With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share some Witemeyer family traditions. Well, actually, this particular tradition is a Gaskin family tradition that married into the Witemeyer clan. (Gaskin is 
my maiden name, and yes, I thought it was really cool when I was a young girl to find it in the dictionary as part of a horse’s leg! I was destined to write westerns, it seems.)
Almost as soon as the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared away, the kitchen table finds it’s true calling – puzzle support.
These days, we tend to eat in the living room huddled around the coffee table in order to watch shows that we’ve saved up on the Tivo, so the kitchen table is fairly available real estate. One end becomes the puzzle center while the other end is available for breakfast and other actual eating activities.
We have quite a collection of puzzles, but I can’t seem to stop myself from getting a new one each year. I’ve learned that I like a challenge but no so large a one that I hit the frustration level. The puzzle we attempted last year had pieces that were so similar in shape, it was nearly impossible to tell which ones actually fit together. Ack! We got the central design on that one completed then gave up on the monochromatic background.
750-1000 pieces is ideal. Pieces that lock together well, leaving no doubt that they actually fit, are a huge plus. Designs with homey scenes from bygone eras are ones I gravitate toward. And there must be different sections of color and images that are easy to pick out when sorting pieces. I tried a snowy picture of the Matterhorn once. Never again.
Last year for Christmas, my husband bought me this one. I can’t wait to break it out this year! 
So to share my love of puzzles (and books!) with you, I thought it might be fun to offer a puzzling giveaway. Unfortunately, the puzzle above ships from the UK, so it was not available for an Amazon giveaway. So I asked my Posse on FB which of 4 book-nerd puzzles they liked best, and here is the winner:
Who wouldn’t love to escape into this quirky book-lover’s library?
So that is the puzzle I am giving away. I am using an Amazon Sweepstakes, so all you have to do to enter is follow me on Amazon using the link below. Amazon will randomly select the winner tomorrow at midnight (Nov 17), and I will post the winner’s name in the comments section here by the 18th.
UPDATE: This giveaway has concluded. Congratulations to Garrett Davidson, winner of the Reader’s Paradise puzzle. Hope you enjoy, Garrett!
- Besides eating, what are some of your favorite activities to engage in during the Thanksgiving holiday?
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Playing games is always fun.
Yes! We love breaking out the board games during the holidays, too, Melanie.
My husband usually ends up watching football so I will read or watch Christmas movies. The last few years I have started my Christmas decorating after Thanksgiving.
I always intend to start decorating then end up too lazy to get productive after a couple days of turkey. Ha! My Christmas stuff usually doesn’t make it out until the first or second weekend of December. Then it stays up well past New Years. Laziness strikes again.
We always take a family picture.
That’s a great idea, Lynn. We haven’t had a family picture made in a few years. We should do that.
We also love to do puzzles at our house. I have decided I will only do Springbok brand puzzles because the picture on the box is true to the colors of the pieces. Just my personal quirk!
Thanks for the recommendation, Grace. Do their pieces go together easily? That makes all the difference to me.
Playing games with my grandchildren!
Love that, Kathy! My kiddos are rapidly leaving the nest, so family game time has become increasingly precious over the last year or so in our house.
After the bustle and cleanup, I enjoy reading with a cup of tea and second piece of pie.
Oh, that sounds heavenly, Betty!
We get together with family, I cook turkey and all the trimmings! Then the guys watch football in one room and we gals usually watch a Christmas movie. We also play games and just enjoy the fellowship and being together! I love doing puzzles, too, but have not done that with the grandkids much. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Karen!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Kathy. Your holiday plans sound perfect! I usually end up watching football with the guys, but have a cross-stitch project or board game going, too.
I have been putting together puzzles and listening to books on Audible – it’s the combination of two of my favorite things! I’ve actually caught up on all of your books (as you are a new author to me) while putting together puzzles in the last month. Now when I look at certain puzzles I think of the book that I listened to while putting together. 🙂 Puzzles remind me that even the messiest and most broken lives can be put back together by God – because He has all the pieces and knows exactly where they go…and He uses my “puzzle time” to reinforce that.
What a perfect idea, Crissy! Audio books and puzzles. Genius!
And you are so right about the puzzle metaphor. God know how to bring the pieces of our life together in a way that never fails to make something beautiful. Love it!
Love your puzzles! And the horse chart. I used to have it memorized due to my obsession of all things horse. 🙂 The last year I’ve become addicted to puzzles. I’ve tried over the years, but our various cats have made puzzle life difficult. Now we are living in an RV, so my max puzzle size is 300. After all, the table is tiny and I can only hog it for one or 2 days. LOL. Fun times!
Ha! Way to be flexible with the puzzles, Angie. Thankfully, we have no indoor pets and I can stretch out on the table. Though, I did hint to my hubby that a Christmas present idea could be one of those roll-up puzzle mats, so we can move it around when needed. 😉
Weather permitting, we like to take a little hike enjoying nature and walking off some of dinner.
This year I’m especially excited about that because we have moved to our dream location, the Ozark Mountains, and have a little over 7 acres that we are still exploring.
How beautiful! I’m a mountain lover, Kay. That dream location sounds like heaven. 🙂
Thanks for this contest! I love doing puzzles almost as much as reading! Our family plays board games together after the Thanksgiving meal…lots of fun and laughs!
Wonderful, Linda! We’re a board game family, too. Well, except my youngest. He’s not a huge fan of board games, but I twist his arm every now and then to get him to join us. 😉
We have Thanksgiving with friends at noon or early afternoon. That activity is followed by a walk which readies all of us for a dinner time dessert. During all of those activities the best thing to do is catch up on everyone’s lives and families.
Sounds a lot like our day, Jen. We’ll be with my mom down in Austin this year. It’s always good to catch up with everyone down there.
Oh, how I love to do jigsaw puzzles! I have one now that I’m working on.(It’s a 1,000 piece of course!) It has all of the Nancy Drew books on it.My daughter and I usually start to put the Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving. I don’t fix dinner because we usually go to my brother’s for that.
A Nancy Drew book puzzle? That sounds fabulous, Beverly. So fun!
Don’t do much of anything except cook and bake. The family gets together and talk while most of the guys watch football. This is our first year of holidays without my mother whose passed away in late September.
Missing loved ones during the holiday is so hard, Karen. May your memories of her bring you comfort.
My favorite thing to do during the Thanksgiving holiday is absolutely nothing.
Thanks for entering me in your giveaway.
I love a relaxing holiday. Sounds peaceful, Janet. 🙂
Well, we like to sit around the den, in front of the fureplace, and catch up on all the family news. Some of the younger generation like to go shopping, but I prefer to have a nice cup of coffe, some pie, and read a good book.
Debbie – you are a woman after my own heart. I’d take pie and a book over shopping any day. 🙂
This year my mom and dad are hosting thanksgiving for the first time. One of the traditions we are going to start is to have a lovely coloring tablecloth so we can all talk and color at the same time.
What a fun idea, Julie! It will probably keep little ones at the table longer, too.
My husband and I do “tons” of puzzles every winter. Have to buy at least one new one every year so we have a huge stack of them! Nothing is more frustrating than puzzles that have such similar shapes that you can’t tell if they fit or not. Would absolutely LOVE working on that wonderful library puzzle you’re giving away! It’s beautiful!
I love watching a puzzle coming together and seeing how it changed since the last time I worked on it. Listening to hubby or one of the kids brag about a section they did. Usually if one person starts working on it, others will follow. And it’s quiet! I love peaceful activities. Life is busy enough, it’s nice to have an excuse to slow down.
My husband and I do “tons” of puzzles every winter. Have to buy at least one new one every year so we have a huge stack of them! Nothing is more frustrating than puzzles that have such similar shapes that you can’t tell if they fit or not. Would absolutely LOVE working on that wonderful library puzzle you’re giving away! It’s beautiful! We play board games with the older grandkids and just keep right on snacking pie!
I live in sunny Florida and all the grandchildren are up north so for me… SKYPE! Love when the app makes all kinds of noise and there is a grandchild peering into my phone screen.
Those connections are precious, even when not in person. Thanks, Mary.
We normally decorate the house Thanksgiving day while the food is being prepared. Later on we used to play board games and watch Christmas movies.
My husband has a rule of no Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but as soon as the turkey is done, carols may abound. 🙂
I enjoy gathering around the TV, while our stuffed bellies rest, to watch old movies.
That sounds lovely. I love old movies. Especially the classic Christmas ones like It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street.
After we eat our Thanksgiving dinner. We rush the men away from the table and all of the women wash the dishes, put leftovers up and clean the table up. Then the best part of our Thanksgiving!!
My stepdad gives the five ladies in the house a newspaper and we start planning for Black Friday!!
Ha! All that hard work in the kitchen deserves some shopping time. 🙂
I love doing puzzles too. I find it mentally very relaxing and a good change of pace from my work. When everything around me seems chaotic, I can count on a puzzle to have a place for every piece!
Nice sentiment, Monica. It is so satisfying to put that last piece in and feel that rush of accomplishment.
We sit around and visit with extended family for much of the time.
Cute book loves puzzle, too! Thank you for the opportunity to enter. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
You, too, Jenn! Family is definitely the best part of Thanksgiving. 🙂
When i was renting from my parents we’d watch the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving parade, Some of the Dog Show and then football games on and off between cooking.
The Macy’s parade is classic. Love that!
Watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and decorating for Christmas
Sounds so festive, Stephanie!
PUZZLE WINNER
We have a puzzle winner. Garrett Davidson is the winner of the Amazon giveaway of the the Reader’s Paradise puzzle. Big congrats to you, Garrett! Hope you and your family and friends have a lot of fun putting this one together!
I love puzzling a lot as well. I totally agree that pieces should not all be the same colour. In contrast to your Matterhorn debacle, I once tried to puzzle the Night Watch from Rembrandt and I never realized how black that painting was until then….
I do a lot of Thomas Kinkade puzzles now, they’re just so cute with the pretty cottages and flower beds.