A thank-you for your church New Year's Eve watchnight service team: candles lit at a quarter to midnight and the bell rung at twelve, 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, charity or community organisation.

While most of the town is at a party or asleep in front of the television, some churches keep the old watchnight: a quiet service that starts late on New Year's Eve and carries everyone across midnight in candlelight. It only works because a small team gives up their own evening. They unlock in the dark, put the heating on early, set out candles and hymn books, ring the bell at twelve, and then stay behind to blow everything out and lock up at one in the morning. 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 watchnight team actually does

Every church does it differently, but the evening often includes:

• unlocking at ten and switching the heating on so the building is bearable by eleven
• setting out candles, drip guards and matches along the pews and the windowsills
• putting out service sheets and a box of spare reading glasses
• welcoming people who have walked over from parties, still in their coats and scarves
• keeping an eye on the clock so the prayers land just before midnight
• ringing the bell, or counting down, as the year turns
• handing round a hot drink or a slice of cake in the porch afterwards
• snuffing candles, scraping wax off the pews and locking up long after midnight

Why it's worth saying

A watchnight is small and easy to overlook, and the people who make it happen usually go home to bed without anyone saying much. Many who come say it is the gentlest way to start a new year, especially after a hard one. A note that names something specific, such as the candles flickering at a quarter to twelve, or the warm porch at ten past, tells the team their late night mattered.

When to say it

The first week of January is ideal, while the wax is still on the pews and everyone remembers the bell. A word at the door on the first Sunday of the year is lovely; a card or message a little later lands just as well.

What makes a good photo

• rows of lit candles in the dark nave, a few minutes before midnight
• the church clock or the vestry clock showing five to twelve
• the bell rope hanging in the tower, ready to be pulled
• frost on the churchyard path under the porch lamp
• a tray of paper cups and a flask on the porch table
• snuffed candles and a scatter of matches on a windowsill at one in the morning

Follow your church's photo policy and keep faces out of the frame unless people have agreed. A photo of the candles, the clock or the porch usually tells the story better than a group shot, and it keeps the quiet of the service intact.

Choosing a piece count

Dark photos with points of candlelight are lovely but harder to piece together, so 48 or 80 pieces is often the kindest choice.

Note examples

• "Thank you for giving up your New Year's Eve so we could start the year in candlelight."
• "The bell at midnight was the best sound of the whole holiday."
• "Thank you for the hot chocolate in the porch. It was perfect."
• "I know you were still scraping wax at one in the morning. Thank you."
• "Happy new year, and thank you for keeping the watch with us."

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 people who came, left in the vestry
• naming the team in the January newsletter or the notices
• a box of good candles or drip guards for next year
• offering to stay behind and help with the wax and the locking up
• a lift home for anyone on the team without a car at one in the morning
• asking the team what would make the evening easier, and sorting it

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, choose the candlelit nave, the clock at five to twelve or the frosty porch, pick a piece count and write your note. You can make one here.

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