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Crosswords and word scramblesChristmas

Christmas word scramble

Fourteen scrambled Christmas words with a short hint under each one. It suits holiday spelling practice, party tables and car rides in December.

By Paul Gunder. Free to print for home, classroom and office use; see how our printables are made.

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Christmas Word Scramble2 pages, answer key from page 2 · US Letter

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NameDateScoreChristmas Word ScrambleUnscramble the letters to make a word. The hint under each one helps. Write the word on the line.1.T N S A AJolly gift giver in red2.T I E S L NShiny strands draped on a tree3.R T E EEvergreen decorated with lights4.F K O S A L N E WUnique frozen crystal falling from clouds5.G C I N K T O SSock hung by the fireplace6.N A C ERed and white striped hook of candy7.Y O H L LPrickly green plant with red berries8.N S O WFrozen white flakes falling9.C D N A L EWax stick with a flame10.H E R O O T L P NArctic home of Santa11.L F R C E E I P AHearth where stockings hang12.W H R A E TCircle of greenery on a door13.T A N N M E O RDecoration hung on a tree14.R M G E N AFeeding trough in a nativity scenePrintablePal.com · free printable puzzlesChristmas Word Scramble
Worksheet, page 1
Christmas Word Scramble: answer key1.T N S A AJolly gift giver in redSANTA2.T I E S L NShiny strands draped on a treeTINSEL3.R T E EEvergreen decorated with lightsTREE4.F K O S A L N E WUnique frozen crystal falling from cloudsSNOWFLAKE5.G C I N K T O SSock hung by the fireplaceSTOCKING6.N A C ERed and white striped hook of candyCANE7.Y O H L LPrickly green plant with red berriesHOLLY8.N S O WFrozen white flakes fallingSNOW9.C D N A L EWax stick with a flameCANDLE10.H E R O O T L P NArctic home of SantaNORTHPOLE11.L F R C E E I P AHearth where stockings hangFIREPLACE12.W H R A E TCircle of greenery on a doorWREATH13.T A N N M E O RDecoration hung on a treeORNAMENT14.R M G E N AFeeding trough in a nativity sceneMANGERPrintablePal.com · free printable puzzlesAnswer key
Answer key, page 1

On this page

The letters are jumbled, the hint is short, and the answer is a word children already hear all month. This page prints a Christmas scramble that needs only a pencil.

What prints

The page title reads "Christmas Word Scramble." The instruction line says to unscramble the letters to make a word, that the hint under each one helps, and to write the word on the line. Fourteen numbered items fill two columns. Each shows the letters in bold with a space between them, a grey hint beneath such as "Jingling metal ringer," and a writing line. With the word bank turned on, the answers appear in alphabetical order at the top of the page.

Page two holds the key: every answer appears in bold color on its own line. No name or date line is printed.

The settings

  • Title (optional): your own heading instead of the default, 40 characters maximum.
  • Theme: set to Christmas. Any of the other 29 themes, or your own words, can be chosen instead.
  • Number of words: 6 to 20 items, preset to 14. The generator picks words of four to ten letters from the Christmas list, so very short words like ELF and long ones like GINGERBREAD do not appear.
  • Show the clue as a hint: on by default. Turn it off for a harder version.
  • Word bank: off by default.

Which words appear

You will see words such as SANTA, CAROL, HOLLY, ANGEL, REINDEER, PRESENT, STOCKING, WREATH, TINSEL, SLEIGH, CHIMNEY, ORNAMENT, SNOWMAN and COOKIES, drawn at random. Because the pool has about two dozen eligible words, a 14-word sheet uses over half of them, and pressing New puzzle reshuffles both the selection and the scrambles. A word is never printed in its original order.

Worked example: a December homework break

Jon's mother prints a scramble for her nine-year-old on the last Friday before break. She keeps the defaults, with 14 words and the hint on, and writes her own title, "Jon's Holiday Challenge". Item 3 shows "N I S T E L" with the hint "Shiny strands draped on a tree," and Jon writes TINSEL on the line after a minute of rearranging.

Two items stump him, so she turns on the bank and prints a fresh sheet. He finishes the rest and checks against the key. After lunch he tries the Christmas crossword as a harder follow-up.

Using it with a group

At a party, give every table the same theme but press New puzzle between prints so the scrambles differ. Set a timer for ten minutes and see who unscrambles the most. For younger children, read the hints aloud. Short, repeated word play like this fits the early reading practice described in the IES foundational skills guide. A seasonal change later in the year is the Halloween crossword, which uses the same layout.

Sources

  1. Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse: Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade ies.ed.gov
  2. Library of Congress: Today in History, December 25 loc.gov