There is nothing wrong with that, of course! I have recommended mindstorms as a xmas present just a few days ago, but if you are really looking at teaching programming, then you will have to work a little extra to make the kids focus on the programming part.
Squeak is quite similar to the mindstorms programming environment, all graphical, and the kids will have a blast.
So, buy the kids Lego Mindstorms for christmas and use Squeak for teaching programming...
Using squeak, you get acquainted with all the basic concepts of programming, so I believe it is a terrific starting point. Both my son and a friend of his are now ready for the next level, writing programs, and we just have to find what would be the suitable continuation (no pun intended!)
Nice username! But judging by your userid (525388), you got that short name quite some time ago.
He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion