NEWTON, MASS. (WHDH) - With the coronavirus pandemic keeping people stuck inside for weeks on end, finding new ways to pass the time can become a struggle. That’s where puzzles come in.
In his 20 years working at Ceaco, a Newton-based company that produces jigsaw puzzles and other family games, Jason Schneider says he has never been through anything like he is experiencing right now.
“We did more business in one day, a single day in March, than we did in the entire month of December through our website,” Schneider told 7NEWS.
Puzzles have become a new way for people to stay sane while they stay home, according to Schneider.
“People are really looking for something to do and jigsaw puzzles seem to be that thing,” Schneider explained. “Jigsaw puzzles are just having a cultural moment right now.”
Schneider says people have been gravitating toward the comfort and nostalgia in the puzzles. It also helps that they take a long time to complete.
“To do a 750 or a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, that’s something you’re not going to do in a couple of minutes,” Schneider said. “It’s going to take hours, take days.”
People have been purchasing puzzles at a crazy fast pace but Ceaco has been unable to produce more because they aren’t deemed an essential business.
“We thought about maybe petitioning the governor to make jigsaw puzzles an essential item, I mean people need them for their sanity,” Schneider said.
If you want to try a puzzle, Schneider recommends starting small and working up.
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