A thank-you for your church Christmas Day lunch team: foil parcels of leftover turkey and pudding at the door so nobody goes home to an empty kitchen, as a jigsaw with your note at the end

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, diocese, parochial church council, food bank, charity or community organisation.

By about three o'clock on Christmas Day, the church hall is quiet again. The paper hats are in the recycling, the crackers have been pulled, and twenty or thirty guests who might otherwise have eaten alone have had a proper lunch with company. Then, as people pull their coats on, someone at the door hands each of them a foil parcel: a few slices of turkey, some stuffing, a wedge of Christmas pudding and a mince pie, wrapped and labelled, so that Boxing Day doesn't start with an empty fridge. This short note is about thanking the team that thinks of that.

Who does the work

A church Christmas Day lunch usually depends on:

• the person who cooks the turkey at home at dawn and drives it over wrapped in tea towels
• the volunteers peeling sprouts and potatoes on Christmas Eve evening
• whoever sets the tables with paper crowns, crackers and a little card with each guest's name
• the drivers who collect guests who can't get there on their own
• the team who portion up the leftovers into foil trays, label them with a marker pen and stack them by the door
• the washer-up who finally sits down with a cup of tea at five o'clock

Why it's worth saying

The leftover parcels are a small detail, but they say a lot. They mean somebody thought about the day after, not just the day itself, and about the guests going home to a cold flat when the shops are shut. The team rarely sees the parcels opened. A thank-you that mentions them, or the moment a guest said they hadn't had Christmas pudding in years, tells them the care was noticed.

A good moment to say it

Christmas Day is too full, and Boxing Day is for rest. The first Sunday in January works well, or a quiet weekday when the roasting tins have been returned to their owners.

Photo ideas

• the row of foil parcels on the trestle table by the hall door, each labelled in marker pen
• the long tables just before guests arrive, with crackers and paper crowns at every place
• the turkey on the hatch, still in its roasting tin, with a carving knife beside it
• the hall kitchen worktop covered in foil, cling film and a roll of sticky labels
• the coat rack by the door, with one parcel left on the shelf for someone who forgot theirs
• the stack of clean roasting tins at the end of the day, with owners' names on masking tape

Photograph the food, tables and kitchen rather than the guests. Many people at a Christmas Day lunch would rather not be photographed, so follow your church's photo policy and ask first if anyone is in the frame.

Piece counts

A row of labelled parcels or a set table has lots of detail, so 80 or 130 pieces works well; a close-up of the turkey on the hatch suits 48.

Note ideas

• "Thirty lunches, and thirty parcels for Boxing Day. Thank you for thinking of the day after."
• "Mrs B said it was the first Christmas pudding she'd had in years."
• "Thank you for the sprouts, the stuffing and the foil."
• "You made sure nobody went home to an empty kitchen."
• "Christmas Day in our parish looks like your trestle table."

The cost, plainly

The preview is free, so you can see how it looks first. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), less per puzzle with a bundle. It's a digital jigsaw, not a printed one, so nothing arrives in the post. The person receiving it doesn't need an account or an app: they open the link, put the pieces together, and your note appears at the end. If a card says it better, send a card.

Other ways to say thank you

• a card signed by the guests and the congregation
• a mention in the parish magazine, with the number of meals served
• offering to cook or drive next year
• buying a new set of roasting tins or a box of foil trays for the church kitchen
• a warm lunch out in January for the whole team, cooked by someone else

Where Puzzlify fits

Puzzlify turns a personal photo into a private digital jigsaw you send as a link. It is not a printed puzzle and not a public puzzle board; only the people you send it to can open it. It is one option among many. It is not puzzlify.io, Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify, which are different things.

If you'd like to try it, pick the row of foil parcels, the set tables or the turkey on the hatch, choose a piece count and write your note. You can make one here.

Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, food hygiene, safeguarding, religious, photography permission or gift policy advice.