Top Ten Merry & Bright: Christmas Puzzles 2017

It’s December 17th. Have you been holidaying yet? I have been knee deep in holiday movies, Christmas card and gift prepping, decorating, and snow shoveling here in Pennsylvania. So it definitely feels like Christmas. I had fun putting together my top picks of the Christmas puzzles available this year. The top ten list (which is 14 items long!) includes puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse. At the end of the post I’ll go over some of the awesome European Christmas puzzles this year.

NOTE: We got through a lot of stock at Christmas, so things sell out and restock fast. If a puzzle is out of stock, you can enter your email to be alerted when it’s back in the warehouse.

14. “Christmas Carolers”, Springbok (1000 pieces)

This puzzle was released in 2016 and is still Springbok’s finest Christmas puzzle with a nostalgic vibe and nice big blocks of color. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

13. “Santa’s Mailbox”, Sunsout (100 pieces)

There’s something about birds with snow that I always find appealing. This image kicks that up a notch with multi patterned birds and gift boxes. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

12. “Stocking Curiosity” by Donna Race, Springbok (1500 pieces)

This new 2017 puzzle has lots of nice color patterns to make assembly easy. Great for kids or a single night’s session. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

11. “Holiday at the Seaside” by Nicky Boheme, Eurographics (1000 pieces)

I like the panoramic shape of this puzzle and the drama of the sea and stormy sky. (Click them image below to see it on Puzzle Warehouse.)

11. “Peace on Earth” by Richard Cowdrey, Cobble Hill (1000 pieces)

This is a simple image but a sweet one with nice big blocks of color and pattern. New for 2017. Click to see it on Puzzle Warehouse.

10. “Twelve Days of Christmas” by Lori Schory, Sunsout (1000 pieces)

This isn’t a new puzzle, but I have a soft spot for these tree-shaped puzzles from Sunsout. They’re fairly difficult but very rewarding. This one has the twelve days of Christmas items on ornaments. Click on the image below to see it on Puzzle Warehouse.

9. “Stained Glass Nativity” by Randy Wollenmann, Vermont Christmas Company (1000 pieces)

Celebrate the meaning of Christmas with a nativity scene. This one in a stained glass look is my favorite. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

8. “Christmas Eve” by Jan Van Haasteren, Jumbo (2000 pieces)

This 2000 piece cartoon puzzle with a Christmas theme will keep you busy over the holidays. If you prefer a smaller piece count, check out “Queued Up!” in 1000 pieces here. It’s a JVH with a Christmas shopping theme. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

7. “Christmas Choir” by Francois Ruyer, Piatnik (1000 pieces)

I love Ruyer’s Christmas puzzles, and this classic is now in stock. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

6. “Christmas Stamps”, White Mountain (1000 pieces)

There’s lots of color and pattern variety in this collage and you can reminisce about Christmas stamps gone by. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

5. Wasgij Christmas #13 “Turkey Delight”, Jumbo (1000 pieces)

Wasgij’s Christmas puzzle this year is cuter than ever. The image you’ll assemble doesn’t look like the box image below, it’s the reverse (what the figures in the image are looking at). (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

4. “Sledding Hill” by Randy Wollenmann, Vermont Christmas Company (1000 pieces)

Randy Wollenmann and VCC nabbed the #1 spot this year with “Midnight Mass”, but “Sledding Hill” comes a close second. I love the brightly-colored figures and the cute kids in the foreground. It reminds me a little or John Francis’s “Whoopsies” series from Gibsons.

Click on the image below to see it on Puzzle Warehouse.

3. “Sledding to Town”, Sunsout (1000 pieces)

This is my favorite new Christmas puzzle from Sunsout this year. What a lovely winter scene. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

2. “Christmas Traditions” by Pinkerton Road and Lena Pigareva, White Mountain (1000 pieces)

Love this throwback vintage 50’s image and the soft painterly style. See my review here. (Click on the image below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

1. “Midnight Mass” by Randy Wollenmann, Vermont Christmas Company (1000 pieces)

I’m a fan of Randy Wollenmann’s Christmas puzzles, but this new one for 2017 may be the best one yet. A lovely, soft and sentimental image. (Click on the images below to see the puzzle on Puzzle Warehouse.)

EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS PUZZLES

The puzzles above are all available at Puzzle Warehouse. But some European puzzles we’re unable to get whether due to limited availability or licensing agreements that won’t allow them to be sold in the U.S. These include some of the limited edition Christmas puzzle lines that I’ve been following for a while. Worth tracking down if you collect this sort of thing!

Ravensburger’s Limited Edition 2017: “Which One’s Santa”, 1000 pieces