Price of puzzles

[nancy33]

We went to Walmart to buy a new puzzle. They are asking $11 a puzzle?! We resisted and went to the thrift store. Many better quality puzzles $2 each and a good cause because the thrift store employs the disabled. I can donate them back too. I saw some of the stuff I donated last week on sale there! Fun.
My husband was opposed to unsealed puzzles. I think it will be fine. He has been working on one of them for hours now. We got 5 for the price of one at Walmart.
Also today I made pizza sauce and used up
Leftover bread odds and ends with olive oil spread on the bread then the sauce and cheese and olives. Everybody liked them the favorite was the ones on hotdog buns. A new way to use up breads from the fridge. Plus garden tomatoes basil and oregano.
I’m not sure where I read about using leftover hot dog and hamburger buns for garlic bread but that is delicious as well.

[Dicey]

I volunteer at a thrift shop. 1000 piece puzzles are $2, so that's my favorite price. When someone donates a brand new puzzle I like, I buy it and stash it in my gift closet. The nice but not quite brand new ones I do myself. When I finish a puzzle, I pass it in to my 97 year old friend. When she's finished, I give it to someone else or donate it back to the thrift shop.

I have another source of free puzzles. We have rentals in a Senior Resort community. It has a fantastic honor-system library that stocks puzzles. Every time we go there, I bring along a bag of puzzles to donate and choose a couple new ones to take home.

I also swap with a neighbor or someone on NextDoor occasionally. During the pandemic, I just leave them out on my porch. They can take whatever they want and they leave a few of theirs in return.

Puzzles in, puzzles out, little to no money changing hands. Sweet!

[uniwelder]

I’m another fan of thrift store puzzles and have found some really cool ones. A three dimensional globe puzzle, a huge 4’x6’ puzzle, ones of beautiful paintings. Occasionally they’re missing a piece or two, but typically complete sets.

[Michael in ABQ]

I'll have to check that out the next time we go to a thrift store. I don't have much time for puzzles, but I do enjoy them. I looked at some at a Walmart last week while the kids were in the adjacent toy aisle, but nothing caught my eye. I normally do them on a large thin piece of plywood so I can go stash it in the garage for the next weekend. I've still got a 1,000-piece puzzle on one that took quite a while and I'm thinking of gluing it together to make a poster for one of the kid's rooms (picture of Boba Fett).

[Samuel]

My neighborhood has a glut of few Little Free Libraries so someone went rogue and made one for exchanging puzzles. I thought that was a pretty good idea.

[Dicey]

My neighborhood has a glut of few Little Free Libraries so someone went rogue and made one for exchanging puzzles. I thought that was a pretty good idea.

Love this idea!

[affordablehousing]

If you come to the bay area there are free puzzles in the street most days in family friendly neighborhoods. I would rank that as one of the top 10 most commonly available items on any walk, along with books, clothes, canned and dried food, small appliances, office supplies, plastic kid's toys, DVD's, beauty products, and kitchen supplies like dishware and gadgets.

Most common ones I find are Ravensburger.

[jinga nation]

thanks for the info! we love puzzles, will look into thrift stores for puzzle rescue.
my daily coffee mug for 15 years is also a thrift store rescue. they'd complement each other. :-p

[lifeisshort123]

That is a great idea! I love how they can be reused more that way.  So many people do a puzzle once, and then once solved, it sits in a box in their home, until, sadly in a landfill.

[Dicey]

A little puzzle fun... We're quarantined with Covid, so I've pulled a few puzzles out of my supply closet...thought I'd share them with y'all. Yes, it helps to have a very long table.

If you look really closely, there's a pink price tag on the back box. $2.00 from my fave thrift shop. I'm pretty sure all three of these came from there.

[nancy33]

The thrift store puzzles have been great so far. Now I'm wondering if there is a puzzle library at the senior center! I found out u have to be 50 or older to join. It is $12 a year. They have free classes thru the community college. I am taking a free art class and it is wonderful.