So I have mentioned before that we like to do puzzles in our family. I might have had a slight influence on my kids in that department.
So I decided to pull out all the kids puzzles I could find to see what we had. This is what I came up with. Sorry about the amateurish photography.
This is just the kids puzzles. And not the kids Christmas puzzles. They have their very own bin out in the garage. I also have at least one large bin of puzzles that are 1000 pieces or more.
This is the very first puzzle Brett and I bought. It was also our most expensive and it was bought three and a half years before we had our first child. We bought it from a booth at the Salmon Days festival in Issaquah for around $75 I believe. It is two layered with the farm animals nestled underneath the barn. The pieces are thick and very well made. The animals fit together in an interesting way and it is actually harder to put together than it looks. My five year old that can sit and put together a 50 piece puzzle by himself has a hard time finishing this one without help. It is hand cut and hand painted. Each piece is numbered on the back and if we ever lose one we are supposed to be able to order a replacement piece. The puzzles are made by Sunshine Farm in Redmond. I couldn’t find a website for them so I called the number listed and left a message asking if the puzzles are sold online. I will update with a link if they are. There is a seascape puzzle that I would like to add to our collection eventually.
We bought this puzzle the next year at the same festival for $45ish. This is Brett’s favorite puzzle we own.
These two puzzles are the most sentimental to me and I keep them up and only bring them down for the kids to do when I am in the room and can keep my eye on them. They are very sturdy and I am sure the kids couldn’t do much damage to them, but I don’t want to take that chance!
This puzzle is the third puzzle we bought and I don’t know why I keep it. It is really hard to do, even for me, because the pieces are painted on both sides and can be flipped either direction. Also, I thought the pieces would be tight enough that it could stand upright on a shelf, but they are quite loose and fall out pretty easily. It is cute when put together, but more frustration than it is worth. We bought it in a little shop in Leavenworth. I don’t think we paid more than $15 for it, which seems good considering it is hand cut and painted.
This puzzle is our oldest puzzle and was given to us in a box of hand-me-down toys from our neighbor. I had several of these wood puzzles when I was a child so I had to hang on to it. I would love to find an old “Cow Jumped Over the Moon” puzzle like I had when I was in preschool.
This is our newest puzzle. The kids grandpa got it for them during his visit a couple of weeks ago and it has already been done 50 times or so. By each kid. It is a very well made wooden puzzle and I am sure this it will be one of the few that will last through the years and be played with by our grandchildren.
If the kids ever get bored with putting the puzzles together they can always play “stack the princesses”.
These have been a good find this year. They are fun to do and we like to each work on a section and then put them all together. Even Anna, who is three is able to stay focused on these.
I bought this piggy bank for Luca at Costco a couple of years ago thinking the bank was cute. I hate the bank. When you push the pigs nose it oinks and starts having a seizure. It used to be on her dresser, but we kept accidentally bumping it and it would set it off and it would vibrate right onto the floor. It even has gone off once in awhile in the middle of the night for no reason. So she now has a piggy bank that doesn’t require batteries, but we still use the money puzzle pieces that came with it. Love those. You match up the coins with the dollar amount. It has been great for helping her learn how to add up the value of a pile of coins. Except for now I can’t trick her with the old, “if you clean your room you can pick a quarter or FIVE pennies!” line. But she uses that trick on her brother and sister all the time. I can’t find this online, but I didn’t look very hard because I don’t want you to buy it and then hate me. This looks like a similar idea without the annoying seizing pig.
So those are some of our nicer puzzles, but a lot of the ones the kids play with are from Target, Wal-Mart, or the Dollar Store. I am glad we have a few that are good quality and we can hang on to for many years.
There ya have it. You now have more insight than you could ever want into one of my many obsessions.
Next weeks obsession: The Game Closet
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