How to Host the Ultimate Puzzle Party

Who said a night in has to be boring? Gather your friends or designated jigsaw puzzle group for a puzzles party! Although jigsaws are usually ascribed as a solo activity, they can be quite fun to complete with others.

The concept of a puzzle party is relatively straightforward. This is a social gathering of your friends or close acquaintances, involving refreshments, banter, and of course, solving a jigsaw puzzle. We offer some suggestions below for puzzle night ideas, but remember that you can make it as extravagant or laid-back as you’d like. It’s your party, after all!

How To Prepare for a Puzzle Party

1. Make Your Guest List

Decide who you want to invite to your party. A 1,000-piece puzzle can be comfortably completed with a group of 5-8 people. Any more than that and it can become crowded. 

If you want to host a larger gathering, consider having multiple tables with a variety of puzzles to work on. That way, everyone will have an opportunity to get in on the puzzle-solving action.  

2. Send Out Invites

This can be as simple as sending a text or creating a Facebook event. You can get crafty with it and create invites to send via the post using an online template designer, such as Canva. Make sure to give yourself ample time for them to be delivered if you go the latter route. 

3. Select a Puzzle Theme

Pick out the puzzle(s) you want to work on. You can give your gathering a boost with a puzzle theme party. Again, this can be as basic or elaborate as you’d like. Here are a few puzzles ideas:

Puzzle theme: Outer Space

Love all things galaxy-related? Host a space party and complete one of our out-of-this-world puzzles. Include things such as astronaut and rocket ship decorations, alien balloons, and space lights. 

Puzzle theme: Pride

Celebrate Pride and the LGBTQ+ community by having your guests wear rainbows and/or bright colors while working on any of our colorful jigsaw puzzles. Incorporate multi-colored foods, such as cupcakes and candy. 

Puzzle Theme: Travel

Itching to travel with your crew but can’t get away? Manifest a vacation with a travel-themed party. Decorate with items like luggage, maps, compasses, and passport stamps. Don't forget modes of transportation, too. Ships, planes, and trains can all be incorporated. Some suggested puzzles for your travel-themed party include our Greetings Tour, Vintage Airplane Puzzle, Vintage Train Puzzle, and Vintage Ocean Liner Puzzle.

4. Craft the Menu

What’s a party without refreshments? Decide what drinks and snacks you would like to provide for your guests. Using cookie cutters, you can turn food such as brownies, cookies, fruit, and more into puzzle shapes. 

Even if you go the BYOB route, having some drinks on hand as backup is never a bad idea. Consider working in cocktails (or mocktails) that relates to your theme. If you’d like to keep it simple, beer and wine are always good, relatively inexpensive, alternatives. 

5. Set the Mood

Before your guests arrive, have your puzzle setup completed. That way, there isn’t anything to do except enjoy the party with your friends once everyone arrives. A few things to consider:

• The puzzle: Place the puzzle on your workspace so that it's ready to go. You can dump it out, but wait to sort it until everyone in your group is in attendance. Sorting the pieces together will add to the fun. 
• Music: Have your curated playlist on and the speakers set to an appropriate volume. Need music ideas? Check out our Spotify playlist.
• Lighting: Turn on the lights so everyone has ample visibility and set up additional lighting as needed. 
• Supplies: Ensure that you have all the items needed for eating and drinking. Set out plates, cups, napkins, and cutlery so they are easily accessible. Have ice cubes ready for drinks, or buy a bag if necessary before guests arrive. Chill drinks and have snacks prepared for serving. If you’ve cooked food, keep it in the oven on a low setting so it stays warm and ready to serve once everyone arrives.
• Bathroom: Ensure clean towels or napkins are in the bathroom and extra toilet paper is stocked. 

6. And Most Importantly...

Enjoy the night in with your friends and have fun!