Christmas Eve Jigsaw Puzzle

Christmas Eve at every size

Par is the time your score is measured against at that size. The rest is measured from the picture itself: how many pieces have a near-twin by colour once it is cut.

What the picture shows

A market-town high street at night after snow. Lit shopfronts with wreaths and garlands line the left, with a small Christmas tree in white lights on the pavement in front of them. A woman in a grey bobble hat walks toward you with shopping bags, and a couple follow behind her. A dark car buried in snow is parked in the middle of the frame, with more snowy cars beyond it. Headlights come up the wet road on the right, a bare tree wrapped in lights stands in the distance, and a square church tower with a clock rises against the navy sky at the top right.

Solving Christmas Eve

At 50 pieces about 7 pieces in 10 already have a near-twin, in the harder half of the Christmas set: window light, snow and wet paving share one range of gold and grey. The count eases a little at 100 pieces, then reaches about 9 in 10 at 200. At 1000 pieces nearly every piece has one, and about 1 in 6 is plain, mostly sky and the snow on car roofs.

Start with the snow-covered car in the middle, then the cars beyond it. Place the church tower and its clock at the top right. Build the woman in the bobble hat, the couple and the small lit tree, then the shopfronts by their wreaths. Fill the road by its headlights and reflections, and finish with the slush and the sky.

Christmas Eve is one of the harder Christmas boards at every size but 100, where it sits in the easier half. At 500 pieces only Winter Cabin has more look-alikes, and at 1000 it is second only to the cabin.

More christmas jigsaw puzzles

• Christmas MarketWooden Christmas market stalls and a carousel in a square of half-timbered houses at dusk.
• Gingerbread HouseA gingerbread house iced and covered in gumdrops on a floury kitchen table at Christmas.
• Tree OrnamentsGlass baubles, wooden toys and felt ornaments hung close on a real Christmas tree.
• Christmas CookiesIced Christmas cookies in stars, trees, bells and snowmen on a baking tray and a cooling rack.
• Snowy CottageA stone cottage with a red door and a holly wreath in an English village after snow.
• Toy Shop WindowAn old toy shop window at Christmas, with a train, teddy bears, a dolls' house and toy soldiers.
• Town Ice RinkSkaters lacing boots and circling a lit Christmas tree on an outdoor rink in an old town square.
• Reindeer FarmFour reindeer eating hay from a wooden trough by a red barn on a snowy farm.
• Cardinal in the HollyA red cardinal perched in a snowy holly bush, with a wooden bird feeder behind.
• Winter CabinA red Swedish cabin with white window frames among snowy pines, with a snowmobile and a sled outside.
• Christmas DinnerA Christmas dinner table with a carved turkey, crackers, candles and paper crowns.
• Snowman in the GardenA lopsided snowman in a striped scarf and bobble hat in a back garden after snow.
• Christmas Tree FarmA family pulling a cut Christmas tree on a cart past rows of firs on a snowy farm.
• Presents Under the TreeWrapped presents, a sleeping cat and a toy train under the Christmas tree by the fire.
• Nutcracker MantelPainted wooden nutcrackers, candles and a clock on a Christmas mantelpiece above knitted stockings.