Christmas Jigsaw Making - A Family Tradition

Making a Christmas jigsaw

It is a family tradition in many homes to make a jigsaw at Christmas. This tradition is strong in my family and we purchase a new jigsaw each December for the festive occasion. Everyone in the family take a role and the collaborative effect is very good for family solidarity. Generally, we buy a 1000 piece jigsaw which we make on the old kitchen table. If we need extra room or have to avail of the table when we have a large family gathering we simply roll up the jigsaw in a jigsaw puzzle mat which keeps all the pieces intact until we return to it later. The mat is rolled up and stored away temporarily. None of the pieces get disturbed, unlike years ago, before the jig mat became fashionable. Make sure to buy a sufficient large map as a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle will usually need a 72 X 48 inches mat.

Jigsaw at Christmas

This jigsaw featured opposite is an actual Christmas scene but for many years we completed a family jigsaw on any theme what-so-ever. The choice was down to the person who was delegated for the particular year in question. See images of previous year’s efforts below. The Christmas jigsaw scene was nice this year but there is much more variety of images available of non Christmas themes. Incidentally we never do the same jigsaw twice.

Relaxation making a jigsaw

As Christmas is a time of rest and relaxation we find that it is the best time for doing the puzzle because most of the family is free from work and everyday stresses and strains. It took just a couple of days to complete and several people contributed a piece or two.

Jigsaws at Thanksgiving

Jigsaws at Easter

We have tried to do jigsaws on other family holiday occasions such as Thanksgiving and Easter but it just never seemed to catch on.

1000 piece jigsaw puzzle

This puzzle is a good size for the average family to work on but is suited for solving by a single individual too. It is a good size puzzle for the table on Christmas Day, after the meal, so that everybody can have the opportunity to participate in solving it. This is a not too challenging puzzle because it will not be too big, usually 24 x 30 inches.

2000 piece jigsaw puzzle

We have completed a 2000 piece puzzle featuring the illuminated Brooklyn Bridge which was beautiful, so much so, that we framed it and it hung for a while in my son’s bedroom. A special glue is needed to bind the puzzle together for display purposes. It was manufactured by Ravensburger, a well known jigsaw puzzle maker. There are several good jigsaw manufacturers with choices of images and sizes to suit every taste.

5000 piece jigsaw puzzle

The 5000 puzzle is very big and might be too daunting for a first time puzzler to attempt. Additionally, a large space is required for making the puzzle which might take weeks to complete rather that 3 or 4 days over Christmas for the 2000 or 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle. The artwork in these larger jigsaws is superb as a result of high quality graphic printing techniques used at manufacture. This is absolutely necessary to maintain the richness of color and definition required for blown up images.

Jigsaw apps

It is rather hard to believe that jigsaw making could be transferred to the electronic media stage but it seems that companies are willing to try this format. A mobile games company has launched jigsaw like puzzles for the Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod. Users of these applications will have jigsaw style puzzle games that they can access from anywhere, Puzzles similar to classic jigsaw problem-solving puzzles are available for these mobile devices. How effective are they? Like many tactile games such as Scrabble and Monopoly some people will find the transition of jigsaws to the airways to be a bridge too far. Jigsaws suggest comfort, home, warm fireplace and not the hustle and bustle of commuting to work. How can one enjoy leisure games in such situations? Our family tradition of making a Christmas jigsaw is unlikely to be superceded by digital media or apps of any kind.