cream on LEGO.com - $14.99
LEGO DUPLO Creative Play 10574 Creative Ice Cream
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
The DUPLO Ice Cream set is one of my favorites. It is one of the few sets that we actually keep in the box instead of mixed in with all of our other pieces because it is fun to play with on its own. My son likes to play store, and every now and then likes to "cook" things for me in his play kitchen and this fits right in with either of those games. I can make requests, like a quadruple scoop super cone or bricksicle and he gets my order right every time! I will definitely be coming back to this ice scream store over and over again. Oh and check the age range on this set - 1 1/2 years old and you can start an ice cream business!
Peter Pan's Visit on LEGO.com - $29.99
LEGO DUPLO Jake Peter Pan's Visit 10526 Building Toy
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
For those of you that liked the Jake and the Neverland Pirate Sets from last year, (which are still available by the way) this year, Peter Pan is visiting! This is a great set because not only does it come with Jake, but it comes with an adorable Peter Pan figure and a crocodile with a mouth that opens and closes, too! We also bought the zoo a couple years ago, so we have a similar alligator with the mouth and that has provided a lot of eating and biting fun for the toddler, and it is a great place for mom to find some some old snack food or peanut butter if that is what she is looking for. Remember, DUPLO is dishwasher safe...
The Joker Challenge on LEGO.com - $29.99
Joker Lego Duplo 10544 and Batman
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
This year, it is a BIG huge deal that DUPLO has teamed up with Batman and made this awesome set with a Batmobile and the Joker. There is also a set that has Catwoman and the Batman plane, and a Superman set that are going to be very difficult for me to open let alone show my son if we end up purchasing these. I just have to see if I have any more room for NIB stuff in my LEGO closet...
Ariel's Undersea Castle on LEGO.com - $29.99
LEGO DUPLO Princess Ariel Undersea Castle 10515
on Amazon.com
on Amazon.com
This year, one of my absolute favorite DUPLO sets is the Ariel's Undersea Adventure. I just love the Ariel and the Flounder characters. There are few other Disney DUPLO sets with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty that are still available and any little Disney princess fan would surely have fun building the castles, carriages, and getting creative with all the bright pink and light blue DUPLO bricks.
There are a lot more DUPLO sets that are new for the second half of this year and some that are available still from the last few years. My picks are mostly the newest sets and ones that really are getting me excited to shake some boxes full of bricks under our Christmas tree!
Thanks for the list, I think I saw a few that will be in my house come Christmas morning!!
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