They are perfect for long rainy afternoons, and giving the grey-matter a little focus, and no Christmas stocking is complete without one.
We're talking puzzles and games, of course, and Total MK has been testing the best of the newbies on the market.
Here are three of our favourites...
RSPCA Two's Company Jigsaw Puzzle
There's only one thing to love more than when a plan comes together - and that's when a jigsaw comes together!
Assemble this 500 piece puzzle and two cutesy kittens will stare right back at you.
The RSPCA will receive a minimum of £7500 from the sale of these puzzles, which will help the charity to help more fur babies just like Rosie and Wendy, the four-legged little ladies who are the stars of this puzzle.
Gibsons have delivered the purr-fect gift for cat lovers and jigsaw solvers alike with this compact and tidy delivery. and obviously you'll be feline fine when you place that last piece of the puzzle!
Size when assembled: 49cm x 34cm
Get it here
Mind the Gap Card Game
A quick play card game that is good for young travellers (ages six and up can get involved) and the seasoned public transport user.
Mind the Gap offers players a trip around London's Underground, with some of its most famous stations featuring on the cards.
Players are each dealt eight cards and need to match a coloured line from the previous card to play.
But it's not quite that simple - special cards could hinder, or help your journey.
You'll need to avoid delays and get rid of your cards before your fellow 'passengers' catch you out...remembering all the time to 'mind the gap!'
It's perfect for two to eight players. A nice little game, housed in an equally fetching little tin.
Get it here
Pass the Pud Game
If it's a bit of festive fun you want (ready to put into action somewhere between the veggie roast being eaten and the Xmas Strictly Come Dancing hitting the small screen) this December 25, we've got just the thing.
It's a game for four or more players, aged eight years and up.
Gather round and answer questions from four different categories, passing the pud backwards and forwards as you go.
As you hold the 'jingling' seasonal pud, you'll need to act fast and answer your question to beat the timer and escape the burp! And who will collect the most sixpences?
'For sweet victory, avoid getting caught with the pudding, collect the most sixpences and see the opposition get stuffed,' is what the game box advises.
Deal the cards again, and beat the burp one more time...Or will you be out-belched?!
Get it: here
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