All about jigsaw puzzles

Jigsaw Puzzles make great gifts for adults! Especially after coming into the spotlight during the lockdown, many more people may be wishing for a puzzle under the tree this year. Here are a few reasons why puzzles make such wonderful presents for adults of all ages...

It comes as no surprise that we love to sing the praises of jigsaw puzzles!

If you're new to puzzling (perhaps you started one for the first time in lockdown)  or on the fence and wondering if you should give it a go, we've put together a round-up of all the wonderful advantages and benefits jigsaw puzzles have to offer.

For all the experienced puzzlers out there, hopefully these benefits should be familiar, but there might be one or two you didn't know about... have a read and find out!

With many of us spending more time at home than usual plenty of us are looking for rewarding and engaging ways to spend the extra time we have on our hands - whether it’s spring cleaning the house, honing your signature Victoria sponge cake recipe or learning that skill we always wanted to.

When it comes to fun things to do at home, we are starting to see a big resurgence of home based, analogue games and hobbies, not least the humble jigsaw puzzle!

A historical link to the puzzles of Victorian past, a whimsy is a special puzzle piece cut into recognisable shapes such as a car or butterfly. Often designed to match the jigsaws theme, whimsies add a fun and playful twist to our puzzles!

This National Jigsaw Day we wanted to focus on the benefits of using jigsaw puzzles to help you bring mindfulness into your everyday life. To discover a bit more about how mindfulness can help you, we asked life coach and mindfulness expert Simon Alexander Ong to talk to us about what exactly mindfulness is, and how jigsaw puzzles can be the perfect way to practice.

Across the UK, one person develops dementia every three minutes. Dementia Action Week, which starts on May 21, will focus on taking actions which can improve the lives of people affected by dementia – and might even stop or slow down the onset of the condition.

Research has shown that keeping the mind active – whether through playing word games, using colouring books, discussing current affairs or sharing memories with relatives and friends – can help to delay or even prevent dementia.

When initially investigating our January blog about how to survive the long cold winter months, all we could think about were the negatives of winter, the cold long, dark winter. Then we spoke to some of our avid puzzlers and we realised we were asking the wrong question. It’s not about how to survive the winter, it’s about celebrating what winter can bring to you, your home and your friends and family.