Do you have kids on school break spending extra time at home, or in-laws coming to visit from out of town this winter? Maybe you are just looking for an indoor activity that can keep the whole family occupied.
The holiday season often brings plenty of family time - a joyous, chaotic, festive, and sometimes stressful couple of months. We at Artifact would like to recommend - you guessed it - puzzling as an excellent family activity, and here are a few reasons why.
As you frequent puzzlers know, puzzling is an incredibly rewarding activity. It keeps us engaged and focused. Younger kids enjoy a slight challenge and being part of the team. Everyone in the family can work at their own pace, with the shared end goal of a beautiful completed image. Not to mention that it’s a great indoor activity when the weather outside is cold and dreary. Colorful and richly detailed artwork bring light into otherwise cloudy days (our fellow Washingtonians will understand), as well as keeping kids interested. Check out our more fanciful and whimsical art.
What other features can you look out for while a selecting a family friendly puzzle?
Straight edges and distinct blocks of color make teamwork easier.
Puzzles with extra whimsies like Frog With Pancakes are fun for kids and make piecing together easier because you can identify pieces that fit around the whimsies (which we call the "anti-whimsies").
Our new “Book Town” is a great choice for family time as it's easy for everyone to pick a color to work on and sort by color, plus it has tons of whimsy pieces:
"Frog Diner" also features sortable chunks of blue, orange, and green, with a somewhat regular edge and lots of fun froggy and friends pieces.
One family friendly artist we’d like to highlight is Liv Wan for her map illustrations, which are filled with drawings of local historical and geological landmarks, foods, and flora and fauna. Why not learn a bit about a new place while you’re puzzling? (Or regale your family with yarns of your adventures to far off lands) Pictured here is "Australia Map".
Another puzzle for the family to keep an eye out for this winter is “Gingerbread Castle”, a highly detailed artwork by Morgan Girvin featuring a Christmas market bustling with holiday shoppers, ice skaters, and plenty of gingerbread men. And for a bonus sneak peek: this puzzle will include a ‘find it’ card where you and fellow puzzlers can locate and check off swans, gift fairies, and other small details you spot in the puzzle - like a game of I Spy! This will be released in November 2026.
No matter how you choose to spend your time together, we hope that this holiday season will bring time well spent with your loved ones.