Are you thinking about taking a trip to the beach this year? Will it be one nearby, or maybe a vacation destination? Or perhaps going to a real beach isn’t on your radar this year, but you’d still like to relax and be there in mind, if not in body. I’ve found a way for you to do just that…why not spend a day at the beach in the comfort of your own cozy home by putting together a jigsaw puzzle!
Thankfully the children are now feeling much better since Kallista put together her Beauty and The Beast glitter puzzle! However, with the stress (the good kind) of family coming to visit and getting things ready, we’ve all since ended up with general spring colds…but our minds were taken off that when Ravensburger sent us A Day At The Beach 500 piece puzzle! (This post contains affiliate links)
It’s been a very long time since we’ve put together a 500 piece puzzle. Usually they are smaller 100 0r 200 piece jobs for the kids to do, or 1000 piece puzzles for the family. But you know what? I forgot about how fun a 500 piece can be! They’re just large enough to be a challenge, but not so big that they take such a long time to put together. Just perfect for a couple of afternoons when you’re not feeling well or maybe when you’re at the cottage and it’s raining too much to actually go down to the beach!
With everything happening right now (spring cleaning, refinishing the kids’ dresser-which I finally finished over the weekend, and it’s looking great!) I wasn’t sure about adding a puzzle into the mix. However, Phil walked past the PC when I was looking at this puzzle and immediately recognised this beach from his years living in England. This particular beach isn’t too far from where he lived and worked! So of course, we were all interested in putting it together.
When it arrived, we set up the kids’ little table in the hallway and opened up our useful Puzzle Handy. There was just enough room by the kids’ science centre.
We didn’t wait for Phil to come home, we took out the pieces and started to separate them by edge and centre right away. We needed a bit of a break and we were all feeling a bit worn out, so we took it slow and just enjoyed spending time with each together that wasn’t focused on schoolwork.
We began putting pieces together as we did the initial sort-through. Tristan put together the rainbow stripes and Kallista worked on the sky edges. I added to the puppet theatre as pieces were found.
Then it was time to get back to work so we stood up and went about our other duties. With having the puzzle in the hallway, it was so easy to just pick up a piece and slot it into place as we walked past all day long. It was surprising how much of the puzzle was completed in this fashion!
The next day we all sat down again and did a little before starting our classes. I needed to do some cleaning in the hallway so I moved the puzzle to the front room…and that evening Phil finished it off when the kids were in bed!
I wanted to get a picture of everyone with the puzzle, but the next day Phil was back to work, and….as Tristan was trying to move the puzzle a little to straighten it up, it buckled and a large portion of the centre came apart. Thankfully there weren’t any tears – the kids both just enjoyed the opportunity to put the pieces back together again and tap in the final pieces themselves. A win-win 🙂
This was a fun puzzle, and just the right size for a shorted period of time. I’d recommend it for people who need a little get-away without leaving the house, or those who are not feeling well. It’s not so big as to be overwhelming; it doesn’t really take up a lot of room (it’s the same size as a children’s 100 piece puzzle), and of curse, the best thing of all…..it’s fun!
I should also mention that the puzzle has an anti-reflective element to it and I didn’t find that the overhead spotlights caused any trouble. Puzzles that glare in the light aren’t very easy to do, and Ravensburger has found a way to keep the integrity of the puzzle picture while at the same time making it easier for us to put together.
When was the last time you did a jigsaw puzzle? If you’re looking for something to keep your mind and fingers working during the long, cold, wet and windy days of winter that is sure to fall upon us soon, give this puzzle a try!
A Day At The Beach 500 Piece Puzzle is available through fine retail stores and Amazon.co.uk.
The Ravensburger Puzzle Handy is also available from Amazon.co.uk and retail outlets.
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