Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any church, denomination, diocese, parish council, school, shop, charity or community organisation.
An Advent windows trail is a living Advent calendar spread across a village or a few streets. Each evening in December one more house, shop, school or the church itself reveals a decorated window with its number, lit up after dark, until by Christmas Eve there are twenty-four to find. Families walk the route with a torch and a paper map, children tick the numbers off, and on the last night there is often a carol and a mince pie at the church door. It feels like it just happens, but a small team makes it happen. This short guide is about thanking them.
Here are a few ideas, with an honest look at whether a photo puzzle is a good fit.
What the team actually does
Every church does it differently, but the job often includes:
- knocking on doors in October to find twenty-four households, shops and schools willing to take a date
- matching dates to people who will be home that week, and finding a stand-in when someone drops out
- drawing and printing the map, and leaving copies at the church door, the shop and the school
- reminding each window-holder the day before, and checking the lights come on at dusk
- making sure the route is safe to walk in the dark, with no busy roads to cross
- decorating the church window themselves, often for the last night
- baking or buying mince pies and warming a pot of something for Christmas Eve
- collecting donations for a local charity along the way
Why it's worth saying
Most people remember the window they liked best and the walk in the cold. They don't see the doors knocked on, the spreadsheet of dates, or the person who went round with a spare extension lead when a window stayed dark. A note that names one small thing tells the team it was noticed.
When to say it
Early January, once the decorations come down, is a gentle time to say it. A card on Sunday, a word at coffee after the service, or a line in the parish magazine all work. If a child drew their favourite window, that is better than anything you could buy.
What makes a good photo
- one lit window at dusk, with its number in the corner
- the paper map with numbers ticked off in felt pen
- a row of houses with two or three windows glowing down the street
- the church door on the last night, with a tray of mince pies on a table
- a child's torch shining on a window display
- the frost on a wall outside a window, early in December
Follow the church's photo policy, and keep faces and house numbers out unless people are happy to be in it. A glowing window on a dark street makes a warm picture and a good puzzle.
Choosing a piece count
| Pieces | Good for |
|---|---|
| 24 | a quick puzzle on a phone |
| 48 | a few minutes with a cup of tea |
| 80 | someone who likes a gentle challenge |
| 130 | a street of lit windows with lots of detail |
| 252 | a long evening, best on a tablet |
A street with several windows lit has lots of detail and holds up well at 130 pieces. A single window or the map suits 24 or 48.
Note examples
- "Thank you for the windows. We walked the route every night in December."
- "Thank you for the map. My daughter kept it on the fridge until Easter."
- "Thank you for asking us to take a date. We loved being number fourteen."
- "Thank you for the mince pies on Christmas Eve. It felt like the whole village came."
- "Thank you for going round with a spare lead when ours went dark."
What it costs, plainly
The preview is free, so you can see how it looks before deciding anything. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), or less per puzzle with a bundle. It's a digital puzzle, not a printed or cardboard one, so there's nothing to post. The person receiving it doesn't need an account or an app; they open the link and your note appears when the last piece goes in. If a card is enough, it is.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
- a card signed by the households who took a window
- a thank-you in the notices or the parish magazine
- offering to take a date, print maps or bake next year
- a box of fairy-light batteries or a spare extension lead for the team
- a donation to the charity the trail supported
- asking the team what would make next year easier
Where Puzzlify fits
Puzzlify turns a personal photo into a private digital jigsaw that you send as a link. It isn't a printed puzzle, and it isn't a public puzzle board: only the people you send it to can open it. It's one option among many, and it works best when the photo means something to the person receiving it. Please don't confuse it with puzzlify.io, Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify, which are different things.
If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose a lit window at dusk, the ticked-off map or the church door on the last night, pick a piece count that suits them, and write the note in your own words. You can make one here.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, religious, road safety, electrical safety, food hygiene, allergy, safeguarding, privacy, photography permission or gift policy advice.