Happy Holidays! (Falcon Edition – Limited + Exclusive Edition) – 60396 – Number 2 (of 12) – 1000 pieces – Original – rare puzzle

This is a rare puzzle.

Figure 1
Figure 2
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Figure 7
Name PuzzleHappy Holidays
Price€8 - €10 (Estimate)
Number of Pieces1000 Pieces
Number60396
Year of IssueUnknown
Issue byFalcon
draftsman Graham Thompson
Description

Happy Holidays – Falcon Puzzle Club issue number 2

This puzzle is special. Not just any Falcon deluxe puzzle, but number 2 of the Falcon Puzzle Club – an exclusive series that was never available in regular stores.

What exactly is Falcon de luxe?

Falcon de Luxe is a British puzzle brand with a long history. The brand was founded in 1976 by Harry Jondorf and Peter Adby and quickly grew into a respected puzzle brand in the United Kingdom. In 1996, Falcon was acquired by the Dutch company Hausemann & Hötte, which later continued as Jumbo. The Falcon de Luxe premium series was first introduced in the 1970s and is recognizable by the distinctive blue cardboard on the back of the pieces and the unique printing and cutting techniques. Jumbo and Falcon are therefore the same company – Falcon is the British branch, specifically aimed at the English-speaking market. Falcon de Luxe is owned by the Dutch puzzle company Jumbo and specializes in nostalgic and atmospheric images with a typical British touch. Consequently, the box always bears the name Falcon – but behind the scenes, it is simply Jumbo quality.

The Falcon Puzzle Club

At a certain point, Falcon launched an exclusive subscription: the Falcon Puzzle Club. Members received special Limited Edition puzzles by mail that were not available in stores anywhere. Each issue had its own club number – from No. 1 to No. 12. The print run per issue was strictly limited to 1000 copies worldwide, which automatically makes these puzzles rare.
Happy Holidays is club number 2 – the second puzzle Falcon released through this club, immediately after the iconic Sunday Driver. That makes it extra special for collectors who want the complete series.

The illustration

The drawing is by Graham Thompson, one of the regular illustrators for Falcon de luxe. Thompson was known for his busy, humorous British scenes – full of recognizable characters, funny details, and a distinctly British sense of humor. On Happy Holidays, you see a group of "Cheepo Air" holidaymakers at a busy airport, ready for departure, with the Air Splendide 747 in the background. As always with Thompson: the longer you look, the more you see. Notably, the same illustration was later also released as a regular Falcon puzzle – simply available in stores. The Puzzle Club version (60396) is the original, exclusive first edition, making it the rarer of the two.

Why rare?

This puzzle is difficult to find for several reasons. It was never sold through normal retail channels. The print run was strictly limited to 1000 copies worldwide. And because it was the club's second release—directly after the very first—it is particularly sought after by collectors of Falcon puzzles. Anyone who comes across it is lucky.

The link with Wasgij

The illustration on Happy Holidays is not just any drawing by Graham Thompson. The image on the box actually comes from Wasgij Original number 2, also titled Happy Holidays.
With a Wasgij, you don't lay out what you see on the box, but rather what the characters on the box see. The box image is therefore the "trigger"—the puzzle itself shows the reaction or consequence. The name Wasgij is simply "jigsaw" spelled backwards. The Falcon Puzzle Club took that box image from Wasgij Original 2 and released it as a regular jigsaw puzzle—without the Wasgij concept, but with the same drawing by Graham Thompson. Thus, with the Falcon Club version, you simply laid out the scene you see on the box, whereas the Wasgij version has you guess what the characters in that same scene see. That makes Happy Holidays (60396) extra special: it is the second Falcon Puzzle Club release and is based on one of the earliest Wasgij Original puzzles ever released. Two historical milestones in one puzzle box.

The complete Falcon Puzzle Club series (NO.1 to NO.12)

The Falcon Puzzle Club consisted of 12 exclusive editions. Each club number is separate from the item number on the box – that 60277 or 10710 is simply the internal Falcon item number, just as every product has its own number. The club number (NO.1 through NO.12) is NOT listed separately on the box and indicates which edition in the series it was.

A striking detail: most Falcon Puzzle Club editions are based on box images from Wasgij Original puzzles. Falcon used the illustration from the Wasgij box as a regular jigsaw puzzle—the same drawing, but without the Wasgij concept. This also explains why Graham Thompson is so dominant in this series: he was the regular illustrator of the early Wasgij puzzles.

This is what is known so far:


NumberBox numberNamedraftsmanBased onType
1 60227 Sunday DriverGraham ThompsonWasgij Original 1Limited Edition + Exclusive
2 60396 Happy Holidays!Graham ThompsonWasgij Original 2Limited Edition + Exclusive
3 80611 Full Monty FeverGraham ThompsonWasgij Original 3Limited Edition + Exclusive
4 60545 A Day to Remember!Graham ThompsonWasgij Original 4Exclusive
5 10710 Late Booking!Graham ThompsonWasgij Original 5Limited Edition + Exclusive
6 10728 Blooming Marvelous!Graham ThompsonWasgij Original 6Limited Edition + Exclusive
7Bear NecessitiesGraham ThompsonWasgij Original 7Limited Edition

Certificate of Authenticity – proof of rarity

The Falcon Puzzle Club editions always included an official certificate from Falcon: a Certificate of AuthenticityThis document confirms the exclusivity and limited edition of each issue. The certificate accompanying Sunday Driver (NO.1) explicitly states that the print run is exactly 1000 copies amounts to - worldwide. It is likely that all editions in this series had the same limited print run. If your copy of Happy Holidays still contains the original certificate, that makes the puzzle even more valuable as a collector's item.
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