Meaningful Gift Ideas with LEGO® NINJAGO®

Let’s be clear, this isn’t an article about buying NINJAGO® products (necessarily… there’s always a reason to buy LEGO® NINJAGO sets, right?) Instead, it’s about learning the ways of creative gift-giving and mastering the art of giving the most thoughtful gifts possible. It wouldn’t be an article worthy of a ninja without some ninja hacks, so we’ll also share some intel to make giving gifts easier. Go, ninja, go!

Just like being a NINJAGO ninja is much more than being awesome, fighting evil and defending justice, we know that thoughtful gift-giving is much more than just clicking ‘buy now’.

We’ve split your journey to ninja mastery on how to give meaningful gifts into 3 distinct sections: Planning, Personalizing and Delivering.

Plan like a ninja

The best gifts are never last-minute purchases. They take hours, days, sometimes even weeks of planning and research. So, why bother?

Because it’s just like a classic NINJAGO mission! If you look upon any gift-giving chore like a ninja looks at their next mission, you’ll make picking the right gift an adventure.

But how to buy gifts like a ninja? Before any mission, ninjas study their targets to learn their strengths, weaknesses and behaviors.

So, when you’re out there, looking for the next meaningful gift ideas, think of your target’s strengths as their hobbies and interests, their weaknesses as anything holding them back from participating in those interests, and their behaviors as something unique to them, which you can use to give extra thoughtful gifts.

For example, their ‘strength’ might be their ninja obsession, their ‘weakness’ is… well… any set they don’t own, and their ‘behavior’ can simply be their favorite ninja!

Personalize like a ninja

Ninja masters always go the extra mile. But they’ll go an extra marathon for those they care about most.

To gift like a ninja, you shouldn’t just be focused on the types of gifts to give. You should be equally focused on the journey leading up to handing over the present.

One of the enduring appeals of the NINJAGO show is how, throughout a season, the ninja will uncover a trail of clues leading them to successfully completing their mission. You can play with this idea by turning your gift into the final jigsaw piece of a mystery of your own creation.

This process can range from dropping subtle hints about the gift, to leaving a trail of physical clues, such as notes, cryptic riddles, or even smaller presents that correspond to the main present.

There’s a tricky balance between making clues that remain relevant to your gift while not giving it all away too early… but as a master ninja gift giver, we trust your judgement…

You’ll also find that adding a small, personalized touch to your gift will go a long way. This might be as simple as getting a keyring of their favorite character or, if relevant, engraving can be another great way of making sure their gift is like no other.

Try and make these finishing gestures as personal as possible. Think of personal ‘in-jokes’, or your favorite shared places and memories as inspiration, then add a touch of ninja creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to really bring it home.

And while ninja may be agile and skilled in thinking on their feet, you shouldn’t leave the note-writing to the last minute. Because all great meaningful gift ideas deserve to have a well-planned, well-written and well-presented accompanying message, where you can put into words how much your person means to you.

It’s often easier to write down those feelings than it is to say them on the spot. Gift-giving provides a great opportunity for it. And ninja masters always take their opportunities.

Deliver like a ninja

Ninja are renowned for their stealthy skills and mastering the element of surprise. And it just so happens that this particular trait is perfect for the moment you reveal your gift.

As ever, first consider the recipient. Are they the type for a ‘Big Reveal’? If so, you can pull out all the stops, getting mutual friends (or even people such as restaurant staff…) in on the gift-giving act, and springing it on them when they least expect it! Grand gestures can be a great way of bringing maximum joy out of an occasion.

However, you can display your true ninja perception to realize that others might not be so keen on anything bigger or louder than you simply handing the present to them at the right moment. A quiet surprise is still a surprise and still carries the same meaning.

However you give it to them, be sure that the gift is well wrapped and looks as good on the outside as on the inside. After all, when was the last time you saw a shabby ninja?

So, whether you make a full-blown treasure hunt ending in fireworks, or a small gesture with a personal touch, we’re sure that if you simply focus on planning, preparing and delivering, you’ll have mastered how to gift like a ninja.

Good luck!