The Jigsaw Puzzle Comeback

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I love a jigsaw puzzle and have done since I was a child. I have fond memories of sitting at the table with my grandparents making jigsaws with pictures of chocolate box kittens and country cottages. It was a very special way to pass the time and I didn’t realise until I was older what amazingly wonderful memories were being made. There is something timeless about jigsaw puzzles and it is a very peaceful thing to do. It is a time where you can become immersed in the puzzle and lost in your thoughts as you match the pieces. It helps relax the mind and brings feelings of peace particularly if you suffer with anxiety or stress. It is a wonderful pastime to spend with others, while pleasantly chit chatting about this and that as you figure out which piece go where.

Alyssa loves jigsaw puzzles and she has been almost brought up on them. I encouraged her from an early age. Starting her off with a very simple large wooden puzzle with only two or three pieces to the entire thing. Now she can tackle jigsaw puzzles with up to 100 pieces. It has
definitely helped her to develop good motor skills and hand eye coordination. It helped her to recognise shapes as well as colours.

I’m grateful that in this modern world where everything is so easy and at the touch of a button that Alyssa is always keen to take up the challenge of a jigsaw. It’s something that she really enjoys and we can sit together and do, and I find myself making the kind of happy memories that my grandparents did with me. The challenge of a jigsaw puzzle teaches patience, and it’s good to know Alyssa is learning that with patience and perseverance comes joy and pride in completing the task.

I think we all have our own ways of making jigsaws; personally I like to sort the pieces into corners, edges and middles. Always starting with the four corners and then the edges. Others start with an area, perhaps the sky etc. It doesn’t matter where you start or how you work, it
doesn’t even matter if it takes days and days to complete. It’s fabulous to do part of the puzzle and then walk away for a while and come back to it. Sometimes as you walk passed the table you catch in your glance a piece and pop it into place and it always makes you smile as to why you just didn’t see it before.

Jigsaw puzzles are multi-generational, that’s why they are so fabulous. And of course as we become older and enter our twilight years it is essential to keep our minds working. My grandparents did and I think it helped to keep their minds sharp and their fingers nimble. Jigsaw puzzles have a way of bringing people together. And there is such a wonderful array of puzzles available to the point where you can even have custom jigsaw puzzles made meaning the choices are endless. They make wonderful gifts and are a real go to on a rainy day.