It's gift-giving season again. If you're like me, there's a lot of thought behind each selection. What has pleased before, what might be appreciated this year, what has caught my eye - options race through my mind morning, noon, and night. In the midst of this year's quandary, I hit on a bright idea: a gift that could give hours of enjoyment, entertain anytime, provide good mind exercise, invite solitude or collaboration, and be low-tech without need for batteries or connectivity. Aha, puzzles!

Puzzles strike me as a sensational present. They come in variations to suit all ages and sidestep predictability, triggering surprise and fascination. Once this "light bulb" went on in my mind I got to wondering how long puzzles have existed. It didn't take long to discover that a British mapmaker named John Spilsbury popularized puzzles around 1760. He cut maps into shapes and multiple pieces to teach children geography. In the 1880s the treadle saw was used to cut wood with a picture glued or painted on it. Pencil tracings were scribed on the back, and then the crafter would cut along the lines. Cardboard puzzles followed in the late 1800s, cut by dyes and large presses. They were still reserved for children and were largely what we would call visual aids and educational toys.

The explosion of jigsaw puzzles came in the 1920s and '30s. Multiple companies produced a wide range of puzzles - some cardboard, some wood. Images included great artwork, maps, and pictures of technology. At the same time, more intricate and difficult puzzles gained wider appeal with children and adults alike. This was still the pre-television era, the time when radio provided a frequent backdrop for families to put puzzles together while listening to broadcasts. Also this was the day when companies used puzzles as premiums, thus making the game form all the more popular. Weekly puzzles were also created. For a few cents young adults, families, and teachers could buy hours of fun, concentration, problem-solving, and entertainment. Jigsaw puzzles fit the bill for multiple audiences. They could be done in a group, by one person, people of different languages and educational skills, day or night.

Amazingly, jigsaw puzzle sales reached 10 million per week in 1933. What person reading this column who was alive then did not put together a United States puzzle while growing up?

In just the past few years the Backyard Birds store has carried puzzles, noticing a significant uptick in sales. I asked some folks about the appeal of puzzles. "I love the pictures I can choose in a jigsaw puzzle. The colors are usually so vibrant." "Our family always takes a puzzle to the lake. Surprisingly, we don't tire of putting a puzzle together more than once." "We like to put our puzzles together without looking at the box lid to add to the challenge." These are a few of the comments from people whose favorite puzzles are Birds of the Backyard, Wildflowers, Flags of the U.S., Cardinals, and Barnyard scenes.

1000-piece puzzles are probably the most popular with 750, 500, 300 and 150-piece variations following in appeal for children. There are 3-D puzzles, puzzle globes, and puzzles with irregular border shapes. There are double-sided puzzles and monotone puzzles that make assembly daunting. Although I have not put one together, there are family puzzles with three different sized pieces ranging from large to small so puzzlers of all skill levels can work together.

You can even make you own puzzle from your photo or drawing. I have had good luck with printerstudio.com and I understand shutterfly.com in addition to local photo developers provide do-it-yourself puzzles that can be ordered in different sizes and number of pieces. You can also create online jigsaw puzzles at sites like www.jigsawplanet.com. With all these possibilities, puzzles are a winning idea for this season's gifting.