A thank-you for your Movember Mo Bro or Mo Sista: the moustache photo 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 the Movember Foundation, any men's health charity, cancer charity, mental health organisation, employer, school, sports club or barber. The Movember name, the moustache logo and the official campaign branding belong to the Movember Foundation. Nothing here is medical, mental health, fundraising or privacy advice. If you're worried about your own health, talk to a doctor; if you or someone you know is in crisis, contact your local emergency number or a crisis line straight away.

Every November, a lot of otherwise sensible people stop shaving. The colleague who has never had a hair out of place turns up on the first Monday with stubble. Your dad sends a blurry photo to the family chat every few days, asking whether it's "coming along". A friend who hasn't run since school announces that she's walking or running a set distance every day of the month. A five-a-side team, an office, a student society or a group of old school friends sets up a team page and starts badgering everyone they know for a few pounds, dollars or euros.

That's Movember: a month of moustaches, miles and awkward conversations, raising money and attention for men's health, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. The people who take part are usually called Mo Bros and Mo Sistas. Some of them do it for fun. Some do it because of a diagnosis in the family. Some do it for a friend who isn't here any more. And quite a few of them end up doing something that's harder than growing a moustache: talking openly about their own health so that someone else feels able to do the same.

This post is about thanking them. Most of the ideas below have nothing to do with our product. One of them is ours: turning a photo, very often the moustache photo, into a private digital jigsaw that ends with your note. We'll be honest about where it fits, and where a donation, a message or simply a pint and a proper conversation is the better choice.

If you want to thank a doctor, nurse or counsellor who looked after someone in your family, that deserves its own thank-you and a different kind of note. The focus here is on the people who fundraise, organise and turn up every November.

Who we mean by Mo Bros and Mo Sistas

The campaign has grown well beyond moustaches, and people take part in lots of different ways. Here's who we have in mind:

• The moustache grower. The person who shaves on the last day of October and lets nature take its course for thirty days, whatever their colleagues say.
• The mover. Someone who commits to walking, running, cycling or swimming a set distance across the month, often in the dark and the rain.
• The organiser or team captain. The person who set up the workplace, club or society team, chased the sign-ups, made the spreadsheet and kept everyone going.
• The Mo Sista. The partner, friend, colleague or daughter who fundraises, moves, hosts an event or does her own challenge, and often does most of the organising too.
• The host. The person who ran the quiz night, the bake sale, the moustache party or the end-of-month get-together.
• The family member doing it for someone. A son, brother, grandson or friend fundraising because of a diagnosis, a recovery or a loss.
• The teacher, coach or youth leader who got a staff room, a sports club or a sixth form involved, and turned it into a good-natured conversation about looking after yourself.
• The barber or local business that hosted a shave-off, a trim-up or a collection point and let people talk while they waited.
• The person who spoke up. The friend who used their fundraising page or a team chat to say, honestly, that they'd been struggling or that they'd had a check-up that mattered.

Donors are wonderful too, but this is about the people who did the work. Doctors, nurses, researchers and paid charity staff deserve their own thank-you, and they have their own ways of receiving one.

Words first

Before anything else, write the sentence. Fundraisers hear "well done" a lot. What stays with them is a specific detail that shows you noticed:

• "You stood up in the team meeting and said why you were doing it. Nobody had ever heard you talk like that."
• "I booked my check-up because of your page."
• "The kids looked forward to your moustache photo every Friday."
• "You ran in the dark every single night of November, and I know how much you hate the cold."

A single real sentence like that is worth more than any gift. If you decide to make a puzzle as well, that sentence is what goes at the end of it.

Who it suits

A photo jigsaw with a note can work well for:

1. A dad, grandad, uncle or brother who did it for the first time, especially if the family is spread out and followed the moustache through the group chat.
2. A colleague or team captain, from the team, to mark the final total.
3. A friend who fundraised in memory of someone, where you want to thank them quietly and privately rather than in a public comment.
4. A Mo Sista who did the organising and rarely gets thanked for it.
5. A teacher or coach who involved a class, club or team, sent through the school or the club with permission.
6. Someone who's far away this year and can't come to the end-of-month party.

It's probably not the right gift for someone who found the month hard for reasons they'd rather not revisit, or for someone who'd much prefer that you just donated. In those cases, words and a donation are enough.

Gift rules and good timing

A few simple rules keep a thank-you kind rather than awkward:

• Donate first, if you can. For most fundraisers, the most meaningful thanks is a donation to their page, however small. A gift is a nice extra, never a substitute.
• Never ask for anything back. Don't attach the puzzle to a request for money, sponsorship or a share. It's a thank-you, not a campaign.
• Be kind about the moustache. Gentle teasing is part of the fun for many people, but a private thank-you is not the place for it. Some people grow moustaches that look great; some don't; everybody had a go.
• Never copy the logo or campaign branding. Use your own photo and your own words. Don't make anything that looks like official campaign material.
• Keep work gifts small and optional. In a workplace, a team thank-you from everyone is better than individual pressure. Nobody should feel they had to chip in.
• Go gently with in-memory fundraising. If someone took part because of a loss, let them lead. A short, warm note is better than anything elaborate.
• Respect privacy about health. If someone shared something personal on their page, don't repeat it in a group puzzle or a public message. Keep it between you.

As for timing, there's no wrong moment, but some work especially well:

• The first days of December, after the shave-off, when the final total is in and the face looks strangely bare.
• International Men's Day on 19 November, as encouragement in the hardest middle stretch of the month.
• The end-of-month get-together, if there is one, or for anyone who couldn't make it.
• When the team total is announced or a milestone is passed.
• When someone retires from organising the office team after years of doing it.
• Any time at all for someone fundraising in memory of a person they've lost.

If you're reading this in October, it's also not too early to sort out a "before" photo. A clean-shaven picture on 1 November and a full moustache on 30 November make a lovely pair.

Why a jigsaw can fit

A moustache is grown one day at a time; a fundraising total is built from lots of small donations; a month of movement is made of individual walks and runs. A jigsaw is the same idea in miniature: a picture assembled piece by piece, with the note appearing only when the last piece clicks into place.

It also suits the playful side of the month. Watching a moustache come together on screen, one piece of top lip at a time, tends to make people laugh. And for someone who did it for a serious reason, finishing the puzzle and finding a private note written just for them can be a quiet moment that a card in a busy office can't quite give.

It isn't a grand gift. It's small and personal, and it takes a minute or so to set up once you have the photo and the words.

For workplaces, clubs and teams

If you're thanking a team, a few things help. Use a photo the whole team is happy with, ideally the end-of-month group shot. Ask the captain or organiser before you send anything to everyone. If the team includes people who joined for personal reasons, make sure the note celebrates everyone without singling anyone out. And if your company matched donations, a line about the total in the note is a nice touch.

For a sports club or student society, sending the link through the club secretary or the society's committee keeps it simple and makes sure it reaches people who actually want it.

For families and children

Children are often the moustache's biggest fans and harshest critics. If they want to help thank Dad, Grandad or an uncle, let them choose the photo and dictate the note. A 24 or 48 piece puzzle lets them feel proud that "their" puzzle is quick to finish. A child's note, typed exactly as they said it, is usually the best part.

If you're thanking a grandparent who took part from far away, a jigsaw solved on a video call, with everybody shouting advice at the screen, is a nice way to share the moment.

Photo consent and choosing the picture

Good options include:

• The moustache at its finest, ideally in good daylight.
• A before-and-after pair, combined into one image if you like.
• The team photo at the end-of-month gathering.
• A landscape from the person's daily walk or run, for a mover.
• A photo of the shave-off moment, with the person's agreement.
• For in-memory fundraising, a place that mattered rather than a face, unless the family has said a face is welcome.

A few rules of thumb:

• Ask before using someone's face, especially a "before" photo they might not love.
• Don't include other people without their consent, particularly children who aren't yours, colleagues who didn't take part, or anyone at a health appointment.
• Avoid anything medical. No hospital rooms, appointment letters, test results or anything that might reveal someone's health.
• Crop out personal details: fundraising page screenshots with names and amounts, work badges, house numbers, car plates and screens.
• Don't use the campaign logo or official branding as the image.

Getting a good JPG

Moustaches are surprisingly hard to photograph well. A few tips:

• Use natural daylight near a window rather than an overhead office light or a flash, which flattens the detail.
• Get close enough that the moustache isn't just a dark smudge. Faces need more pieces to read clearly; for a close-up, 80 or 130 pieces works better than 24.
• Avoid strong filters. They can turn whiskers into one blur once the image is cut into pieces.
• For a team shot, make sure faces are reasonably large in the frame and nobody's eyes are closed.
• For a mover, a wide view of a familiar route at sunrise or sunset gives lots of interesting pieces.
• Save it as a JPG at a decent size, ideally straight from the phone rather than from a messaging app that compresses it.

Privacy, an optional PIN, and saying it's from you

The puzzle sits behind a private link, so only people you send it to can open it. If you want an extra layer, add a short PIN and share it separately, by text or in a card.

Because fundraising season also brings scam messages, tell the person clearly that the link is from you before they open it. A one-line message helps: "This is a thank-you puzzle from the whole accounts team, for growing that moustache. It's from us, not a donation request. The PIN is in the card." If you're sending it to someone you don't know well, pass it through the team captain or club secretary so they can see it's genuine.

How many pieces?

Times vary with the photo. For a thank-you, finishing beats difficulty; 48 or 80 is a gentle middle. For a close-up of a face, more pieces make the features easier to recognise. For older relatives new to puzzles on a screen, 24 or 48 on a tablet is often the kindest choice.

The leaderboard: only for a team

If you're thanking a whole team, you can turn on the leaderboard so everyone solves the same end-of-month photo. Ask the captain first; some teams would rather keep things simple. Keep it light and optional, never a contest that singles anyone out. For one person, leave the leaderboard off. For in-memory fundraising, a single private puzzle is usually the gentler choice.

A few note ideas

The note appears when the last piece goes in, so keep it short and warm:

• "Thirty days, one questionable moustache and a total none of us expected. Thank you, Dad."
• "You organised the whole office team and never once mentioned how much work it was. We noticed. Thank you."
• "I booked my check-up because of you. That's the real total. Thanks, mate."
• "Every dark November run, for Grandad. He'd have been so proud. Love you."
• "From the kids: your moustache was tickly and silly and we're glad it's gone. Well done!"
• "Same time next year, captain? From the whole five-a-side team."

How to make one (about a minute of setup)

1. Open Puzzlify's puzzle maker in a browser: https://puzzlify.app/en/puzzle-maker/
2. Upload the photo (JPG works best).
3. Choose a piece count for how much time they might have and how clear the photo needs to be.
4. Add your thank-you note and, if you like, a PIN and a leaderboard (for a team only).
5. Preview for free. When you're happy, publish the link with one credit and send it with a message, a card, or through the team captain.

Honest pricing and notes

The preview is free, so you can see exactly what the puzzle looks like before paying anything. You only pay when you publish the link: one credit is €3.99, three credits are €8.99, and Plus is €14.99 a year for ten credits. If you're thanking several people (the grower, the captain and the Mo Sista who did the spreadsheet, say), three credits works out cheaper per puzzle; for one thank-you, one credit is enough. If you'd rather put that €3.99 straight onto their fundraising page, that's a perfectly good choice too, and we mean it. If you'd like to see it first, the free preview is here: https://puzzlify.app/en/puzzle-maker/

The person who receives the link doesn't need an account, an app or a printer. It opens in a normal web browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Photos are not used to train AI and are not shared with third parties.

This is a digital jigsaw you play on a screen. It isn't a cardboard puzzle in the post, a printed product or a public puzzle board, and it isn't connected to any campaign or charity. It's also not puzzlify.io (a chess site), Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify, which are different things with similar names. A message in your own words is often what people remember, so the puzzle works best alongside one rather than instead of one.

Keep the gift small and separate from the fundraising itself. Never present a personal gift as if it were part of the campaign, and never use the campaign's logo or branding in anything you make.

Other ways to say thank you (no Puzzlify needed)

1. A donation to their fundraising page, with a comment that says one specific thing you noticed. For most Mo Bros and Mo Sistas, that's the thank-you that matters most.
2. Booking the health check-up you've been putting off, and telling them they're the reason. Many fundraisers say that's the best outcome of all.
3. Joining them next year: growing, moving, hosting or helping organise the team. Another pair of hands is always welcome.
4. A shout-out in the staff newsletter, the club bulletin or the team chat, naming the people who took part (with their permission) and the total.
5. Buying the first round, putting the kettle on, or going for a walk together after the shave-off, and asking how the month actually went for them.
6. For someone who fundraised in memory of a person they lost: a handwritten card that mentions that person by name. It's often the thing they keep.

Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who spent a month looking a bit ridiculous so that someone else might look after their health.

Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Not affiliated with the Movember Foundation, any men's health, cancer or mental health charity, employer, school, sports club or barber; the Movember name, moustache logo and campaign branding belong to the Movember Foundation. Not medical, mental health, fundraising or privacy advice. If you're worried about your health, talk to a doctor; in a crisis, contact your local emergency number or a crisis line.