O' LEGO Tree

One of the new things I look forward to every year (and hopefully it will continue for sometime) is Mad Dog's employee gift from LEGO. Last year they started a new tradition  in the LEGO Group - a specially developed LEGO gift for all employees around the world.

In 2009 each LEGO employee received a LEGO Heart, as a symbol of the reintroduction of one of their six values - caring. The LEGO gift accompanied a wonderful gift Tapas servicing set from a European company called EGO Together . I love the set we received last year and though I think (I could be completely wrong about this) Mad Dog was a bit baffled by the gift, we have used it and enjoyed it ever since.

This years gift was even better. With the launch of LEGO Games internationally this year, the company made an obvious choice to develop and design a unique game for it's employees. With the focus of this time of year on friends and family what better way to celebrate that then to gather around a fun game.

The 2010 gift includes a special collectors edition of Happy Holidays: The Christmas Game. It's Christmas, and Santa needs his reindeer to deliver all the colorful gifts under the tree. Pile the gifts onto the sleighs, fly the reindeer around the tree, and try to collect the most presents. Build the tallest stack of gifts of two colors to win! The game comes with all the piece to build and play. We're very excited about this and are looking forward to playing this possibly Christmas Day at my Mom's.

Along with the game we also received another wonderful gift set from EGO Together. Part of my love for their products is the design of their line. The company based in Denmark has an amazing design aesthetics and beautifully crafted pieces are a special treat (they tease me with the catalog they include). This year we received pieces from their Bamboo "MAGNETficent" textile series. The products are made from sustainable bamboo. The set included two pot holders with small magnets in the corner instead of a loop that will break after tons of use, a dish towel and apron (perfect for Mad Dog since I got a  new apron for Christmas - wait for another post). The set also included a metal mounting plate that can be attached anywhere and the pieces can hang from. I'm sure Mad Dog thinks I'm crazy after seeing how excited I was over the set. 

I love the employee gift we receive each year from LEGO and the idea that there are other LEGO employees all around to world opening their e gift just like us. I like that LEGO gives their employees not only a special gift of play, but they also give something else that compliments one of their 6 values - DESIGN. Though a huge part of LEGO is of course creativity and play, what makes LEGO so great is their timeless design. This is part of the reason that even if Mad Dog didn't work for the company they would be a huge part of our lives. The learning and creative properties of the "toy" are timeless and allow our children to grow with each new building they destroy and rebuild. 

Thank you LEGO for another wonderful year and an amazingly thoughtful gift.