Does your family have a hard time picking puzzles?
These days families everywhere are completing more puzzles than ever. Who can blame us? Completing puzzles is a great indoor family activity. When it’s raining, too hot, too cold, to be outside with your kids or you are just looking for things to do at home with your kids, puzzles are a great option.
Whether you are new to puzzles or have been doing them for years, you’ve probably found it overwhelming to shop for and pick out puzzles. A generic search for puzzles on any site can reveal hundreds to thousands of choices. Just the other day, a quick search on Amazon revealed 50,000 results. How do you choose a puzzle that’s right for your family with so many choices?
We’ve been there! And we know we’re not the only ones. With that in mind, we came up with a list that all of us can use to help when it comes to picking out puzzles.
Speaking of Amazon, there are hundreds of puzzles in our Amazon Shop. As an Amazon Influencer, this site earns from qualifying purchases.
6 Things to Think About Before You Buy a Puzzle for Your Kids
- How old are the puzzle builders? How difficult of a puzzle can they handle? If your children are younger or new to puzzles you may want to start with a puzzle that’s 300 pieces or less. If you have more experience and are ready for a challenge, pick a puzzle with 1000 pieces.
- Where will you build your puzzles? Consider the spacing you’ll need. Most puzzle boxes list the measurements of the puzzle. Use that as your guide.
- Consider the lighting. Is there adequate lighting in your puzzle area? Too bright or too dark and it can become hard to distinguish a gray puzzle piece from a dark blue one or one color from another.
- Think about your budget. How much do you want to spend to buy a puzzle? You can find puzzles for every budget. Generally the more puzzle pieces a puzzle has, the higher quality of the pieces, or the more artistic it is, the more expensive it is. Dollar stores sell 100 piece puzzles for $1. They don’t always hold up for very long, but they are good for the short term. Craft stores usually offer 500-piece puzzles for $10 and more. A good 1000-piece puzzle may cost anywhere from $20-$60. Of course, there’s exceptions to every rule. Before you shop for puzzles, decide on what you want to spend.
- What will you do with the puzzle when you are not working on it? Amazon has a few options that allow you to safely store puzzles while you are still working on it.
- Bits and Pieces has a standard size Wooden Puzzle Plateau-Smooth Fiberboard Work Surface that comes with four sliding drawers.
- Amazon sells multiple brands of puzzle roll mats that allow you to safely roll up your puzzle and store it when you aren’t working on it. Make sure to order a size large enough for the puzzle your are building.
- A Sort and Go Jigsaw Puzzle Accessory provides 6 stacking trays to sort and organize your puzzle pieces as you build.
- What will you do when you are finished with the puzzle? We have some we want to save forever. We’ve used this puzzle glue to hold the pieces in place while we looked for the perfect frame. Other puzzles we’ve boxed up and traded with friends as part of a community puzzle swap.
- The Puzzle Presto! Peel & Stick Puzzle Saver can be a great alternative to glue. It’s like putting a clear puzzle-size sticker on the back of your puzzle.
It’s always the small pieces that make the big picture.
Author Unknown
15 Tips to Picking Puzzles for Your Family
A quick note of disclosure. Many of the links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase using them, as an Amazon Associate we earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
Pick puzzles for places you love to visit
Puzzles can be one of the best souvenirs to help you remember a family vacation or trip together. Each time you complete the puzzle with your kids you can talk about your memories from the trip.
- Statue of Liberty puzzles
- Plan to Visit the Statue of Liberty with Kids with These Tips
- Puzzles of National Parks
- New York City puzzles
- Philadelphia puzzles
Find a puzzle for a place you want to go.
Are you dreaming of a vacation to Walt Disney World? Planning a trip to Universal Studios? Counting down the days to a cruise?
A vacation-themed puzzle can be part of your countdown to your trip. Use one to surprise the kids with your vacation news. Or build your puzzle as you talk about the things you want to do together on your family vacation.
- We’re Going On A Cruise Surprise Vacation Reveal puzzle
- Walt Disney World puzzles
- We’re Going to Disney World 30 Piece Puzzle
- Puzzles of Cinderella’s Castle at Disney theme parks
- Universal Studios Hollywood puzzle
- Universal Studios Orlando puzzle
- Puzzles of the Netherlands
- Tulip Field – Netherlands 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle, 1000 Piece puzzle Bikes on The Bridge in Amsterdam Netherlands
- Ireland puzzles
- Puzzles of Germany
- Caribbean Island puzzles
Check out our Amazon Shop to see all the Puzzles we found! As an Amazon Influencer, this site earns from qualifying purchases.
Select puzzle images that bring you joy.
There is something about looking a certain pictures than can make us happy. Pick one of these puzzle themes to build joy into your day.
- Flower-themed puzzles – Start here. If that’s too much search by your favorite type of flower.
- Puzzles of beaches
- Puzzles with forest scenes
- Waterfalls puzzles
- Puzzles filled with puppies
- Kitten puzzles
- Puzzles with Mandala designs
- Puzzles of babies from Anne Geddes images
- Puzzles filled with candy designs
- Landscape scenes puzzles
- Ice cream and Popsicle filled designed puzzles
Are you a sports fan? Pick a puzzle that celebrates your favorite team.
Whether your family cheers on the Rams, Chargers, Kings, Dodgers, Angels, Galaxy, LAFC, Lakers, or Clippers, or any other sports team, pick a puzzle to show your team spirit.
- NFL Football Team puzzles
- NHL Hockey Team puzzles
- NBA Basketball Team puzzles
- MLB Baseball Team puzzles
Celebrate a holiday with a puzzle
Holidays bring extra time for puzzle building, especially as pies and turkeys cook in the oven. Get one of these holiday puzzles and make assembling it a new family tradition.
- Christmas puzzles
- Nativity scene puzzles
- Hanukkah puzzles
- Day of the Dead puzzles
- Halloween puzzles
- Easter puzzles
Kids play sports? Find a sports puzzle that matches their activity.
Got a kid into sports? Score big with your kids by picking a puzzle based on their sports interests. Discuss strategy and how players work together on a team like you work together to complete the puzzle.
- Baseball puzzles
- Puzzles of dancers
- Hockey puzzles
- Soccer puzzles
- Football puzzles
- Lacrosse puzzles
- Puzzles of swimmers
- Cheerleading puzzles
- Basketball puzzles
Pick with your passion in mind.
What are your hobbies? What about the kids? How do you like to spend your time, when you aren’t doing puzzles? No matter how you spend your time there’s a puzzle to match.
- Gardening puzzles
- Sewing puzzles
- Cooking puzzles
- Hiking puzzles
- Camping puzzles
- Video game puzzles
- Super Mario puzzles
- Nintendo puzzles
- Zelda puzzles
- Pacman puzzle
- Traveling puzzles
- MasterPieces Collector Suitcase Jigsaw Puzzle
Find a puzzle that helps you learn.
In addition to being fun, puzzles can also help you learn. Take a look at these styles of educational puzzles.
- Solar system puzzles
- Puzzles of the United States map
- World map puzzles
- Alphabet puzzles
- Number puzzles
- Human body puzzles
- Eric Carle puzzles
Check out our Amazon Shop to see all the Puzzles we found! As an Amazon Influencer, this site earns from qualifying purchases.
Remember a favorite movie with a puzzle.
Family movie nights are the best! If you’re like most families you probably have some go-to movies you always loved to watch. If it’s a really popular movie, you can probably find a puzzle that features your favorite characters or scenes from the movies. We did some searching to help you get started.
- Star Wars puzzles
- Harry Potter puzzles
- Weasley Sweaters Puzzle, 550 piece Harry Potter puzzle
- Marvel movie puzzles
- DC movies puzzles
- Disney movie puzzles
- Scary movie puzzles
- IT Faces of Pennywise Puzzle, 1000 piece puzzle
- Joker Crown Prince of Crime Puzzle, 1000 piece puzzle
- More movie puzzles
Build a love for reading through puzzles.
With the most recent shipment of puzzles and games we were sent to review, I discovered there are puzzles themed around books kids already love. Take a look.
- Dogman puzzles
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid puzzle
- Pete the Cat puzzles
- Magic Tree House puzzles
See above under the movie heading for more ideas.
Put together a puzzle that challenges you beyond the puzzle.
Think when you put in the last piece of a puzzle, you’re done? Most of the time you are. That is unless you are completing a mystery puzzle, an escape room style puzzle, or one with challenges. Challenges can come in the form of puzzle pieces that fit more than one spot, in final images that don’t exactly match the picture on the box, pictures that have riddles within them, or a picture that solves a mystery.
Sometimes it’s even a combination of all those things. We recently did our first mystery puzzle, through a puzzle swap, and it contained all of those challenges. Turns out it was the hardest in the series. Always read the reviews before buying a mystery puzzle so you know if you’re ready for the level of difficulty that puzzle will be.
- Escape Puzzle 759 Submarine by Ravensburger (Warning, multiple reviews and websites have said this one is the most difficult in the series.)
- The rest of the Escape Puzzle 759 puzzle series by Ravensburger
- Mystery puzzles
Find an art image that inspires you.
Do you love art? Do you find the images inspire you? There are puzzles that represent abstract art, watercolor images, and famous works of art.
- Joyspotting from Lemonade Pursuits
- Starry Night jigsaw puzzle
- Poppies at Argenteuil, 1000 piece puzzle
- Girl with A Pearl Earring by Vermeer 1000 piece puzzle
- More famous artwork that has been turned into puzzles
Build a puzzle that becomes art.
In recent years, I’ve discovered 3D puzzles. Buildings, sculptures, clocks, robots, and more, these puzzles turn ordinary puzzle building into works of art you’ll be proud to display.
- 3D Wooden Puzzle Clock Model Kits
- 3D Wooden Puzzle Model Kits
- Spherical globe puzzles
- 3D Castle puzzles
- 3D Cathedral puzzles
- 3D Dragon puzzles
- 3D Robot puzzles
Pick a puzzle you create.
You probably have seen puzzles made from photos, but do you know where to get them from? Here’s a few companies and Etsy sellers that will create a customized photo for you based on your photo or message.
- Custom personalized photo puzzles with Amazon
- 500 piece photo puzzles
- Style in Print 30 pieces
- Jigsaw2order 1000 piece photo puzzles
- Shutterfly
- CVS
- Walgreens
Thanks for reading!
Check out our Amazon Shop to see all the Puzzles we found! As an Amazon Influencer, this site earns from qualifying purchases.
This post originally appeared on JerseyFamilyFun and has been adapted for MomsLA.com.
MomsLA is your source for Things to do with Kids in Los Angeles
This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything, once you click through, you will not be charged any additional fees, but we will be paid a commission by the advertiser. As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting MomsLA.com.
