Pricetag: Starts at $47.
Official URL: kidpuzzles.com
Rating:

KidPuzzles, a small business run by Marvin and Margaret Jack of Oregon, makes beautiful hand-made puzzles that are customized with your child’s name, no matter how unique. My nephew has a unique name, so I was thrilled to find this puzzle company.

Made of wood and non-toxic lead-free materials, these puzzles are tough enough to become a family heirloom that can be passed on from generation to generation along with that family name. Parents whose children have an unusual name will appreciate the thought that goes into these puzzles.

STYLES

KidPuzzles has a wide variety of styles and their puzzles come in varying levels of complexity, some are even “multi layer” or 3D puzzles. All of their puzzles are bright and colorful and many of the styles are available as name puzzles. Some of my favorites are the Dragon and the Alphabet worm, and both my son and daughter enjoy the “Safari” puzzle shown above.

The colors are bright and playful, and many of the designs continue off of the piece and onto the puzzle board itself. The snake’s tongue, giraffe’s antlers and flamingo’s feet are part of the board in the Safari puzzle, for example.

CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY

Both the puzzle board and peg pieces are made of multi-layered pressed wood. They are splinter-free and durable. The pegs are hard plastic and are sunk in the wood and bonded with very strong glue.  To the right is a photograph that shows the side of the puzzle piece.

The finish is very durable and resists scratches, drool, and dried on food very well.

The puzzle pieces slide easily into place and do not stick or require that they be “worked” into place. Nor are they loose.

This puzzle has an obvious (and charming) hand-made quality about it, with each puzzle having unique characteristics.

EDUCATIONAL/ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

Kids love puzzles and are easily entertained by them for hours on end, so the entertainment value is a given.

These puzzles exercise your child’s fine motor skills as they align the shapes with their respective places on the puzzle board. They encourage problem solving skills and organizational skills and encourage the child to work at figuring out how different shapes fit together. Depending on which puzzle you pick your child can work on the alphabet, colors, numbers, and other skills. The name puzzles are great for helping the child learn to spell and recognize their name.

CLEANING

Cleaning is easy with a damp rag and even if you use mild soap or antibacterial cleaners the finish doesn’t run or dissolve. I wouldn’t let any liquid stay on the wood or saturate the puzzle, but it has never needed more than a quick once-over with a damp rag even though my younger child has managed to get drool, yogurt and other assorted gunk onto the pieces and board.

SAFETY

The peg puzzles with large letters and larger shapes are child-friendly for younger children. The pegs are very firmly attached and even after months of play and abuse they have not come loose. The non-toxic and lead-free finishes are very appealing to parents that are safety conscious.

BOTTOM LINE

These puzzles are a great gift for any child whose name is unique, or whose parents chose a more creative spelling. Even if your child has a more common name these puzzles are an awesome and very personal gift. They’re a wonderful way to help your child grow up understanding the true value of their playthings and the difference between hand-made and mass produced toys.