Christmas word search

Deck the grid with the words of the holiday season: Santa and his reindeer, the sleigh and the workshop, stockings by the chimney, ornaments, tinsel and a wreath on the door, carols, candles and treats like gingerbread, eggnog and the candy cane. A few words carry the spirit of the season too: joy, peace, cheer and giving.

Some traditions are older than they seem. Tinsel was first made in Germany in the 1600s, from thin strips of real silver. Noel comes from the French word for Christmas, and yule was the name of an old midwinter festival before it became another word for Christmas. The nutcracker became a familiar holiday figure largely thanks to Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker, first performed in 1892.

December is a busy month at school, and a Christmas word search is an easy, quiet activity for the last days before the break. Print a stack with answer keys, or let the class solve one together on the board. In the daily puzzle, the Christmas theme appears only from December 1 to 26.

Play tip: J is one of the rarest letters in the filler, and three Christmas words begin with it: JOY, JOLLY and JINGLE. Spot a J in the grid and check its neighbors first.