Amazon have a half price offer on this cute Smurfs puzzle from Pressman, which they’re selling at £1.73 instead of £3.49. The offer, of course, includes free delivery, so it’s a lovely price for a little something to put away for the predicted rainy May days!

• Go to town with The Smurfs  

This Pressman Smurfs jigsaw puzzle is a 24-piec puzzle, suitable for ages 3 and above. It has a built size of 38.1cm by 31.75cm and will be lots of fun for both a puzzle lover and a Smurf lover.

Kids are pretty amazing, actually, especially when their capabilities far exceed our expectations of them. We were in a playgroup last week where my two year old was happily building a 16-piece puzzle aimed at the 3+ crowd. She needed a bit of guidance with the middle pieces, but trial and error on her side and she accomplished it, and proudly so!

Reviewers say the box is very small, which I must admit makes it even more desirable in my book – who really needs additional space taken up if it’s not necessary!

Happy rainy day puzzling!

Thanks to wishihadadonkey @ HUKD

My heart always jumps for joy when I come across a great jigsaw puzzle deal; if I were to write a Top 10 kid's toys list, jigsaw puzzles would be right up there  near the top.

This Where In The Wood puzzle has SO many benefits, aside from just puzzle-putting-togethering - in fact, I'm going to buy it for my youngest son so that we can do it together.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Where in the Wood puzzle

SO, 150 pieces make up a detailed woodland scene and there are a whole host of animal images in the jigsaw border - your task, once you've put the puzzle together, is to FIND those animals in the picture.

There is so much else you can talk about too - how many toadstools are there? Is it summer or winter in the wood? What colours are the flowers?  I mean, really, the list goes on and on and will very neatly shoehorn plenty of learning, observation and literacy skills into something that's fun.

Can you tell I'm a fan? The usual price for this Where in the Wood puzzle is £9.75; if you're quick, and Amazon leave the price alone for more than five minutes, then you can pick one up for £5.32 instead; marvellous.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD

Amazon are selling this Peppa Pig giant story puzzle for £3.92 - its usual price is £6.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Peppa Pig giant story puzzle

You know what?  I'm going to go out and buy myself a puzzle today - not a Peppa Pig giant story puzzle but a puzzle I can really lose myself in when I need to clear my mind of all the chaos that's currently inhabiting it!

Puzzles are great for that, but when you're small you (hopefully!!) don't have mental clutter to banish so you can concentrate on just having fun and learning lots of new skills without realising it.

Pattern recognition, problem solving, shape sorting and fine motor skills are some of the skills playing with puzzles can help develop, let alone the massive sense of satisfaction that comes with placing that final puzzle piece and completing the picture.

Twenty pieces make up this Peppa Pig story puzzle and includes 10 large story pieces, with backgrounds depicting the different seasons, and 10 smaller shaped pieces featuring different Peppa Pig characters and objects to put together within the larger story board pieces.

The word 'giant' isn't used loosely either - the Peppa Pig Giant Story Puzzle measures a whopping one metre in length and is 15cm high.  I think it sounds rather fab', but don't take my word for it have a read of this review from an existing owner - it's quite long, but worth it..

If you pop over to MailOrderExpress you'll be able to pick up this Waybuloo Butterfly peg puzzle for just £1.99, it's usual retail price is £7.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Waybuloo Butterfly peg puzzle

It's no secret, here on PlayPennies, that I'm a serious puzzle fan - it doesn't matter whether they're super simple, like this Waybuloo Butterfly peg puzzle, or contain a mammoth 1000 pieces, I love them all.

For little tiny ones, this Waybuloo Butterfly peg puzzle will help them develop their fine motor skills; their pattern recognition abilities will be tested and developed through identifying which butterfly piece fits into which butterfly space.

The beauty of these very early days puzzles is they are just enough to hold a young child's interest, tricky enough to make them think without it being too difficult causing them to give up.

I've never bought anything from MailOrderExpress before so I quickly ran through the process, and was rather surprised when a 'sign in to your Amazon account' window popped up!

I duly did and discovered that standard delivery is going to cost an additional £1.99.  Not only that, if you enter SALE2012 into the promotion box 20 pence will be deducted from the total - so, all in, you're going to be paying £3.78 for your Waybuloo Butterfly peg puzzle.

It was rather nice not to have to fill in all my address and payment details as they're all held on my Amazon account; fabulous.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

Tesco are selling this Melissa and Doug Vehicle Sound puzzle for £5.96 instead of the usual £9.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Melissa and Doug Vehicle Sound puzzle

Now you should know by now that I'm a bit of a puzzle fan; you should also know, if you're a regular PlayPennies reader anyway, that I'm not a fan of toys with bells, whistles, buzzers or unnecessary flashing lights - I'm a bit of a toy purest.

So it might come as a surprise when I say...I think this Melissa and Doug Vehicle Sound puzzle looks FAB, because it requires two AAA batteries to make NOISE.  Yes, a puzzle (which I love) that makes noise (that I don't usually love).

When your little one matches the vehicle puzzle piece to its space and puts the two together, the puzzle will make the noise of that vehicle; awesome.  A perfect way to reinforce the correct action along with cause and effect.

You can collect our Melissa and Doug Vehicle Sound puzzle for free in-store and I really wouldn' t bother with being ripped off £5 for home delivery, even if it is next day delivery - I don't care, it's just not worth it for a fiver.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD 

There’s a bumper pack of puzzles from Bob The Builder on offer at Debenhams at the moment for £4.50 instead of £18. Apply the code below and you’ll receive a further 45p off, leaving you with just £4.05 to pay since standard delivery is currently free too.

Can you build it? Yes you can! With Bob The Builder’s Bumper Puzzle Pack

• Discount: 10%
• Expires: Unknown
• Promotion Code: DB2U (case sensitive)

Aimed at the 3 years and up crowd, the Bob The Builder Bumper Puzzle Pack from Ravensburger contains ten puzzles in one box.  There are four 20-piece puzzles and six 49-piece puzzles.

Unfortunately I don’t know Bob and his crew well enough to wax lyrical about the portrait style pictures, but I can tell you that they are all images of smiley happy machines doing their building thing.  Bob the Builder appears in some of the pictures, but not all, and the machines all seem happy enough to be entertaining our young.

If you have an avid puzzle builder on your Christmas gift list, I don’t know that you can go wrong with 10 puzzles for £4.05.

Thanks to Speculator at HUKD

Marks and Spencer are currently selling a selection of 41 games with two different discounts running – some of the games are 50% off and some are included in a 3 for 2 mix and match.

• Pop over to M&S for all your Christmas entertainment from £1.25

So say you buy the Wallace & Gromit Rocket Race Game for £15 and the 3D Family Games Compendium for £15 and you add the Panini Table Football for £19.50, you’ll receive £15 off the first two games, but it doesn’t look as though you’ll get the 3 for 2 offer. You will, however, get free delivery (takes care of £3.50) and your order total will be £34.50.

If you buy the Crazee Cube, the Metal Puzzle (both of which would make excellent stocking fillers) and some Terry O’Neill playing cards, your order total would be £16.50, but the cheapest item would be free – the playing cards  were £3.50 – so your order is now £13.  On this you have to add delivery unless you’re picking up in store though.

Your best bet is to have a play around then, and see whether it’d be better for you to go for the 50% off offer, or the 3 for 2 offer, and if you’re picking up in store, to perhaps do two transactions.

Happy playing!

Thanks to sancho1983 at HUKD

I do not like Green Eggs and Ham but I would like this Green Eggs and Ham Floor Puzzle that's on sale with The Book Depository for £4.99 rather than £8.99.

• Click HERE to get your own Green Eggs and Ham floor puzzle

Of all the Dr Seuss stories, Green Eggs and Ham is probably my favourite - there's even a French version, "Je n'aime pas les ouefs vert et jambon!", funny - and I think a Green Eggs and Ham floor puzzle makes a nice change from the usual In the Night Garden or Chuggington ones.

A Green Eggs and Ham floor puzzle would also make a nice accompaniment to the book if you have it already, or you could buy a copy of it as well and bundle them up together.

As a story, Green Eggs and Ham is great for teaching children to recognise words through repetition and rhyme; a Green Eggs and Ham floor puzzle will teach them pattern recognition (sorting out the corners and edges from the tricky middle bits), problem solving (working out which bit goes where) and fine motor skills (the actual putting it together).

I love puzzles, I love Green Eggs and Ham (the story, not for real), I love this Green Eggs and Ham floor puzzle and I love that there's no postage to pay either, to anywhere in the world; marvellous!

We received something rather unusual and unique to review for you this week: 3D BreakThrough Puzzles.

Now, we all know what puzzles are, and what a good experience sitting together building a puzzle can be. There’s always such a sense of excitement as the final pieces start coming together, and such a sense of achievement when the last piece slots in. And then… well, that’s the question. What then? Do you break it up piece by piece? Do you break it up in sections for when you ‘one day’ decide what to do with it? Do you frame it?

My dad took my mum’s two favourite round puzzles and actually made coffee tables for her out of wood, then framed them into the tables. They were gorgeous and are still used as coffee tables in their house – but there are only so many coffee tables you can make.

Then came along 3D BreakThrough Puzzles, definitely the next generation of puzzles, bringing your 2D puzzles to life.

This Peppa Pig Duo Jigsaw Puzzle is a lovely looking gift for a Peppa Pig fan. The box contains two puzzles, one with twelve pieces and another with twenty-four.  It’s currently on offer at £3.99 instead of £6.99.

•  Have double the fun with Peppa and George and the rest of the sty

It’s pretty self-explanatory really – two puzzles, one with twelve pieces and one with twenty four, suitable from ages three and up.  The puzzles both measure 23cm by 19cm, so around an A4 page in size, and come in a box that acts as a carry case too.

The winter theme of the 24-piece puzzle will go well with the season, and the 12-piece summer picnic set will give you something to look forward to.

The reviews are really mixed on this one – some say it looks cheap, some say the box is too big for the quantity of puzzles (??) and some say it’s fantastic and the kids love it. It’s a cheapy, and makes a good stocking filler, but don’t expect  miracles, I say.

Thanks to shadow1 at HUKD

Tesco are selling Harry Potter Micro Puzzles for £1.74; their usual full retail price is £5.97 which is, pretty much, what all the other usual suspects are selling them for at the moment.

• Click HERE for this magic deal

I've been looking for something to buy my mum for Christmas for a little while now; she's notoriously difficult to buy for because a) she doesn't want anything, b) she doesn't need anything and c) if she ever does want, or need, anything she'll just buy it herself.

She is one of THE biggest Harry Potter fans I know - properly obsessed - and also loves doing puzzles, so, as a little token something just to mark the occasion, a couple of Harry Potter Micro Puzzles will fit the bill perfectly.

There are six 150-piece jigsaw puzzles each featuring a poster for the films from the Philosopher's Stone through to the Half Blood Prince; if you manage to collect all of them (you can't choose which one you get I'm afraid) then you can join them altogether in their jigsaw style frame.

They're 19cms high by 15cms wide and 5cms deep; suitable for anyone who's a Harry P fan and more than four years old and can be ordered/paid for online and collected in-store for freeee (you have to say that in your best Dobby voice when he was set free with a sock in the Chamber of Secrets!).

Thanks to lucersymum at HUKD

Ravensburger have brought out a limited edition Christmas puzzle for 2011. It's called Which Way Santa and is a perfect build-up to Christmas puzzle – no pun intended – to set the mood for the big day, I think. It's reduced by 23% from £12.99 to £9.99 including postage, so could make a lovely family project for Boxing Day too.

• Show Santa the way with the Limited Edition puzzle from Ravensburger

Which Way Santa is a 1000 piece puzzles with richly detailed, sturdy puzzle pieces made from strong premium grade cardboard, with linen finish print to minimise glare on puzzle image. It was illustrated by British artist Roy Trower, and is probably quite complex with all it's small details, which is why it's suitable from ages 12 and up.

Once built the puzzle measures a respectible 70 x 50 cm, so you'll need a nice working surface to start off with.

I never know what to actually do with puzzles once they're built. It seems like such an anticlimax to just break them up again, but you can't exactly frame every puzzle you ever build... unless you have storage space and can rotate them? Either way, puzzles are great for seeing a project come to fruition, and apparently good for developing logic and so on. And then there's the fact that they're good, interactive family fun, and this gorgeous Which Way Santa is sure to set the mood.

It's my birthday this week and I'm seriously considering buying myself a puzzle with an obscene number of pieces; I love puzzles and want something to do that doesn't involve computers, TVs and will take some time to complete.

I don't think this In the Night Garden Giant Floor Puzzle is what I'm looking for, but it might be something you'd like to consider; it's been reduced down to £4.50 from £15.

• Click HERE to go over to The Toy Shop

Puzzles are great and if you're a PlayPennies regular then you'll know I have nothing but good things to say about them.

They work on so many levels

1. they help youngsters develop their fine motor skills - it can be tricky to start with fitting those pieces together
2. pattern recognition skills are developed too - recreating the picture on the box by having to identifying different bits of the image on each piece and working out which must go where
3. shape recognition - the first rule of puzzle putting-togethering: sort out your straight edges from your corners and all the middle pieces

This In the Night Garden Giant Floor Puzzle measures a giant 122cm x 159 cm and has 30 pieces to put together.

Each piece is laminated, which makes it very hard-wearing, and it comes in a presentation lock-top box.

You can collect your In the Night Garden Giant Floor Puzzle in-store for free, if you have one near you, otherwise home delivery will cost you an additional £3.95 (unless you spend over £30, then home delivery is free).

Thanks to Yorkie1962 at HUKD

If you want something to a) challenge your child and b) keep them quiet for a g e s then this Where's Wally 1000-piece puzzle is worth considering.

Amazon have reduced it's price, for now at least, from £12.95 to £5.49.

• Click HERE to find this deal over at Amazon

Of course you don't have to leave your child to find Wally, you can help too.

I sort of remember Where's Wally.

I think he hit the scene during my teenage years and so I didn't really pay much attention to him but from memory, and subsequent conversations with Where's Wally fans, he hides and YOU have to find him.

First of all you have to put all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together, and that will require sorting out your corners from your double and single straight edges and then ALL the hundreds and hundreds of middle bits.

WOW I love puzzlesl; I haven't done a big one for years - lots of Peppa Pig and JCB ones, but not one that I can really get my teeth into though.

When it's finished, this Where's Wally 1000-piece puzzle measures 48cm x68cm and will leave you, and anyone else who lends a helping hand, with a huge feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Thanks to Supalynz at HUKD 

If you're quick you'll be able to pick up a Timmy Time 4 in 1 jigsaw puzzle for £2.48 instead of £4.97.

• Click HERE to go over to Tesco

Timmy Time and jigsaw puzzles, two things guaranteed to provide plenty of fun for young fans of the cheeky sheep.

Jigsaw puzzles are right near the top of my favourite things list, for grown-ups and kids.

I haven't done one for years and I think I might just have to remedy that; when you need to turn your brain off and just focus on 'nothing', I always found immersing myself in a good puzzle did the trick.

For kids though, it's a whole different experience.

When they're really little they have to learn how to physically to grips with the pieces, thus developing fine motor skills.

They have to learn to sort out the corners from the edges and the middle pieces; that takes care of shape recognition and then they need to build the picture on the box using the puzzle pieces, which sorts out pattern recognition.

And you, maybe, thought a puzzle was just for fun.

This Timmy Time 4 in 1 jigsaw puzzle features Mittens, Ruffy, Paxton and Timmy pictures with the four puzzles comprising six, eight, 10 and 12 pieces.

They're suitable for little ones aged three years and over and I'd collect it from your local Tesco, for free, if you'd like to avoid paying £5.00 for home delivery.

Happy sorting out corners from edges!

I'm in puzzle mode today and Tesco are selling two puzzles featuring the rather lovely Very Hungry Caterpillar.

• Click HERE for the 2-in1 puzzle
• Click HERE for the floor puzzle

If you're a regular PlayPennies reader you might have picked up on my love for The Very Hungry Caterpillar; I loved his story from the moment my infants school teacher read it to the class and I've loved him ever since.

The pictures are just magical and they've been recreated on two Very Hungry Caterpillar jigsaw puzzles, a floor puzzle and a 2-in1 puzzle.

Tesco are selling them both for £2.99 - Amazon are selling the floor puzzle for £5 and the 2-in1 puzzle for £4.99, just so you know.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 2-in1 puzzle is CUTE!

One puzzle features the iconic Very Hungry Caterpillar image and the other pictures the butterfly he turns into; one puzzle has 12 pieces and the other 24, for when the 12 pieces is too easy.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar floor puzzle is great for small hands as it has big chunky pieces for them to easily get to grips with and the sturdy box comes with a carry handle on the top, which will make it nice and easy for them to pick up and take with them when you go visiting friends or relatives.

Both the puzzles are suitable for Very Hungry Caterpillar fans aged three years and older.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

And there was me thinking that my youngest son had everything JCB there was to have, when up pops this My First JCB floor puzzle on sale with Amazon for £3.99 instead of £9.99.

• Click HERE to drive over to Amazon

I can't remember what triggered his love for JCBs but he could say Joseph Cyril Bamford from two  years old, and took great delight in asking people if THEY knew what JCB stood for.

He has a draw full of the yellow diggers and can tell you the difference between front loaders and back hoes and all sorts of JCB malarkey, but he never had a JCB floor puzzle.

He'll be five in just over a week and I'm rather disappointed he's too old for this JCB floor puzzle now, he would have loved it and I would have loved watching him work out where all the pieces were supposed to go.

Puzzles have to be right up there on my top 10 list of favourite toys; they're fun, they help to develop fine motor skills in young kids and pattern recognition, they are said to boost brain power AND they don't require batteries, make silly sounds or have flashing lights.

This JCB floor puzzle isn't an Amazon 'Deal of the Week' so it's price may go up (or down) if whatever causes their prices to fluctuate happens...like, just because they feel like it.

Thanks to lostboybinns at HUKD

Amazon are currently selling this box of four Orchard Toys farm puzzles for £3.40 instead of £7.00.

• Click HERE to go over to Amazon

I love puzzles; they don’t have flashing lights, they don't eat batteries at an alarming rate, they don't have bells and whistles or crinkle, rattle or 'sing' nursery rhymes.

They’re just good old fashioned toys that have a huge range of benefits when your child puts the pieces together.

Four Orchard Toys farm puzzles come in this box and are made from 4, 6, 8 and 12 pieces.  This is perfect for really young kiddies to take their first steps into the puzzle world, as the puzzles will grow as their confidence and puzzle-piecing-together skills improve.

Puzzles encourage the development of pattern recognition, patience, organisation (if you sort out the corners from the edges and the middle pieces) and also fine motor skills which are required to fit all the pieces together.

The reviews are good; almost five stars from everybody…

"We bought this for my son when he was about 20 months and he got on really well with it. He still struggles with the chicken one but still loves it."

"Great set of jigsaws! My son is nearly 2 and LOVES doing them. He can do the easier ones himself and needs help with the hardest."

Each puzzle measures 18cm x 18cms and the pieces can be wiped clean.

Thanks to shadow1 at HUKD

Tesco are selling this 6 in 1 puzzle box set for £3, 70% off the original price, with 6 Clubcard points in the bag.

• Keep the kids busy at 50p per puzzle

Okay, so this is so cutesy, I feel a little ill just looking at it, but some people like cutesy a little more than I do,  and this is a great deal if it’s for you.

There are six brightly coloured puzzles, two of them are 48-pieces and four are 100-pieces.

The puzzles feature animals – one with two puppies and a kitten, another with a bird and a bunny, three kittens, another with two other kittens, and then two more superbly sickly sweet puppies. And then, randomly, a tiger. Which is the only image that isn’t sickly sweet.

All in all, there are 496 total pieces.

This is a final clearance item from Tesco Direct, so while they still have items in stock, it’ll only be available while stocks last.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

Although I'm not familiar with the brand name, it turns out that Jumbo Games have been around a long time. The company started in the Netherlands in 1853. They produce good quality, well made games. The emphasis is on game playing, rather than trying to be educational. So they probably manage to achieve both!

I'm rubbish at simply playing with my son. No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot get my mind into the same imaginary space that he does. Games are a good compromise. We can both play together.

PlayPennies received two games to review from Jumbo Games. These were Puzzle Time with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Roo (£6.99, available at Smyths and The Entertainer), and Castle Logix (£17.99 at Amazon)

I gave these to PlayPennies mum Theresa to test out - and play with - her four year old daughter.

Puzzle Time with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Roo

This puzzle has been released to tie in with the launch of the new Winnie the Pooh movie. I know that Theresa and her daughter had seen, and enjoyed, the movie, so I was interested to see how well this puzzle went down.

Puzzle Time with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Roo is a 25 piece floor puzzle, recommended for children aged three plus. Theresa tells us you get two puzzles in the box.

Her initial impression was good. "First off I have to tell you that these are very good quality and that the pieces themselves can take quite a hefty beating."  Despite falling in love with the images, having lovely memories of the movies, for some reason she and her daughter felt it was important to test out just how robust the pieces were.

They 'gummed' on a couple, to see how well they would take the soggy treatment. They threw them around, and even sat on them. "Apart from a little peeling on the edges of the two soggy pieces, the puzzle remained scratch and damage free." That's good then! She also points out that "Thick card supports the two lovely and bright images - images that little eyes and hands will enjoy as much as older ones - and the pieces are not too small or too big."

Theresa was pushed out of the way when it came to doing the puzzles. This was something her daughter was determined to do on her own.

Her overall verdict?  "It is a puzzle I would have spent money on if I was out at the shops."

Castle Logix

The Castle Logix game is described as a children's brainteaser. I guess it is never too early to introduce the concept of logical thinking. The game is recommended for children aged three years and up. It has 48 challenges, and four levels of difficulty. The concept is to correctly piece together the blocks and pegs to resemble the image in the challenge booklet.

I think it is safe to say that Theresa and her daughter enjoyed this game. Theresa gave it "10 out of 10 for originality, quality and brilliance".

Her first impression was a bit of a disappointment. "You get four wooden blocks of varying sizes along with three wooden poles of varying lengths." Boring. Or so she thought.

Leaving the game in the hands of two four year olds and an eight year old to make snacks, she came back to a completely silent room. "Silence usually means they are concentrating very hard on destroying something. Not this time. In this particular (and very beautiful) moment in time six hands were working together to figure out the first of a series of puzzles."

The aim is to match the picture in the book using the supplied items. Not as easy as it looks, and the puzzles get harder . In fact, this proved a lure for the children. "The fact that they can progress steadily up the difficulty charts has them all so hooked. We love it. My kids love it. It is pure entertainment with an essential educational twist."

And finally ...

Both toys were a hit with Theresa and her daughter. It goes to show that you don't need to try to be 'educational'. A good old fashioned brain teaser or puzzle is still the best sort of fun.