Christmas puzzles make an excellent St. Nicholas family gift and are a fun way to spend time together during the busy holiday season. Settle in with a great Christmas movie marathon and solve a Christmas puzzle together.
Family legend has it that one of our all-time very favorite days we have spent together during the Christmas season is when we had an unexpected Snow Day and got stuck at home one Saturday.
We turned on a Hallmark Christmas movie marathon and solved a 1,000 piece Christmas puzzle together while I made shepherd's pie in the crock pot.
Best. Day. Ever.
Since then, a Christmas puzzle has been one of our favorite family St. Nicholas gifts to receive.
We save it for either a slow Saturday or for a Christmas Eve activity so we have something special to do together.
If you want to enjoy a Christmas puzzle with your kids this year, I've collected my favorite Christmas puzzle designs.
Why These are the Best Puzzles
After years of doing puzzles with my kids, I've learned a few puzzle tricks along the way.
When choosing a puzzle design, I always keep these things in mind:
- High Contrast Scene: I avoid puzzles that are mostly white with snow or a very monochromatic color of any kind. It makes for tedious puzzle sorting.
- Small Designs within the Scene: We especially love puzzles that have many smaller scenes within the scene. The kids can focus on one section much more easily this way and the whole puzzle goes faster.
- Festive Themes: There are so many adorable Christmas puzzles to choose from but some can be a little cheesy. I look for a mix of designs featuring Santa, ornaments, wintery dogs, landscapes or city scapes, etc. Don't miss the adorable Christmas book cover puzzle below, too!
- Number of Pieces: Our favorite size set is 500 piece puzzles but I did include a few 1000 piece puzzles for puzzle-loving families. We think the 500 piece puzzle is easiest to do as a family in a single session but if you want to spend more time, the 1000 piece puzzles are a better bet.
When to Work on a Christmas Puzzle
We love to dedicate one major puzzle day to finish it in a single session, but some years we're just too busy to carve out that time.
You could set your puzzle up on the dining room table and work on it in small chunks all December long.
While you're working on the puzzle, you could enjoy a Christmas read aloud book. Either take turns reading or choose one of these titles on audio and listen together.
Or you could always work on a Christmas puzzle during a Christmas movie marathon like we originally did. It's a fun way to keep busy while the movies play.
Christmas Puzzles for Families
These are the best Christmas puzzles in 500 piece or 1000 piece sets for families to do together during the holiday season.
One of our very favorite puzzle designs featured Christmas puppies in various costumes.
This winter dogs puzzle is an adorable take on that design with puppies featuring winter hats and Santa hats.
I absolutely adore this Christmas books cover puzzle featuring vintage Christmas picture books of all kinds.
This would be the perfect puzzle design to pair with a read aloud book!
This lovely deep blue winter snow globe puzzle would be a nice visual break from all the red and green of the season.
This Christmas stamps puzzle is a perfect example of the smaller designs within a design I mentioned.
The kids love finishing one stamp at a time and it makes quick work of the puzzle.
This XXL puzzle has just 100 pieces and is perfect for finishing with younger kids in a single session.
This Christmas cityscape puzzle features a florist shop and book shop, I could see enjoying this puzzle all by myself while listening to an audiobook.
If you don't want to make my famous rainbow Christmas ornaments for your tree, the next best thing would be this rainbow ornament puzzle!
I've always loved the lyrics to the Twelve Days of Christmas. This is another great puzzle design for kids to work on in sections.
Who could resist these hysterical Santa cows??
This puzzle design is great for a good laugh.
This classic Christmas tree puzzle scene is sure to get kids excited for Christmas Eve.
Our family LOVES birds. We've had a few Christmas bird puzzles over the years, but I adore this songbird puzzle with the winter scene out the window.
Christmas campers with twinkle lights are so fun!
This stunning Santa's workshop puzzle features a giant twinkling Christmas tree.
It might be one of the more difficult designs on the list, but is great for a challenge.
Got a Disney fan in the family? This would make a fun way to celebrate the season with Mickey and Friends in festive gear.
If you love the Charlie Brown Christmas special as much as we do, this puzzle is a perfect pick.
Yes, even Star Wars fans get to celebrate Christmas with this hysterical design featuring everyone's favorite droids in reindeer antlers and Santa costumes.
We had such fun finishing this festive cat Christmas puzzle one year. Each silly little cat face has festive flair from reindeer antlers to Santa hats to Christmas light necklaces.
If there was ever a perfect activity to pair with a mug of hot cocoa, this Polar Express puzzle would be it!
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