Ready to grab your bricks and pieces and design something new and festive? Why not give this Christmas LEGO habitat challenge a try? The best part is you don’t need fancy bricks or a specific set! All you need is a favorite fig and a box of mixed pieces! What are you waiting for? Let’s get started with super simple LEGO challenges for kiddos (adults, too) of all ages!
What is a LEGO Habitat?
A LEGO habitat is similar to a diorama. Still, it has a somewhat specific layout and is generally smaller so that you don’t need to have a whole bunch of the same type of bricks or the same color of bricks to make something awesome because we all know… everything is awesome!
Christmas LEGO Habitat Challenge
CHALLENGE:
STEP 1: Choose a theme to represent the holiday or occasion, such as Christmas! Alternatively, you can build a habitat to represent your favorite fig instead. The choice is yours
STEP 2: Choose a favorite Mini-fig to represent your theme or concept.
STEP 3: Grab a pile of bricks and pieces to build your habitat. Think of unique ways to use your pieces to tell a story within your habitat.
Time Constraint: 30 Mins (or as long as desired)
You might also enjoy these Christmas LEGO Task Cards!
How Do You Make a LEGO Habitat?
It’s super simple to make one! Once you learn how to make a LEGO habitat, you won’t be able to stop. If you keep all of your habitats the same size, you can make a habitat stack at the end of the year. Try to make a new one each month! You’ll be creating habitats for all your favorite figs.
SUPPLIES NEEDED: A box of bricks and pieces and a favorite fig
LEGO Habitat Instructions
GET STARTED: Here’s how to start your mini-fig habitat.
STEP 1: Grab an 8×8 stud plate. Don’t have that size? Use math to combine several plates!
STEP 2: Build walls on two adjacent sides of the plate to form a corner. The best bricks for this step are wall builders or 1×1, 1×2, 1×4, and 1×6-sized bricks. You can add a window or door if that works for your theme.
STEP 3: Add details to create a dynamic scene! Build furniture, use smooth tiles for a floor, or add accessories and plant pieces. You can use SNOT bricks with studs on the side (see above) and on the top to create more detail. You might also have bricks with hooks coming out the side, perfect for brooms.
TIP: Add one or two of these special bricks while building a wall and then you can hang something to the wall or create a fun look for a window! If your kiddos are familiar with LEGO friends or city sets, they will probably have a ton of great accessories already!
STEP 4: Add your fig in a playful pose! Check out the tile plate in the images above with the stud in the middle… this is a great piece to use for your fig to stand, attach a table to the floor, or keep a fruit tote in place!
EXTEND THE LEARNING
Grab the FREE Christmas LEGO Habitat Challenge printable with ideas to extend the challenge.
—> Add a literacy component and write a few sentences about what is happening in the diorama or craft an entire narrative essay about it.
LEGO Habitat Ideas
Here are some fun prompts, tips, and ideas you can use for a LEGO habitat in December!
- Instead of walls to indicate a room or house, create a tree missing its leaves. You can have the tree be in place of one wall, have it coming out of a wall, or turn the wall into a fence. Look for arched bricks to make branches or brown 1×2 and 1×4 plates to create branches.
- Add a small LEGO vehicle from past sets if you’re taking a trip this holiday, and create a habitat around the car ride!
- Design a scene with any activity you enjoy doing this time of year.
- Use a fig from the latest minifig series as an inspiration. Check out the holiday ones here (Amazon affiliate link)!
- Search through the tiniest accessories for any LEGO food items you can find.
More LEGO Challenges to Try with Kids
Printable LEGO Brick Building Project Pack
Breathe new life into your existing LEGO or brick collections!
Grab the whole Brick Building Fun Pack in our SHOP
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
- 10O+ Brick theme learning activities in an e-book guide using the bricks you have on hand! Activities include literacy, math, science, art, STEM, and more!
- Brick STEM activity challenges complete with instructions and examples such as a marble run, catapult, balloon car, and more.
- Brick Building STEM Challenges and Task Cards keep kids busy! Includes animals, pirates, space, and monsters!
- Landmark Challenge Cards: Virtual tours and facts to get kids building and exploring the world.
- Habitat Challenge Cards: Take the challenge and build your own creative animals in their habitats
- Brick theme I-Spy and Bingo games are perfect for game day!
- Screen-free coding activities with a brick theme. Learn about algorithms and binary code!
- Explore mini-fig emotions and much more.
- A complete year of Brick themed seasonal and holiday challenges and task cards
- Brick Building Early learning pack filled with letters, numbers, and shapes!
