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The Best LEGO Sets for Girls – New 2020 Reviews

LEGO is one of the most popular toys around the world. While they’re designed for both boys and girls of many different ages, historically these bricks and mini figures have been the most popular among boys. But LEGO sets offer tons of educational fun for girls, too.

Looking for a LEGO set for a young girl? Here are 12 great LEGO sets to consider for 2020. Plus, we’ve also created a complete shopping guide for selecting a LEGO set which young girls are sure to love.

Our #1 Choice – LEGO Friends Heartlake Summer Pool

Enjoy summer fun throughout the year with this Heartlake Summer Pool set. A large pool with a twisty slide is at the center of the set, surrounded by a variety of fun extras like a hot tub, lifeguard stand, restroom, fountain and more. Set has a total of 589 pieces and is recommended for kids ages six through 12.

Brightly-colored and filled with good vibes, this Friends set includes Andrea and Martina mini-figs. Also designed to complement the Heartlake Sports Center. Of course, as with all Friends sets, it’s also completely compatible with all other LEGO sets.

Main pool and swim-up set are seven inches high, nine wide and nine deep. The hot tub area is two inches high, four wide and an inch deep.

Our #2 Choice – LEGO Friends Emma’s Art Café

Emma’s Art Café is open for business. The medium-sized set features a café with a coffee machine, cash register and shutters which open and close. You can serve up fresh food from the panini machine.

Artwork is a major focus at this café. A hinged art area can be moved inside or outside of the building. Plus, mini-fig Prankzy is a graffiti artist who stays busy painting a mural on the back of the café. Also include store employee mini-fig Emma.

Set is six inches high, seven inches wide and seven inches deep. Total of 378 pieces. Playset is recommended for kids between six and 12.

Our #3 Choice – Stephanie’s House

Welcome to Stephanie’s house. This modular two-story home is where all the LEGO friends go to party. House features a bay window, spiral staircase, bedroom, office, shower and more. The yard out front has a swing chair and even a separate rabbit hutch.

The house has tons of accessories including plates, pans, bowls, magazines, a vacuum cleaner and much more. The fridge and oven both open and close.

Accessory elements include a cake, two cupcakes, frying pan, three plates, bowl, kitchen utensils, storage jar, buildable vacuum cleaner, shampoo bottle, perfume bottle, brush, two magazines and more.

Includes three mini-figures: teen Stephanie, mom Alicia and dad James. Also includes Chili, an adorable baby rabbit mini-fig found only in this set.

Our #4 Choice – LEGO Disney Princess Ariel and the Magical Spell

Journey under the sea with Ariel and her friends. This playset from LEGO and Disney features Ariel’s cave with a sliding door, treasure chest, seaweed and even a hideout for Flounder.

The mini-figs are sure to delight Disney fans. Features Ursula, Flounder and, of course, the princess herself. Ariel’s unique in that she has two different bases: a fish tail and human legs, just like in the movie! An included revolving stand lets her “transform” between the two.

Set has 222 pieces and is suitable for kids ages five and up.

Our #5 Choice – LEGO Friends Snow Resort Chalet

This cozy two-story cabin includes a kitchen, fireplace, hot tub and more. Store skies in the outdoor ski rack or cruise around in the buildable snowmobile.

Cabin also features plenty of fun accessories including skis, resort fliers, perfume bottles, a camera, map and more. Mini-figs Andrea and Amy are decked out in trendy ski gear, while Luna the husky pup is always ready to play.

Our #6 Choice – LEGO Disney Princess Moana Ocean Voyage

Set sail with Moana, Maui and HeiHei the rooster! This playset features a buildable canoe with sail plus a small grassy island with the Heart of Te Fiti. Canoe comfortably fits all the characters.

Speaking of the characters, the mini-figs are the real star of the show here. Moana holds a paddle and a map, while Maui has his famous fishing hook. Also includes two Kakamora pirates and their catapult.

Total set is 307 pieces and suitable for kids ages six and up.

Our #7 Choice – LEGO DC Wonder Woman Dorm Set

Superhero superfans will love this Wonder Woman dorm room playset. Room includes a window, bed and a hidden screen for secret superhero briefings. Although this is a standalone set, it’s also easily connected to the Super Hero High School.

Accessories are pretty super, too. Includes Golden Lasso, wrench, wardrobe and more. But the best accessory is Wonder Woman’s “invisible” motorcycle, made from clear LEGO bricks. The bike can be mounted on a rotating workshop. All LEGO characters – not just Friends – can ride the bike.

Our #8 Choice – LEGO Women of NASA

This collection of three builds provides plenty of inspiration for junior scientists. Each figure and set is inspired by real-life women who made a major impact on astrophysics and space exploration. Features mini-figs of Nancy Grace Roman, Margaret Hamilton, Sally Ride and Mae Jemison.

The Nancy Grace Roman set includes a Hubble Space Telescope build with tons of detail and an illustration of a nebula. Margaret Hamilton’s set includes book stacks and materials related to the Apollo Guidance Computer (which Hamilton developed). Both Sally Ride and Mae Jemison share a launchpad with Space Shuttle Challenger which includes three removable rocket stages.

Aside from the building instructions, set also includes a separate book which details the history and accomplishments of the four female pioneers. Recommended for kids 10 and older.

Our #9 Choice – Lego Movie 2 Sweet Mayhem’s Systar Starship

Directly from the most recent Lego movie, Sweet Mayhem’s Systar Starship has a cockpit, retractable landing gear, disc shooters and a prison cell. It also includes an Emmet minifig, Lucy minifig, a Sweet Mayhem mini-doll, and Star and Heart characters built from bricks.

Suitable for kids nine and older, it’s a 500-piece set which fans of both LEGO movies will love. When built, the spaceship is five inches high by six inches long and 11 inches wide.

Our #10 Choice – LEGO Friends Heartlake City Pet Center

Heartlake City’s newest business is a two-level pet center with a grooming parlor, clinic, pet shop, and separate grooming van. It also includes Stephanie, Mia and Liam mini-figs (called mini-dolls in the Friends collection). Of course, what’s a pet center without pets? The set includes a dog, turtle, bunny, hamster, and a bird.

The total set has 474 pieces. The pet center is one building split into four sections for each business. It’s five inches high by nine inches wide. The grooming van is a separate, moveable vehicle which holds a mini-fig and animal.

Our #11 Choice – LEGO Wyld-Mayhem Star Fighter Set

This set is a great blend of boy and girl styles of LEGO play and brick colors. It features both mini-figs and a mini-doll to appeal to both your little girl and her brother or friends. The set comes with Wyldstyle, Emmet and Rex, as well as Rex’s stud shooter and jet pack.

The Star Fighter can shoot discs or drop bombs depending on how you’d like to play. It’s got two cockpits for Wyldstyle and Sweet Mayhem, a rear compartment, and tons of other weapons and accessories.

Our #12 Choice – LEGO Hagrid’s Hut: Buckbeak’s Rescue

The LEGO Hagrid’s Hut set is an excellent option for Harry Potter LEGO collectors or to get a child started in the LEGO universe. This set is a nice option for girls because it features Hermione in one of her critical roles in the Harry Potter series: helping Harry free Buckbeak from execution.

The set is incredibly detailed down to Hagrid’s beard and Buckbeak’s ability to bow, which makes it perfect for imaginative play. You can combine this set will all other classic LEGOs too, which means your child won’t have to play with this set alone.

What To Consider Before Buying

Before you decide on a new LEGO set for the young girl in your life, there are a few things you should consider. For instance, you’ll want to look at the age range on the box, find out what the child you’re buying for is interested in, and don’t be afraid to buy sets that LEGO doesn’t market specifically to girls.

Check the Age Ranges Before You Buy

Most LEGO Friends and traditional LEGO sets will work for older kids, but kids under age eight might have more fun with LEGO Jr. sets. If you are buying for a toddler, LEGO also makes sets for kids ages two to five called LEGO DUPLO sets.

LEGO puts recommended ages on all of their sets, because even the regular sets come in a variety of difficulty levels, so make sure you check the age range before you buy.

Find Out What the Child Likes

Sure, some girls really enjoy playing with Disney princesses and pink or purple toys, but some don’t. The little girl in your life might like robots or ninjas or spaceships more than things that we often consider traditionally feminine, and that’s okay. LEGO has something for everyone.

If you use LEGO’s website, then you can sort your options by interests or by themes. The interests section includes things like cars, animals, fantasy, and seasonal. The themes section separates LEGO sets into categories like architecture, city, classic, and MINDSTORMS.

If you’re hoping to unleash your child’s full STEM potential, a theme option like MINDSTORMS, Powered Up, or Boost might be right for her. All of those options can help your little girl to build items that can move when they’re done, which can encourage young engineers and scientists.

If you think your little girl would rather use her own creative imagination, then you can shop under the bricks section to find any color or style of brick you’d like. Going that route can eliminate the arguments over the correct gender for a given LEGO set and put the focus back on imaginative play.

Don’t Be Afraid to Buy “Boys” LEGO Sets

LEGOs are a gender neutral toy, so although some are marketed more to girls than boys, all LEGOs will work for girls. You should focus more on buying sets that are age appropriate and that match your child’s interests than for which gender you perceive the set to be.

When in doubt, check out some of our suggestions so you know which sets are most popular for young girls. Also, make sure to read over our frequently asked questions to help you understand a bit more about LEGOs in general.

Frequently Asked Questions about LEGO Sets for Girls

What Makes a LEGO Set Suitable for Girls?

LEGO is generally a fun toy for both girls and boys. But most LEGO products are given to young boys. Nobody really knows why this is, but the likely cause is simply because many of the licensed products such as Star Wars and Marvel Heroes generally appeal to more boys than girls.

Truthfully, there’s nothing about LEGO that’s particularly gender-specific. LEGOs can be played with in a variety of ways. Kids can focus on whatever aspect of LEGO they find the most interesting:

• Building the sets to use as a playset
• Building original creations
• Collecting mini figures
• And more

What are LEGO Friends?

In the early 1990s, LEGO began serious efforts to increase the brand’s appeal to young girls. Their first effort was a line called Belville. Released in 1994, Belville sets were based on fairy tales and fantasy characters. They were larger than traditional LEGO sets, with multi-jointed, doll-like mini-figures. Belville was very traditionally “girly,” which most sets featuring a pink-and-purple color scheme.

Belville was an almost instant failure. The main problem was the large size of the sets and mini-figures. They weren’t compatible with traditional LEGO sets. Many kids (and parents) felt that the Belville sets weren’t “real” LEGOs.

With the Belville line discontinued, the company went back to the drawing board. In 2012, after four years of research, they launched the LEGO Friends.

The Friends had a unique, more feminine look – but they were also 100% compatible with existing LEGO sets and characters.

Instead of “mini figs,” the Friends characters are called “Lady Figs.” They’re taller, skinnier and with a softer appearance than the mini-figs. However, they can still fit in any LEGO vehicle and hold any LEGO accessory. Plus, their hair can be swapped out with traditional mini-fig hairpieces and hats.

The LEGO Friends have five main characters:

• Mia the animal lover
• Emma the beauty expert
• Andrea the famous pop star
• Stephanie the friendly social butterfly
• Olivia the science whiz

Each has a unique set which relates to their specific personality. For instance, Olivia’s set includes a workshop with a microscope, helper robot, a board with math equations and more. She even has her own purple tools!

All of the characters live in Heartlake. Various sets can be placed next to each other to create a small town of houses and shops.

What Non-Friends Sets Appeal to Girls?

As mentioned above, LEGO sets are designed for both boys and girls. However, there are quite a few non-Friends sets which are created to mainly interest young girls.

Disney Princess LEGO sets are especially popular among girls. Due to a licensing partnership, most Disney princesses have been represented in LEGO form at one point or another (although older, discontinued sets can be expensive). Current Disney-themed sets which consistently sell well include Ariel’s undersea Kingdom, Mickey’s Disney Castle and Moana’s sailboat. The Moana set, which contains a large Maui figure, is also very popular with boys.

What Benefits Do LEGOs Have?

Playing with LEGO helps develop a wide range of skills. Manipulating the blocks and assembling the sets helps improve a child’s fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial understanding and other physical development.

Generally, LEGOs are best for children five and up. However, younger kids can still enjoy the fun with Duplo. This is LEGO’s block line designed for kids between the ages of one-and-a-half and five. Duplo blocks are larger, which makes them easier for tiny hands to hold. Plus, they’re safer because they’re very difficult to swallow.

LEGO toys also help develop creativity. Aside from creating the sets in the instructions, kids can also build original creations. This is a major reason for the popularity of the Friends line. If there’s already a large collection of LEGOs in the house, the Friends mini-figs can fit right in – but they’re still unique enough so the young girl can feel like she has her own toys.

Interestingly, recent research suggests playing with LEGO helps with emotional healing. They’re actually a great gift to give a child who has recently undergone emotional or physical trauma, such as an accident or injury.

Certain LEGO sets can also help build self-esteem and confidence. For instance, the Women of NASA set features four real-life role models sure to inspire young girls. It can be a great set to help introduce a variety of STEM concepts.

Final Thoughts

Don’t think of LEGO as a boy’s toy. There are plenty of sets, characters and themes sure to appeal to girls. LEGO Friends is a unique line designed for girls, but which is still completely compatible with all traditional LEGO sets. Plus, many girls also love the various Disney Princess sets.

No matter what your little girl is interested in, there’s almost certainly a LEGO set they’ll love. Even better, all LEGO sets help develop self-confidence, creativity, hand-eye coordination and more. LEGO is a great choice when buying a gift for a young girl!