A thank-you for your church Christmas giving tree team: paper tags on the branches, wrapped presents piled under the tree and every one delivered to a local family in time, as a jigsaw

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, school, retailer, charity or community organisation.

At the start of Advent, a small tree goes up at the back of some churches, hung not with baubles but with paper tags. Each tag carries a simple wish, such as "girl, 7, art set" or "older man, warm scarf", passed on anonymously by a school, a food bank or a family support charity. Members of the congregation take a tag, buy the gift, wrap it and bring it back with the tag taped on. A few weeks later the presents go out, and nobody on either side ever needs to know who gave what. Behind every giving tree is a small team who made it work. This short guide is about thanking them.

Below are a few ideas, plus an honest view of when a photo puzzle fits and when it doesn't.

What the giving tree team usually does

Every church does it differently, and the clergy, the partner charity and the parish's safeguarding and data protection policies always come first, but the work often includes:

• agreeing with a partner charity, school or food bank how wishes are collected
• writing the tags so no family can be identified, just an age and a wish
• setting up and decorating the tree and putting a notice in the pew sheet
• keeping a list of which tags have been taken and chasing gently near the deadline
• buying gifts for the tags nobody picked, often out of their own pocket
• checking every parcel, matching it to its tag and boxing them by recipient group
• delivering the boxes to the charity in time for Christmas
• sending a short thank-you round the congregation afterwards

Why a thank-you matters

The givers get the warm feeling of choosing a present. The team gets the spreadsheet, the late-night wrapping of the leftover tags and the car boot full of boxes in the rain. Because the whole thing is designed to be anonymous, the people who organise it rarely get thanked by anyone. A short, specific thank-you tells them it was noticed.

When to say it

In the week before Christmas when the last box has gone, in the new year when the charity sends word that the presents arrived, or at the annual meeting are natural moments. A line in the notices or parish magazine, a card passed round after the service, or a word at the church council meeting is often enough.

Photos that work well

Please never photograph the families or children who receive gifts, and keep names and details off camera. Photos of the tree and the parcels work well:

• the giving tree at the back of church, every branch hung with paper tags
• a heap of wrapped presents under the tree, tags taped on top
• the boxes in the church hall, sorted and labelled, ready to go
• the empty tree on the last Sunday, every tag gone
• a car boot packed with parcels outside the church gate
• the hand-lettered notice by the font, "Take a tag, give a gift"

If you'd like a photo of the team, take it beside the finished pile of presents, ask everyone first, and keep it to the people who said yes.

Choosing a piece count

Wrapping paper is colourful and busy, which makes a good puzzle. 80 pieces suits the pile of presents; 130 works for a wide shot of the tree in church.

Note examples

• "Two hundred tags, and every one came back as a present. Thank you."
• "You wrapped the ones nobody took. Thank you."
• "Somewhere a child opened an art set on Christmas morning because of you. Thank you."
• "The tree was bare by the third Sunday. That was your work. Thank you."
• "Same tree, same tags, next Advent? Thank you."

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. The recipient doesn't need an account or an app; they open the link and your note appears when the last piece goes in. Some people would rather put the money towards one more gift for the tree, and that's a good thank-you too. If a card is enough, it is.

Ideas that are not a puzzle

• a named thank-you in the notices or parish magazine
• a card signed by the clergy and the churchwardens
• a few rolls of wrapping paper and tape set aside for next year
• mince pies and tea in the hall while the boxes are packed
• adding more names to the team so the wrapping is not left to one kitchen table
• asking the team what would make next Advent easier, and sorting it

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 the tree hung with tags, the pile of wrapped presents or the bare tree on the last Sunday, 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, safeguarding, data protection, charity law, privacy, photography permission or gift policy advice.