About Christmas words
Christmas is celebrated on 25 December in most countries, and on 7 January by many Orthodox churches. Over centuries it has gathered traditions from many places: evergreen trees and wreaths, carol singing, stockings by the fire and treats like gingerbread and candy canes.
Many of the season's words have stories of their own. Some come from very old languages, and others name plants and customs that travelled from one country to another. Each word in these scrambles is explained below, so a quick puzzle can turn into a conversation.
Did you know?
The word Christmas comes from the Old English Cristes mæsse, meaning "Christ's Mass".
In "Xmas", the X stands for the Greek letter chi, the first letter of the Greek word for Christ.
The word carol first meant a ring dance with singing. Over time it came to mean a joyful song, especially one sung at Christmas.
Only female holly plants grow the bright red berries. Male plants have flowers but no berries.
Ginger, the spice in gingerbread, comes from the underground stem of a tropical plant.
Words in this puzzle 31
Festive 20 20 words
- candy cane
- A hard, striped sweet, usually peppermint, shaped like a walking stick.
- carols
- Joyful songs sung at Christmas, often in groups.
- chimney
- A tall pipe that carries smoke up from a fireplace. In the story, Santa comes down it.
- cocoa
- A hot drink made with chocolate powder and milk. Cocoa also means the powder made from cacao beans.
- elf
- A small magical helper. In the Christmas story, elves make toys in Santa's workshop.
- gingerbread
- A sweet, spiced biscuit or cake flavoured with ginger, often shaped into people or houses.
- holly
- An evergreen shrub with glossy, spiky leaves and red berries.
- lights
- Strings of small bulbs used to decorate trees and houses.
- mistletoe
- An evergreen plant with white berries that grows on trees. People traditionally kiss beneath it at Christmas.
- nutcracker
- A tool for cracking nuts. Decorative ones are often carved to look like soldiers.
- ornament
- A decoration, especially one hung on a Christmas tree.
- poinsettia
- A plant from Mexico whose bright red top leaves look like flowers. Popular at Christmas.
- presents
- Gifts given to someone.
- reindeer
- A deer of the Arctic with large antlers. In the Christmas story, reindeer pull Santa's sleigh.
- sleigh
- A large sled pulled over snow by animals.
- snowflake
- A single ice crystal, or a few stuck together, falling as snow.
- snowman
- A figure made of rolled balls of snow, often with a carrot nose and a scarf.
- stocking
- A long sock hung up on Christmas Eve to be filled with small presents.
- tinsel
- Thin, shiny strips of metallic material used to decorate the tree.
- wreath
- A ring of leaves, branches or flowers, often hung on a front door at Christmas.
Little elves list 11 words
- bell
- A hollow metal object that rings when it is struck or shaken.
- bow
- A decorative knot of ribbon tied on top of a present.
- card
- A folded piece of stiff paper with a picture and a message, sent to friends and family.
- gift
- Something given to someone, like a present.
- joy
- A feeling of great happiness.
- sled
- A small vehicle with runners for sliding over snow. Also called a sledge.
- snow
- Soft, white flakes of frozen water that fall from the sky in cold weather.
- sock
- A soft covering for your foot. A big one is hung up on Christmas Eve.
- star
- A shining point of light in the night sky, and a decoration often placed on top of the tree.
- toys
- Things children play with.
- tree
- A tall plant with a trunk and branches. At Christmas, an evergreen tree is decorated indoors.
Unscramble the season
A word scramble is a quick, satisfying puzzle: rearrange the jumbled letters to find a word. This Christmas version comes with an original 20-word list (gingerbread, poinsettia, nutcracker and more) and a short clue for each, so children use meaning as well as spelling to crack every word.
The Little elves sample swaps in 12 short words like star, bell and sock for younger readers. Press Re-scramble and the letters, and the order of the words, change, so a whole class can have different sheets with the same answers.
Easier or harder
- Letter boxes show how many letters each answer has. Turn them off for older children.
- Clues make it a vocabulary task; hide them for a pure spelling challenge.
- A word bank turns it into a matching activity for early readers.
- Add your own words: class names, a holiday story's vocabulary or family traditions.
Printing
Print the worksheet and the answer key as separate jobs on Letter or A4. The ready-made Medium and Hard PDFs just below are good for when you need something in a hurry. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Questions people ask
Is there an easy Christmas word scramble for young children?
Yes. The Little elves sample has 12 short words, such as star, bell and sock, each with a simple clue. Keep letter boxes on so children can see how long each word is.
Can I make a different version for each student?
Yes. Press Re-scramble before each print. The letters and the order of the words change, and each version prints its own answer key.
Can I add my own Christmas words?
Yes. Type one word per line, adding a clue after a vertical bar if you like, for example "sleigh | Sled pulled by reindeer".
Does it include an answer key?
Yes. The answer key prints separately and lists every scrambled word next to its answer.
What is in the Medium and Hard PDFs?
Both use all 20 festive words. Medium has clues and letter boxes that show each word's length. Hard keeps the clues but swaps the boxes for plain lines, so you don't know how long the answer is. Each PDF ends with an answer key.