The Winners of Our Nerdvember 2025 Vacation Contest Are…
The votes are in, the passports are stamped, and Nerdly is officially back from vacation! Last month was the deadline for Nerdvember, where we challenged the BrickNerd community to take our favorite bespectacled mascot on vacation, and you absolutely delivered. From the tropics to snow ski vacations, Nerdly travelled the world!
This year’s theme celebrated travel in all its forms. Whether Nerdly was relaxing, exploring, or getting into a bit of vacation trouble. There were so many interpretations of the theme from MOCs to travel photos. As always, each BrickNerd contributor and Patreon member had an equal vote, and the results were tight across the board.
Three key criteria were considered by the judges:
Concept - Is the idea clever, tell a story, and align with the vacation theme?
Quality & Presentation - Is the creation well-executed and presented in a way that enhances its impact?
Nerdiness - Does the creation capture the essence of Nerdly with a balance of recognizable features that clearly convey the BrickNerd mascot (color, shape, studs, glasses, etc.)?
Vacation Photo Contest
For the first time, we hosted a photo contest that sent Nerdly out into the real world. Entrants were tasked with photographing our red mascot in an exciting vacation setting, and the results took us everywhere from scenic outdoor adventures to clever everyday escapes.
Third PLace: Michelle Thompson - Vacation Buddies
Second Place: Piotr S - Cooking Fail
In third place, Michelle Thompson’s photo snapped a story of two friends out for a ride. We loved the motion and the storytelling that made us smile. In second place, Piotr S. served up a wonderfully relatable moment, capturing Nerdly mid-culinary catastrophe as an over-boiled pot creates chaos in the kitchen.
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First Place: Scott wilhelm - Epic Nerdly
Talk about a destination photo. In first place, Scott Wilhelm took Nerdly somewhere truly epic, staging the mascot in front of Bowser’s Castle at Epic Universe for a photo that is bursting with color and vacation energy.
Congratulations to our winners and we will be in contact about your prizes!
Vacation Photo ALBUM
Before we get to our MOC contest winners, here are all the wonderful vacation photos we received. The photo entries were full of creativity and personality, and it’s clear Nerdly had quite the travel season!
Bonnie Mohnsen
John Cooper
Johnathan Boysen
Nolan Simpson
Jonathan Boysen
Nolan Simpson
Jonathan Boysen
Nolan Simpson
Jonathan Boysen
Nolan Simpson
Jonathan Boysen
Nolan Simpson
Jonathan Boysen
Vacation MOC Honorable Mentions
Now that we’ve enjoyed Nerdly’s vacation snapshots, it’s time for the MOC contest results.
We’ll start with our honorable mentions. These standout builds caught our eye with their creative and nerdy takes on the vacation theme. Congratulations to these six builders who impressed us with their skill, storytelling, and fun interpretations of Nerdly on vacation.
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Scott Wilhelm View fullsize
Margit Bermudez View fullsize
Bethany Wright View fullsize
Dan Ko View fullsize
Lausbricks View fullsize
Nolan Simpson
Thank you to these builders and everyone who entered for sharing your amazing creations! But at the end of the day, this is a contest and we had to choose some winners—as difficult as that was.
Third Place: greenarj - Wipeout
Taking third place and $50 in LEGO is greenarj with Wipeout, a snapshot of Nerdly’s vacation taking an unexpected turn on the ski slopes. The build is simple and clean, but highly expressive, with skis askew that tell the whole story at a glance.
Second Place: Okay Yaramanoglu - Island Vacation Nerdly
Claiming second place and $100 in LEGO is Okay Yaramanoglu (last year’s Nerdvember champion), with a sunny Island Vacation Nerdly. The build delivers pure getaway vibes, transforming our favorite bespectacled mascot into the ultimate traveling suitcase who has settled into a sleek beach chair. The scene is packed with charming details like a working parasol, coconut drink, scuba gear, sandals, and a cooler stocked for some well-earned, ice-cold refreshment.
First Place: ABrickDreamer - Family Trip
Taking the top spot and $200 in LEGO is ABrickDreamer with Family Trip, a cute travel scene that immediately captured our hearts. This vignette follows not one but three Nerdlies traveling together as a family, staged in an airport complete with forced perspective out the window to show planes taking off in the distance.
We loved everything from the kid’s hat to the three kinds of glasses and the brick-built suitcase. The printed details like the passport and tickets are wonderful additions too and make us wonder where the family might be going.
If his name is familiar, it is because this is ABrickDreamer also is a regular addition to our monthly LEGO Community Highlights round-up with his weekly series that summarizes so much of what is happening in the MOC building world.
Congratulations to all our winners! We salute your nerdiness and will be in contact about your prizes soon!
Nerdvember 2025 Vacation Gallery
Want to see all the amazing entries? Browse the full gallery of Nerdvember 2025 submissions below—the creativity on display was incredible. There are so many amazing Nerdly builds, we wish we could award more prizes!
We are grateful for each and every entry, and we LOVED that so many people—both kids and adults—had fun making Nerdly their own.
Bonnie Mohnsen
Nolan Simpson
Nolan Simpson
Snick Bombay
Nolan Simpson
Nolan Simpson
Nolan Simpson
Nolan Simpson
Piotr S.
Nolan Simpson
Nolan Simpson
Nolan Simpson
Nolan Simpson
Looking Ahead
As we close out this contest, we’re already excited about what’s in store next—and coming VERY soon. Stay tuned for more nerdy challenges and keep building!
What do you think will be the theme of the next Nerdvember contest? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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