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 parish council, parochial church council, diocese, church, chapel, printer, publisher, charity or community organisation.
It's the last Wednesday of the month and the deadline was yesterday. Ruth has the laptop open on the kitchen table, a mug of coffee going cold beside it, and a folder of bits and pieces that people have handed her after the service: the vicar's letter, the rota for flowers and readers, a recipe for the harvest supper, a photo of the new boiler, a scribbled note about the lost umbrella, and the list of dates for Advent. Two people have emailed their pieces; one has posted a handwritten page through her door. She types it all up, fits it round a crossword and a clip-art candle, and checks every name twice because somebody always minds.
On Friday she prints it in the church office, if the photocopier behaves, or at the library if it doesn't. Then comes the folding, usually with a helper and the radio on, and the stapling, and the counting into bundles: a pile for the back of the church, a pile for the post office and the village shop, a few for the care home, and a handful with names written on the front for the people who can't get out and have them delivered by a neighbour. On Sunday the stack by the door has gone by lunchtime. If you'd like to thank the person who puts your parish newsletter together every month, this is a guide to doing it simply and well, with an honest look at whether a photo puzzle is a good idea.
Who we mean
Every parish does this differently. The person we mean might:
- collect articles, notices, rotas and dates from half the congregation
- chase the people who promised a piece and haven't sent it
- type up handwritten pages and fix the spelling without anyone noticing
- lay it all out so it fits on four sides, with the vicar's letter on page one
- print, fold, staple and count the copies
- make sure copies reach the shop, the care home and the housebound
- send the email version to those who prefer it
- keep the back issues in a box file because someone always asks
Why a thank-you matters here
A parish newsletter is often the only way some people hear what's going on: the housebound, the people who come at Christmas and Easter, the newcomers who aren't on any list yet. It holds a small community together on paper. The editor does it unpaid, to a deadline, every month, and mostly hears about it when a date is wrong.
A little honest background
You don't need to be a writer to say thank you. "Mum reads it cover to cover the day it arrives" is plenty. If you'd like to help, ask what would actually be useful, such as writing a short piece, helping with the folding or delivering a few copies on your street, rather than suggesting a redesign.
A thank-you gift is personal and separate from church funds. Keep it small; it should never feel like payment. If the newsletter relies on donations towards printing, a contribution in the editor's honour is often welcome.
What makes a good photo
- the folded copies stacked by the church door on a Sunday morning
- the stapler, the proof pages and a red pen on the kitchen table
- the bundles tied with string, ready for the shop and the care home
- the front cover with its hand-drawn picture or seasonal clip art
- the box file of back issues going back years
- a copy on a doormat, just delivered
A few practical points:
- Keep faces out of it unless people have happily agreed. Paper, pens and stacked copies make lovely puzzle photos anyway.
- Leave names, phone numbers, addresses and anything private out of the shot; newsletters often print them, so photograph the cover or a folded stack rather than an open page.
- Close-ups make better puzzles than wide shots. Coloured paper and printed headings give every piece something to hold on to.
- Take the photo near a window, with the flash off, so the paper doesn't glare.
- Choose a photo the editor will recognise straight away as theirs.
Picking a piece count
| Pieces | Good for |
|---|---|
| 24 | a quick, cheerful puzzle on a phone, or for someone who doesn't usually do puzzles |
| 48 | a relaxed ten minutes with a cup of tea after the folding is done |
| 80 | a good evening's puzzle for someone who likes a challenge |
| 130 | a detailed photo, like a cover full of small print and pictures |
| 252 | a real project, best on a tablet or computer, for a long winter evening |
If you're not sure, 48 is a safe choice for most people.
When and how to send it
Good moments include the hundredth issue, the Christmas edition, the annual parish meeting, the editor's birthday, or when they finally hand the job on after years. Make the puzzle, write the note, publish the link, and send it by email or message, or print the link as a QR code inside a card. The recipient doesn't need an account or an app, and the note appears when the last piece clicks into place. If they don't use a smartphone, a handwritten card is perfect on its own.
Note examples
- "Ruth, thank you for every issue, every deadline and every name you checked twice."
- "Thank you for the newsletter. Dad reads it cover to cover the day it comes."
- "To our editor: thank you for keeping us all in the loop, one staple at a time."
- "Thank you for typing up my scrawl and making it look like I can write."
- "Thank you for making sure the care home always gets its copies."
- "Thank you for ten years of the newsletter, and the crossword."
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 nothing arrives in the post. If a card and a few sentences feel like enough, they are.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
- a card left in the editor's pigeonhole or through their door
- a short article for the next issue, sent on time
- an offer to fold, staple or deliver copies on your street
- a contribution towards the printing costs
- a good stapler or a box of nice pens
- a drawing from your child for the front cover
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 stack by the door, the proofs on the kitchen table or the bundles tied with string, pick a piece count that suits them, and write the note in your own words. You can preview it free here.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who makes sure a whole parish knows what's happening, one folded copy at a time.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, religious, publishing, copyright, data protection, photography permission or gift policy advice.