There’s a certain sense of excitement when you start a new puzzle, whether you’re speeding through 100 pieces or planning to immerse yourself in complex jigsaw puzzles for adults. When you finish, you not only feel triumphant but there’s a lasting sense of satisfaction in your victory.

Naturally, you want to spend time enjoying your success, but at some point, you’ll probably have to reclaim your dining room table for more practical uses. What can you do with your puzzle at that point?

Whether you want it on permanent display, you think you’ll rebuild it again down the road, or you need to make space for your next puzzle odyssey, there are options to help you get the most from a puzzle you’ve completed.

Put It Under Glass

If you’re so invested in a completed puzzle that you want it to become part of your permanent décor, you’ll find that there are several options to consider. While leaving 500-piece jigsaw puzzles lying on tabletops around your home might not be a viable option, you could leave them lying IN the tabletops.

Choose furniture conducive to display — such as coffee, end, or dining tables that feature a shadowbox. This means your table would contain a shallow box with a glass lid that serves as the table’s surface. You can place your finished Alphonse Mucha or Spiderman puzzle inside to admire without giving up the practical use of your tabletop.

Glue and Frame It

If building a challenging puzzle once is enough for you, and you’re sure you’ll never want to attempt it again, one great way to maintain your feeling of accomplishment is to display it indefinitely.

Gluing is a permanent state that would be fairly cumbersome to reverse — you’d have to take an Exacto knife to undo it — so you want to make sure before you start gluing.

With that being said, it’s easy enough to brush a clear-drying glue (think Modge Podge) over the surface to keep the whole thing together. From there, you can slide it into a properly sized frame and hang it on the wall to serve as art.

This will also create some space in your game closet for your next purchase from the puzzles store.

Take a Pic of that 2,000-Piece Puzzle

Okay, maybe you’re not the type to keep finished puzzles in plain sight, but before you undo hours of work by sweeping 2000 pieces of a majestic mountain scene back into the box, you might want to at least create a memento. This is easy enough with a smartphone.

When you take a picture, you can save it for personal enjoyment and share your accomplishment with family and friends via group chat or by posting it to Facebook or Instagram. You could even push it to your digital picture frame so that it pops up randomly to remind you how much fun you had.

Gift It to Another Puzzle Lover

If you know someone who not only loves puzzles but would enjoy an image of a vintage map of the world or a soothing pastoral scene, one great way to give your 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles a second life is by gifting them to an appreciative friend or family member.

Puzzles are not only a great experience gift, but when you take the time to pass them along to someone based on their personal interests, you show that you pay attention, and that’s a rare and welcome gift in and of itself.

Host a Puzzle Swap

If you’re a die-hard puzzle aficionado that has already joined a subscription service, your game closet may be well-stocked with 500-piece puzzles. With that being said, you might be interested in sharing once you’ve had your fill of certain puzzles.

A puzzle swap lets you get together with family and friends over a shared love of puzzles, pass on a few to other households, and find a few new-to-you options to try. It’s a great way to foster a sense of community and ensure that everyone has plenty of puzzles to keep them busy.

Save Your Favorite Jigsaw Puzzles

Some people like to reread the same book repeatedly, perhaps because they fell in love with the characters, the story, and the writing, or maybe because of the sense of comfort and familiarity it provides. You can enjoy the same sentiments with a favorite puzzle that you build again and again.

Whether you have a few easy 300-piece puzzles that call to you on lazy Sunday afternoons or there’s a 2000-piece beast that you pull out once a year as a challenge, hanging onto your faves means you always have an old friend to return to.

Time Yourself

Want to make a puzzle more challenging and add to the gaming aspect? Try timing yourself and then doing the puzzle again later to see if you can improve your time.

Better yet, make it a group activity. Purchase several copies of the same puzzle for yourself and your family or friends. When you’ve delivered the copies to everyone, set a date and time for a puzzle-off to add a fun element of competition to the proceedings.

If there are novices in your group, or some people just don’t have a ton of free time, choose something small like 100-piece puzzles that can be done in a relatively short time frame. If your group is more advanced, you could spend a whole day or a weekend working on a 500, 1000, or 2000-piece puzzle.

Donate Used Puzzles

If your puzzles have made the rounds with your family, your kids have outgrown younger puzzles, or you have challenging 1000-piece puzzles that no one wants to tackle, why not donate them to someone who will get the same joy you did from them?

You’ll have to ensure that no pieces are missing or damaged, but puzzles in good condition could go to charity organizations, classrooms, public libraries, local game stores or cafés, and more. At the very least, add them to the pile slated for your annual garage sale.