Wooden Jigsaws: A (Went)Worthy Christmas Challenge
I selected (accidentally) the most confusing backdrop to complete the puzzle on.
As a child I spent a lot of my time alone, playing games by myself: dancing, drawing, and inevitably doing a lot of puzzles. My siblings were older and my mum worked long hours, so for most of the time I’d have to find a way to keep my self occupied.
Puzzles were a firm favourite of mine and I would complete as many as I could - I’d find it so therapeutic, and it would completely take my mind of anything else that was occupying my headspace. They were a great friend to me and remind me of my childhood, and even as a teenager I’d invite friends round for a cup of tea and a jigsaw!
Wentworth Wooden Puzzles recently reached out to me to send some of their festive range my way. I was way too excited (for a 27-year-old) to get my hands on a puzzle again! The plan was simple: receive the puzzle, unbox the puzzle, and wait for a quiet moment to do the puzzle with my husband. What actually happened was very different. The puzzle was delivered, opened, and almost immediately I found myself starting and saying “I’ll just do this for five minutes” to let my husband finish some work while I watched the toddler - we both work from home. Five minutes turned to twenty, which turned to an hour and a half and, eventually, this beautiful gifted puzzle was completed while breastfeeding a sleeping child. I loved every step of putting it together!
Wentworth’s puzzles are totally new to me - their puzzles are quite hard, especially for a 230 piece jigsaw. This is because (1) the puzzle I was working on didn’t have straight-cut edges, and (2) the puzzle pieces were irregular, and completely different to one another. For example, one piece could be in the shape of Father Christmas, while the next could be in the shape of a snowman, both with abstract pieces of the final design printed all over. It was all very entertaining to me, but a little too hard for my husband, who gave up two minutes in!
The puzzle comes nearly plastic-free (they told me it was fully plastic-free packaging in an email, but the box seemed to have a film coating). The box and puzzle is made from sustainable wood/paper, and the puzzle pieces are very sturdy and precisely-cut. It’s quite difficult to explain how intricate the designs are, but they are really well built and are certainly not going to flop, bend or snap any time soon! The puzzles are a great way to spend time with friends, family or even by yourself.
Fingers crossed this is the birth (or relaunch) of puzzle-loving in our family!
Thanks for reading!
