The first LEGO®-certified store in the Philippines has just opened and Lego enthusiast as expected flocked the occasion, including myself.  Not that Lego is new in the country or is scarcely available, but this new Lego Store in Park Triangle, Bonifacio Global City makes a Lego fan like me excited.  Here are some reasons why.

Lego has been my favorite toy ever since I was little and I really do think that it started my creative side.  I started with the Lego Basic and eventually to Lego Land (now called Lego City), but deep inside I really wanted to go forward with Lego Technic (but it’s not exactly a cheap toy that you can just ask your parents and they’d give you one :D).  Fast forward to this day, my love for Lego has never tainted even though I’m no longer playing with it, and I still occasionally collect those small special edition (like those sold by a gasoline brand).  That feeling of building something (even if you have a manual to guide you through it) kind of makes you feel empowered.  And if you don’t feel like conforming to the template, you can make it your own, although you may need some more parts. 🙂

Perhaps the biggest draw to the opening of this Lego Store (including myself) is that they offered a Spider-Man Glider set for a mere ₱50!  That’s just about $1.15!  But beside the ridiculously marked-down price, the proceeds actually went for a good cause via their Bricks to Classroom campaign supporting World Vision.  Only 5,000 sets are to be sold and they’re still available as of 8PM yesterday.  A maximum of five (5) sets per person is allowed.  Makes a pretty cool and inexpensive gift right?

I first dropped by the Lego Store late into the afternoon as part of my easy run yesterday from Makati.  The queue to enter the store was just really long so I decided to just drop by later since they’re open until 9PM.  At that time, various activities were being held but I was feeling a bit out of place since I was all sweaty to hang around for long and watch.  And so around 7PM I was back (after doing my tempo run) and noticed that there were no lines anymore, but I forgot to bring along some cash so I didn’t enter the premises just yet.

After having my dinner, I decided to return to the store for the third time.  What was originally intended as a quick trip to buy that Spider-Man Glider set for me and some friends became a long stay of amusement with all the collections that Lego now offers.  Everything that appeared in the Lego Movie was there, and even more collections that I no longer recognize.  Lego has really diversified its product lines.  Makes me want to be a kid again and play! 😀

One interesting feature that the Lego Store has is being able to create your own set.  There’s this station where you can make your own mini figures (a set of three costs ₱499.75).  A figure is composed of a head piece (a hair, helmet, hat, or whatever is in there that you can place in the head), a head with various facial expressions, a torso or body, the legs, and an accessory.  Some of the accessories I saw were radios and surf boards so it’s basically anything in there that you can place on the foot or hand of your mini figure.

There’s another station for those who want to build more than a mini figure.  It’s some sort of like a Lego buffet where you just pick any combination of bricks you want and they’re sold by weight.  It costs ₱679.75 per 100 grams (minimum of 100 grams) so if you needed just specific pieces for your projects, this makes it so much easier and cheaper.

And there are also keychains.  Lots and lots of keychains.  Many of these keychains are from movie characters (Marvel, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc.) but if you prefer they also have a basic Lego brick keychain that you can have engraved with your name!

All around the store there are displays of pre-built sets (including their prices) so you can have an idea on what they actually looked like when assembled.  They range from the basic sets all the way to the big boxes for the big boys!

A visit to the Lego Store should be fun for kids as well as there are areas where they could play Legos.  Makes me envious that we didn’t have these when I was little.  Just make sure to supervise your kids when you do bring them over as younger kids may get their hands on Lego parts that are too small that they could choke on.

In the end I was able to forcefully control my urge to buy other than the Spider-Man Glider set that I was supposed to.  I admit that just looking at all those Legos brought back my happy memories playing with Lego and I really had fun!  For now, I’m contented with my new toy.

The first LEGO®-Certified Store in the Philippines is located beside Kidzania Manila at the ground floor of Park Triangle, 11th Avenue corner 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City