When Was the Last Time That Your Family Tackled a Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle?

 

With the exception of the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, all of the Christmas decorations are put away. Every year when you get the holiday decorations out you also set out a jig saw puzzle. At first, when the children were little, you found easy puzzles with holiday themes to accompany the hard puzzles that you and your husband enjoy. The cold, long days, accented by days away from school and work, provide the perfect setting for putting together even the most challenging 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles.
Although the memories of your girls will be of the latest big jigsaw puzzles that you have tackled over the years, they will likely really focus on the colorful image of the Santorini, Greece hillside that is the subject of the this year’s puzzle. Celebrating a family trip that you are taking this summer, both girls, one a senior in high school the other a senior in college, insisted that this year’s puzzle not be boxed up, but that it be left out as a reminder of the vacation that will happen at the end of this long year of working toward their respective graduations.

Family Jigsaw Puzzles Are a Perfect Way to Create Holiday Memories
Whether you are a family who tackles the most difficult 2000 piece jigsaw puzzles or you are the parents of young children who are just mastering the completion of much easier puzzles, there are few family activities like sitting around a table solving a problem piece by piece. Even the moderately difficult puzzles can take hours to complete, providing plenty of time for families to visit and linger on a common task.

Interestingly enough, just as a puzzle is a challenge that can draw people in for hours at a time, the thought process involved helps people concentrate in other tasks as well. In fact, research shows that puzzles activate the human brain while also allowing people to relax psychologically, putting brains into a meditative state. From the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles that help you celebrate an upcoming vacation to the decision to frame the puzzle that was a favorite from your own childhood memories, there are many ways that those mechanically cut cardboard pieces allow you to remember time with family and friends.