Christmas hangman words
81 Christmas words, each with a clue and a difficulty score computed from its spelling. 28 easy, 39 medium, 14 hard.
Average score
4.4
Across all 81 words
Hardest
ivy
Scores 9.0
Easiest
reindeer
Scores -0.9
Christmas words are the most predictable in hangman, because the season does half the guesser's work. Play this list in December and people will try C, H, S and T first, and be right almost every time.
That is a feature at a family table rather than a flaw. A round everybody gets there on is better than a round nobody does, and this is a list for a room with a wide age range in it.
If you need it harder, the gift words carry the awkward letters. Frankincense and myrrh are the two that end games, and myrrh in particular has no vowel a guesser will ever try.
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Easy Christmas words28
The usual opening guesses cover most of it, so it tends to fall quickly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| candy cane | Striped, hooked and minty | 9 / 6 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| cinnamon | The smell of the whole month | 8 / 6 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| feast | More food than anyone planned to eat | 5 / 5 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| festive | The adjective doing all the work in December | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| fireplace | Where the stockings hang | 9 / 8 distinct | 3.6 | Easy |
| frankincense | One of the three gifts, and hard to spell | 12 / 9 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| frost | Overnight, and gone by ten | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| gingerbread | Spiced, baked, and occasionally a house | 11 / 8 distinct | 2.9 | Easy |
| greeting | The card, and what is written inside | 8 / 6 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| hibernate | What you want to do after the meal | 9 / 8 distinct | 1.3 | Easy |
| icicle | Hangs from the gutter and drips | 6 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| icing | The white layer on top | 5 / 4 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| lantern | A light with a handle | 7 / 6 distinct | 1.7 | Easy |
| mince pie | Small, sweet, and left out with a carrot | 8 / 6 distinct | 1.4 | Easy |
| mistletoe | Hang it in a doorway at your own risk | 9 / 7 distinct | 1.0 | Easy |
| mitten | Warmer than gloves and worse for buttons | 6 / 5 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| nativity | The scene set up under the tree | 8 / 6 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| ornament | Hangs on the tree, and one always breaks | 8 / 7 distinct | 0.9 | Easy |
| pantomime | Behind you, apparently | 9 / 8 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
| paper hat | From the cracker, worn all afternoon | 8 / 6 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
| present | Wrapped, with a bow | 7 / 6 distinct | 1.7 | Easy |
| reindeer | Antlered, and famously airborne one night a year | 8 / 5 distinct | -0.9 | Easy |
| ribbon | Ties the parcel and curls with scissors | 6 / 5 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| silent | The first word of the quietest carol | 6 / 6 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| tinsel | Shiny, and it gets absolutely everywhere | 6 / 6 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| toys | The whole point, if you are seven | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| tradition | The thing that must be done that way | 9 / 7 distinct | -0.1 | Easy |
| winter | The season it sits in the middle of | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
Medium Christmas words39
You will get a foothold, then have to work out the rest properly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| advent | Counting down, one small door at a time | 6 / 6 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| angel | Goes at the very top | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| bauble | The round one that rolls under the sofa | 6 / 5 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| bethlehem | The town in the carol | 9 / 6 distinct | 4.9 | Medium |
| blitzen | One of the eight, and the last named | 7 / 7 distinct | 5.9 | Medium |
| boxing day | The one after, for leftovers and sport | 9 / 9 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| candle | Wax, wick, and a warning about curtains | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| carol | Sung on doorsteps in the cold | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| chestnut | Roasting, on an open fire | 8 / 7 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| choir | Singing, in the cold, for charity | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| cracker | Pull it for a joke nobody laughs at | 7 / 5 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| cranberry | Sharp red sauce beside the meat | 9 / 7 distinct | 3.9 | Medium |
| december | The month it all happens in | 8 / 6 distinct | 4.3 | Medium |
| eggnog | Divisive, and thicker than expected | 6 / 4 distinct | 4.3 | Medium |
| elves | Small, industrious, and in the workshop | 5 / 4 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| frosty | The snowman with a song of his own | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| fruitcake | Made in October, eaten in December, sometimes | 9 / 9 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| garland | Draped along the mantelpiece | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| manger | Where the story says he was laid | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| marzipan | Under the icing on the cake | 8 / 7 distinct | 4.2 | Medium |
| merry | The first word of the greeting | 5 / 4 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| midnight | When the service is held | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| nutcracker | A soldier, a ballet, and a tool | 10 / 8 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| nutmeg | Grated over the top of the drink | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| parcel | Passed, in a game, until the music stops | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| scarf | Wrapped twice when it is really cold | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.4 | Medium |
| shepherd | Watched their flocks by night | 8 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| sledge | Downhill fun, uphill work | 6 / 5 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| sleigh | Runs on snow and needs no wheels | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| snowdrift | Where the path used to be | 9 / 9 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| snowflake | No two the same, allegedly | 9 / 9 distinct | 6.1 | Medium |
| snowglobe | Shake it and wait | 9 / 8 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| snowman | Carrot nose, coal eyes, limited lifespan | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.1 | Medium |
| starlight | What guided them, in the story | 9 / 8 distinct | 4.2 | Medium |
| stocking | Hung up empty, mysteriously full by morning | 8 / 8 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| stuffing | Cooked inside, argued about outside | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| turkey | The centrepiece, and always a timing argument | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| wreath | A circle of greenery on the front door | 6 / 6 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| yuletide | The old word for the season | 8 / 7 distinct | 3.6 | Medium |
Hard Christmas words14
Rare letters, few vowels, or almost no repetition for a guesser to lean on.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bells | Jingling, according to the song | 5 / 4 distinct | 6.8 | Hard |
| chimney | The traditional entrance, apparently | 7 / 7 distinct | 6.4 | Hard |
| clove | Studded into an orange | 5 / 5 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| family | The reason for most of the logistics | 6 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| holly | Green with red berries and sharp edges | 5 / 4 distinct | 8.8 | Hard |
| ivy | The other half of a very old carol | 3 / 3 distinct | 9.0 | Hard |
| jumper | The knitted one you only wear in December | 6 / 6 distinct | 8.0 | Hard |
| mulled | What happens to the wine | 6 / 5 distinct | 8.2 | Hard |
| myrrh | Another of the three, and harder still | 5 / 4 distinct | 8.4 | Hard |
| pudding | Set alight at the table | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.4 | Hard |
| snowball | Packed, thrown, and immediately regretted | 8 / 7 distinct | 6.5 | Hard |
| twinkle | What the lights on the tree do | 7 / 7 distinct | 6.7 | Hard |
| workshop | Where the toys are made, in the story | 8 / 7 distinct | 7.3 | Hard |
| wrapping | Torn off in seconds after all that effort | 8 / 7 distinct | 6.5 | Hard |
Questions
What are good Christmas words for hangman?
The ones that survive a normal opening. A guesser starts with E, A, R and the other common letters, so a good word is one those letters barely touch. On this page that is the score: 81 Christmas words are listed and 14 of them rate hard.
How many Christmas words are on this list?
81, deduplicated, each with a clue and a computed difficulty score. They split into 28 easy, 39 medium and 14 hard.
What is the hardest word in this category?
IVY, at 9.0. The easiest is REINDEER at -0.9. Both numbers come from the same formula, which is published in full at hangmanwords.net/how-difficulty-is-scored/.
Can I play these words rather than read them?
Yes. The play link on this page loads a game that draws only from this christmas list, so every word you get is one of the 81 below.