Unscramble these
Word 1NATAS
SANTA
Word 2LETSIN
TINSEL
Word 3WOSN
SNOW
Word 4REEDNIER
REINDEER
Word 5STIMLETOE
MISTLETOE
Word 6GLEISH
SLEIGH
Word 7NAMWONS
SNOWMAN
Word 8GINKCOTS
STOCKING
Word 9FEL
ELF
Word 10RAST
STAR
Word 11THEARW
WREATH
Word 12YLLOH
HOLLY
Word 13LORAC
CAROL
Word 14KRACCER
CRACKER
Word 15NEVDAT
ADVENT
Word 16TEPRENS
PRESENT
Word 17GINGBEDARER
GINGERBREAD
Word 18EYKURT
TURKEY
Word 19TOTSINIAPE
POINSETTIA
Word 20CLESICI
ICICLES
How Christmas anagrams work
An anagram is a word with its letters mixed up. To solve it, you rearrange the letters back into a real word. Every puzzle above is a Christmas word, from three-letter warm-ups like ELF to eleven-letter challenges like GINGERBREAD. They are also called a Christmas word scramble.
Tips for solving anagrams
- Look for common pairs. Letters like TH, CH, ST, ING and EE often sit together.
- Find the vowels. Most words alternate vowels and consonants.
- Write the letters in a circle. It frees your brain from the scrambled order.
- Think Christmas. Every answer is a festive word, so start with the things you would find around a tree.
- Count the letters. It narrows down the words that could fit.
Make it a game
For a classroom or party, read out each scrambled word and give teams a minute to solve it. Easy words score one point and the last five score two. Then challenge players to make their own anagram of a Christmas word and swap. For more, try the Christmas trivia questions or Christmas jokes and riddles.
Easy, medium and hard
The puzzles above get harder as you go. Words 1 to 7 are short and familiar, like SANTA, SNOW and ELF. Words 8 to 14 are medium, such as STOCKING and WREATH. The last six are the hardest, with long words like REINDEER, POINSETTIA and GINGERBREAD. For young children, start with the first seven; for adults, time how fast you can solve the last six.
Make your own Christmas anagrams
Pick a Christmas word, write each letter on a small card, shuffle, and write down the new order. Check that the scramble is not accidentally another real word. Swap your list with a friend and race to solve each other's.
Why word puzzles are good for kids
Anagrams are great practice for spelling and vocabulary. Solving them means noticing letter patterns, sounding out options and checking each guess, which builds the same skills used in reading. They are also quick, so they fit into a spare five minutes before school or after dinner.
More word games for Christmas
If your group enjoys anagrams, try a Christmas word chain, where each word starts with the last letter of the one before (tree, elf, frost, tinsel...), or a "how many words" challenge: see how many smaller words you can make from MERRY CHRISTMAS in two minutes. For general knowledge, switch to the Christmas trivia questions and answers.
Questions people ask
Quick answers about this countdown.
What is a Christmas anagram?
A Christmas word with its letters mixed up, which you solve by putting the letters back in order.
Are the answers included?
Yes. Tap any puzzle to reveal its answer.
What is the hardest anagram here?
GINGBEDARER, which unscrambles to GINGERBREAD.
Keep exploring
More countdowns, tools and Christmas reading on Christmas Days Left.