Exercise your brain and boost your word power, spelling and vocabulary with this fun Christmas word puzzle.
Guess as many holiday words or phrases as you can in two minutes. Hint: Go for vowels!
Santa Claus:he's making a list and checking it twice
Santa's Little Helper:The Simpson's dog that Homer couldn't resist betting on because of his name
Kris Kringle:in Miracle on 34th Street he insists he's really Santa Claus and is backed up by Mr. Macy and the U. S. Post Office
St. Nicholas:the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that he soon would be there
chimney:Santa's entry of choice and where the kids carefully hang their stockings
Father Christmas:aka Santa Claus
Christmas carols:songs we hear at this time of the year
Christmas tree:some swear by fir, others by artificial; some are topped with a star, others with an angel; some are draped with icicles, others with popcorn
White Christmas:sung by Bing Crosby and composed by Irving Berlin, it's often cited as the best-selling single of all time
Christmas cactus:a jungle, rather than desert, native, this houseplant can be made to bloom at Christmas
Christmas Eve:the night before Christmas
Christmas stockings:what children hang by the chimney with care, hoping they'll find them stuffed with treats in the morning
Christmas club:a savings program to put away money for Christmas that started during the Depression
Black Friday:the often wild and woolly doorcrasher start of the Christmas shopping season
Feliz Navidad:seasonal song by Jose Feliciano or to some, simply Merry Christmas!
Xmas:an old symbol for Christmas that uses the Greek letter chi, X, since it is the first letter of Christ
Noel:another word for Christmas that comes from the French word for Christmas
manger:box or trough that cattle or horses eat from and the center of many Nativity Scenes
stable:house for horses or cattle and the setting of many Nativity Scenes
Star of Bethlehem:guide for the Three Wise Men and a perennial bulb with white flowers more formally known as ornithogalum
winter solstice:the shortest day of the year and start of winter in the northern hemisphere, celebrations of which probably led to Christmas being observed when it is today
Yule:the winter festival of old Germanic peoples that is now synonymous with Christmas in many areas
Yule log:originally a big log burned during Yule celebrations and now more often a traditional Christmas cake, also known as a Buche de Noel, made to look like a log
A Christmas Carol:1843 novel by Charles Dickens featuring the greedy Scrooge who is transformed by the visits of three Christmas ghosts
The Grinch:Dr. Seuss told the story of how this curmudgeon tried to steal Christmas from Whoville!
The Gift of the Magi:classic O. Henry short story of the self-sacrificing gifts exchanged by a poor young couple, proving them the wisest gift givers of all
It's a Wonderful Life:Frank Capra's classic 1947 film starring Jimmy Stewart who encounters both evil bankers and angels on Christmas Eve
poinsettia:although tricky to spell, the vivid bright red of this flowering tropical plant makes it a Christmas decorating fixture
mistletoe:it's an evergreen with poisonous berries but the tradition is that if you're under this you can't refuse a kiss!
candy cane:this sweet treat is red and white striped and hooked at the end
chestnuts:according to Mel Torme and others you'll find these roasting on an open fire at Christmas
Jingle Bell Rock:50's Christmas tune that notes that it's the right time to rock the night away
Jingle Bells:what you hear as you're dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh
boughs of holly:with evergreen dark green leaves and red berries, this is a natural for decking the halls
Deck the Halls:what you are exhorted to do with boughs of holly during this jolly season
Winter Wonderland:30's Christmas pop standard that suggests that in the meadow we can build a snowman, then pretend that he is Parson Brown
Frosty the Snowman:this jolly happy soul had a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal
Little Drummer Boy:50's Christmas song, rum pum pum pum, need I say more?
The Nutcracker:Tchaikovsky Christmas classic ballet with a Nutcracker that transforms into a Prince and battles the Mouse King
reindeer:Rudolph was one, even though he had a very shiny nose
North Pole:where Santa lives
Prancer:one of the eight tiny reindeer and the only one that starts with P
calling birds:what my true love gave to me on the 4th day of Christmas, as part of a 10 bird package!
golden rings:what my true love gave me on the 5th day of Christmas, along with a bunch of birds
ladies dancing:my true love gave me 9 of on the 9th day of Christmas, along with a TON of other stuff!
Virginia:little girl who was reassured that there is a Santa Claus in a well-known New York Sun editorial of 1897
Advent calendar:special calendar with 24 little doors to count down the days leading to Christmas