Hape George Luck Ark Puzzle

When it comes to Christmas gift shopping, there are three main groups of buyers: 1. those super-organised people who snapped up all their presents during after-Christmas sales at a bargain price, and keep everything wrapped up since January, 2. those who leave it until the last minute and 3. those in-between, who might buy a gift or a stocking filler as the year goes along.

I rarely start thinking about gifts for Christmas before autumn. I enjoy giving foodie presents and they don't tend to keep that long, and I don't have any spare storage space either. Last year I congratulated myself on getting a bargain tin of Roses in early autumn, but alas, it was raided by my family long before Christmas, as they by then have figured out all my hiding places.
I do enjoy browsing the magazines and blogs, looking for gift ideas though. At the moment I'm deciding on which advent calendars to give to my guys and myself.

With regards to children's gifts, wooden toys provide a timeless appeal.Traditional wooden toys are tactile, safe, durable and a great fun.
We still keep a wooden toy crocodile on wheels that baby Sasha loved so much - it might be battered and even chewed a bit, but it is a treasured memory.
One of Eddie's most loved toy sets was a box of wooden jigsaw pieces with magnets on the back, he spent hours making pictures with them in a big tray. We passed it on to another little child to enjoy just earlier this year, and even then, when I asked Eddie if he was OK with me giving it away, he said he'd like to play with it for the last time. And so he did, he assembled creative pictures with it, and was happy to let the set go to our friend's granddaughter.

Hape range of wooden toys is extensive and varied. Their high quality toys are suitable from babyhood to primary school ages and older. They are great for role play and work as a fantastic educational tool as well. No wonder many schools and nurseries have a selection of Hape products.

Hape George Luck Ark Puzzle is suitable for ages 8+ (younger children would be quite capable of assembling the puzzle as well, though not below 3 years, due to small parts).
It is a beautiful wooden collage, depicting Noah and animals. All the figures slot effortlessly into each other, creating one spacious ark.

Wooden pieces are made, using a non-toxic finished surface, decorated with water based paints.
The puzzle comes in 62 pieces, which are sturdy and robust but not too heavy for little hands.
It is a very tactile toy: the jigsaw pieces are smooth and painted on one side.

While assembling the puzzle with younger children, you can tell them the story of Noah's ark and also explore the animal world. Encourage your child(ren) to learn about different animals.

It is a true work of art, and is visually striking. Its pieces with animals of various shapes and colours reminded me of Kandinsky and Paul Klee's artwork . Simple elements, straight and curvy lines and pure colours.

This striking wooden puzzle will make a fabulous present for any jigsaw puzzle lover, for any special occasion, be it Christmas or birthday.

Disclosure: We received the puzzle for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are our own.