My husband says that his very first memory of me was when he walked into my college apartment and saw me and one of my roommates working on a puzzle. It was enough for him to ask me out on a date. And the rest, as they say, is history. It’s no surprise then that we love puzzles at our house!
National Puzzle Day is January 29 and to celebrate, I’m going to highlight some of our family favorites—the best puzzles for kids and adults.
My Favorite Puzzles for Kids
We have a lot of puzzles for our kids, but when I think about my (and my kids’) favorites, most of them are from Melissa & Doug. Their wooden beginner puzzles have big pieces to easily grip and bright pictures that little kids love. We started with these with my oldest around age one or so. And bonus, our puzzles are still in great shape nearly seven years later!
When we graduated to toddler puzzles, our favorites were the Melissa & Doug floor puzzles. We have some that are 48 pieces and some that are 100 pieces. I’m not sure I can count the number of times these puzzles have been put together and taken apart in this house (100s of times, maybe more). Once again, they hold up amazingly well! My three-year-old does these most frequently now, but my seven-year-old still works on them, too.
We received one of these Puzzles in a Box sets as a gift years ago, and it’s still a favorite. Because it comes in a small box, it’s a great one to take on the go. My five-year-old brought it to swim practices last summer and would work on his puzzles (over and over) while his big brother had practice.
Now that we’ve graduated to 100–300-piece puzzles with smaller pieces, the subject of the puzzle is what matters most to my kids. We have a lot of animal, dinosaur, and space puzzles. Some of our favorites are from Ravensburger, Usborne, and CEACO.
Where to Find Cool Puzzles for Adults
As I mentioned, it’s not just the kids in our house who love puzzles. When I’m shopping, I tend to look to Amazon or Target first, for convenience, but there are some other really great places to shop for puzzles. If you want to shop in person and support local businesses, visit Madness in Plano or Lone Chimney in Richardson.
If you prefer to shop online, check out Uncommon Goods, Jiggy Puzzles, Piecework Puzzles, or for a unique puzzle experience, try The Magic Puzzle Company.
Puzzle Accessories
Our kitchen table doubles as our puzzle table, but we still have to eat sometimes! We got a puzzle mat a few years ago. You can roll up your unfinished puzzle, then unroll it when you’re ready to work on it again. I also recently saw this puzzle table that looks so cool! I wish we had a spot to keep it at our house.
Cold winter evenings and weekends are the perfect time to start a new puzzle with your family. Be forewarned, the need to put in “just one more piece” might have you all staying up past your bedtimes!
{Read More: Puzzles for Toddlers & Preschoolers (And an Organization Station)}
Piecework Puzzles are so gorgeous! Also—I got one of those puzzle tables for my parents a couple years ago, and it has been great. Def recommend.