Grinch Brickcraft Sets Review: A Worthy (& Inexpensive) Festive Alternative To LEGO

While LEGO tends to have most of the market sewn up when it comes to licensed brick building sets, but there are other brick build companies on the market. It’s one of those competitors – the American-made Brickcraft – who are capitalizing on the Grinch IP with a range of festive Grinch brick sets released just in time for Christmas 2024.

The Walmart exclusive Grinch sets expand Brickcraft’s licensed portfolio alongside Nickelodeon, Hello Kitty, Rudolph, MTV, and most intriguingly of all, Yellowstone, very much proving there’s life beyond Denmark’s most famous export. There are six sets in total, from tree decorations to larger sets that can be displayed as part of your holiday decorations. I was provided with a full set to give the low-down on the Grinchy additions to the brick build market, and honestly, I am immediately impressed.

First, here’s the low down on the sets, which are all appropriate for ages 8 and up:

How The Brickcraft Grinch Sets Build Quality Stacks Up

A Thoughtful, Charming, And Well Put Together Brick Building Experience

LEGO didn’t trademark the build system, which is an important thing to note at this point, because Brickcraft’s bricks look almost identical to LEGO bricks. It almost seems unfair to refer to the brand as a LEGO clone, or off-brand alternative, but that’s the way fans tend to consider them; and actually, the terminology carries a hidden positive – the sets are very much like LEGO.

When something as ubiquitous as LEGO’s build system exists, Brickcraft being able to offer their own take that leans on familiarity in building is a great thing. The individual pieces are definitely familiar, with some distinct differences: the decision to use cartoon eyes rather than ones made of bricks in some of the sets is a good choice, because they retain more of the spirit of the animation than the alternative. It’s a subtle thing, but it means the identity is well-balanced.

There are also pieces that I don’t recognize from LEGO’s usual library of pieces: Max’s transparent orange antler pieces are more distinct and have more character than if they were solid matte color, for instance. And if anyone cares, the eyelashes built into some of the eye pieces are also a nice difference: LEGO has no comparative piece (there are closed eye pieces with lashes, and minifigs with them built in, but that’s different).

The instructions are accessible and nicely set out (taking a lead from LEGO’s approach to the booklets). My soon-to-be-8-year-old son, George found the builds easy (with help and without), and the instructions easy to follow. He’s a Grinch fan, and the builds are short enough that his attention was held better than more daunting sets might have managed.

The Brickcraft sets absolutely score points for the family build aspect in that respect, including for the added pop-out disclaimers solving the issue of pieces that look almost identical, but have slightly different profiles. Even without words, everything flows seamlessly. And to return to the point of accessibility, I always like to keep one question in mind with sets with this sort of age range: can I build it with one hand? That reflects accessibility issues as well as age-related ones, and I can happily say Brickcraft passes the test easily (even in more complex build sequences).

Brickcraft Grinch Sets Play Score

They Might Be For Display, But That’s Not Really A Problem

Honestly, the appeal of the Brickcraft LEGO sets is in the build and the idea of adding them to your annual Christmas decorations (which I will be doing). Actually playing with them from a younger brick fan’s perspective is a different matter, which makes the 8+ age bracket a little misleading.

These are primarily decorations, and the interactive factor once built is limited. They’re very much to be looked at, rather than played with, but that’s one of the dominant trends in LEGO sets, anyway. Adult fans and builders are the key to greater sales, and that side of things is very well catered to here.

That said, the build is child-friendly, and the Grinch is an increasingly marketable IP since the release of Illumination’s Benedict Cumberbatch-starring animated The Grinch. And some kids do enjoy Christmas decorations that they don’t necessarily get to interact with. At this point, it’s important to note that my son rejects this premise entirely: his Grinch decorations belong on his tree, and he should be able to play with them in any way he wants. If you’re open to that (as I am), it’s fine.

One note on that last comment: there are some slight weakness points in the tree hangers, where undue pressure will make sections fall off. The design flaws are few and far between, but that one warrants mention. Likewise, some of the pieces don’t fit together perfectly (but it’s really perfection we’re comparing this too), but while there’s not a tool to separate parts, they’re easy enough to take apart if you (or your over-enthusiastic son) make a mistake.

Final Thoughts: Brickcraft’s Grinch Sets Have A Huge Advantage – Affordability

All The Experience Of LEGO, At Less Of A Cost

Price is where the Brickcraft sets really come into their own. The smaller hanging decorations are $8.88 (online), knocking a dollar off comparatively sized LEGO sets with licensed IPs. Not a huge difference, but every little helps. For the larger sets, the difference is way more stark. The 500+ size sets are under $25, while LEGO sets average out at $40+ for similarly-sized licensed pieces (like the upcoming Hei-hei set for Moana 2).

As brick fans increasingly reflect on rising set prices, it’s great to see a company offering affordable licensed options that don’t massively compromise on either design or build quality. And it’s even better that I didn’t have to sell my soul to that painfully over-zealous drop shop company that poisons X with their advertising. You know the one. I will be enthusiastically looking out for more Brickcraft sets (especially the chance of more Yellowstone lines) as a direct result of this experience.

The Brickcraft Grinch sets are creative, charming, and their price doesn’t reflect a product cheapness. There are certainly some quirks, and the bricks aren’t quite as perfectly aligned as the distinguished competition, but I’m quite happy to proclaim these the best non-LEGO brick sets I’ve ever encountered.

All of Brickcraft’s Grinch sets are available exclusively from Walmart and can be purchased via the Brickcraft site