North NJ Jigsaw Puzzle Swap

This past weekend I hosted my very first puzzle swap and it was a huge success. 

The closest swap to me is a 3-hour round trip south...I know NJ might not seem like a big state, but it is big enough. I couldn't in good conscience drag my whole family out there with me just to be there for one hour. However I had a voracious appetite for puzzles and needed more. 

A few months ago, I was thinking to myself how awesome it would be to have a local swap event nearby. After scouring the local FB groups and seeing nothing, in very typical me-fashion, I thought "Why not just host it myself?" I reached out to my local library and asked about reserving a public meeting room. To my delight, they were excited and happy to have us there. With date and time details confirmed, I put my plan into motion and spread the news in the local jigsaw puzzle FB groups. I had a ton of feedback and people planning to show up but, in all seriousness, you never know until you get there...

Well the event went off without a hitch; it was a textbook perfect day.  

I had around 30-40 people show up at various times throughout the 1.5-hour event which made it feel very manageable and sane. There were few were old-timers who obviously knew each other from other swap events. Others were brand new, like me, and attending for the first time. Everyone was so kind and friendly though. Many were quite impressed that this was my first swap and first-time hosting. 

As I was the host, I made a point to walk through and personally check-in with as many people as possible. Along the way I had so many meaningful conversations, and it was heart-warming to hear everyone's stories. We all started doing puzzles for various reasons. Some did it to connect with friends near and some far away. Others were looking for puzzles to share with their young kids or for their aging parents living alone at home. We all had our reasons. 

At one point, I said to someone that I found my tribe.  

Even though I didn't really intend to trade as I wanted to focus on hosting, I still ended up coming home with a ton of new puzzles to do! At the end of the event, a couple folks volunteered to help me clean-up which was so greatly appreciated. After getting home, I checked my messages and was inundated with comments saying how much fun the event was and thanked me for the role I played. 

For me, I was simply happy that I found a whole community of kind, like-minded people who genuinely enjoy a hobby. If things work out, I think I'd like to try hosting another swap in the near future.