These Christmas spelling words are grouped into four lists, from simple words like star and gift for kindergarten to bee-level words like poinsettia and frankincense. Each list notes the letters that trip children up, and the end of the post has dictation sentences, a five-day plan and a 15-minute classroom Christmas spelling bee you can run before the winter break.
Christmas Day 2026 is Friday, 25 December, so most schools will have between seven and eight teaching weeks left after Halloween. That is enough time to use one list a week through December. When students are ready for a daily challenge, the free Spelling Bee game gives them a fresh honeycomb to practice word-building.
Celebrating more than one holiday in class? Pair this list with our Hanukkah spelling words.
How to use these Christmas spelling lists
Pick the list that matches your students' current level, not their grade on paper. A strong second grader can usually manage most of List 2, and an older student who struggles with spelling will get more from List 2 than from List 3.
- Monday: read the list aloud and talk about the meaning of any new words.
- Tuesday to Thursday: short practice, such as rainbow writing, word sorts or dictation.
- Friday: a quick test or the classroom bee at the end of this post.
Keep it to 10 to 12 words a week. A long holiday list looks festive, but students learn more from fewer words practised well.
List 1: Christmas spelling words for K to 2
Short, mostly phonetic words with one or two patterns to point out.
| Word | Pattern to notice |
|---|---|
| star | ar sound |
| tree | double e |
| gift | short i |
| snow | ow says long o |
| bell | double l at the end |
| sled | short e blend |
| elf | short e, f at the end |
| hat | short a |
| red | short e |
| toy | oy sound |
| wish | sh digraph |
| cold | old family |
Tip: pair snow with show and grow so children see that ow can make the long o sound.
List 2: Christmas spelling words for grades 3 to 5
Two-syllable words, silent letters and the first tricky endings.
| Word | Tricky part |
|---|---|
| holiday | i in the middle, not e |
| present | ent ending |
| winter | er ending |
| candle | le ending |
| ribbon | double b |
| sleigh | eigh says long a |
| reindeer | ei in rein, ee in deer |
| stocking | ck before ing |
| chimney | ey ending |
| cookie | ie ending |
| angel | el, not le |
| carol | one r, ol ending |
Tip: angel and angle are a classic mix-up. An angel has wings; an angle has degrees. Ask students to write one sentence with each.
List 3: Christmas spelling words for grades 6 to 8
Longer words with silent letters, Greek and Latin roots and doubled consonants.
| Word | Tricky part |
|---|---|
| Christmas | silent t, ch says k |
| ornament | ment ending, not mint |
| tinsel | el ending |
| mistletoe | silent t, toe at the end |
| wreath | silent w, ea says long e |
| gingerbread | soft g twice |
| nativity | ivity ending |
| celebrate | soft c, ate ending |
| decorate | c says k |
| tradition | tion ending |
| evergreen | e-ver, then green |
| festive | ive ending |
Tip: Christmas hides two traps: the ch sounds like k, and the t is silent. Students who say "Christ-mas" slowly while writing it make fewer mistakes.
Challenge list for a Christmas spelling bee
Use these for a final round or for strong spellers who finish early.
- poinsettia: four syllables; many people say "poinsetta", but there is an i before the final a.
- frankincense: frank + in + cense; the ending is cense, not sense.
- myrrh: no vowels except y, and a double r plus a silent h.
- Bethlehem: th in the middle, then lehem.
- yuletide: yule + tide, no double letters.
- nutcracker: nut + cracker, one compound word.
- wassail: double s, then ail.
- figgy: double g.
- luminaria: lumin + aria.
- peppermint: double p, then mint.
The word poinsettia comes from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US minister to Mexico, who brought the plant to the United States in the 1820s. Telling students where a word comes from helps them remember the spelling, especially the ett in the middle.
Turn these lists into Christmas word games for the whole family.
Five Christmas spelling games beyond the test
Practice sticks better when it feels like play. These games need little more than the word list and a board.
- Hangman with a snowman. Draw a snowman instead of a stick figure: one body part for each wrong guess. Use List 1 or 2 words.
- Word ladder. Start with star and change one letter at a time to make new words: star, scar, scan, span. Students race to make the longest ladder.
- Hidden words. Write gingerbread on the board and ask how many smaller words students can make from its letters, such as bead, red, bread and dine.
- Spelling relay. Teams line up at the board. Each student writes one letter of the word and passes the marker. The first team to spell it correctly wins the point.
- Mystery gift. Wrap a small box and tape a word card inside. Students shake it, guess the word from three clues, then spell it before they open it.
Each game takes five to ten minutes, so you can rotate one in each day of the week.
A five-day Christmas spelling plan
| Day | Activity | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Read the list, discuss meanings, sort words by pattern | 15 min |
| Tuesday | Rainbow writing: each word three times in three colors | 10 min |
| Wednesday | Dictation sentences (below) | 10 min |
| Thursday | Partner quiz: one student reads, the other spells aloud | 10 min |
| Friday | Classroom Christmas spelling bee or written test | 15 min |
If your school has a short week before the break, merge Tuesday and Wednesday and run the bee on the last full day.
Common Christmas spelling mistakes
- Chrismas / Christmass: the word has a silent t and ends in a single s.
- raindeer: it is rein, as in the reins used to steer, not rain.
- sleigh vs slay: a sleigh is pulled by reindeer; slay is a different word.
- ornement: the middle vowel is a, orn-a-ment.
- misletoe: keep the silent t, mis-tle-toe.
- poinsetta: add the i, poin-set-ti-a.
- Xmas without the X sound: Xmas is a short form, not a misspelling. The X stands for the Greek letter chi, the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, so it has been used for centuries.
Dictation sentences
Read each sentence twice, then ask students to write it.
- The red star sits on top of the tree. (K-2)
- I made a wish in the cold snow. (K-2)
- The sleigh flew over the chimney on Christmas Eve. (3-5)
- We hung a stocking and a ribbon by the candle. (3-5)
- Grandma baked gingerbread to celebrate the holiday. (6-8)
- A wreath of evergreen branches hung on the door. (6-8)
- The poinsettia on the table was bright red. (challenge)
Meanings of the harder words
- myrrh: a sweet-smelling resin from a tree, one of the three gifts in the Nativity story.
- frankincense: another fragrant resin, burned as incense.
- wassail: a hot spiced drink, and also an old custom of going door to door singing.
- yuletide: the Christmas season. Yule is an old word for the midwinter festival.
- luminaria: a small paper-bag lantern with a candle inside, a holiday tradition in the US Southwest.
- nativity: the birth of Jesus, and also a scene showing it.
Spelling patterns to point out
These lists are a chance to teach patterns that work all year:
- Silent letters: Christmas, wreath, mistletoe, sleigh.
- Soft c and g: celebrate, gingerbread, ginger.
- Doubled consonants: ribbon, bell, peppermint, figgy, wassail.
- Endings: -le (candle), -el (angel, tinsel), -tion (tradition), -ive (festive).
Ask students to find one more word for each pattern. Our guide to prefixes and suffixes for spelling bees has more patterns to teach.
Run a 15-minute classroom Christmas spelling bee
- Set up (2 minutes). Students stand in a line or sit in teams. Choose the list for your class.
- Round 1 (5 minutes). Each student spells one word aloud. Correct answers stay in; misspelled words go to the next student.
- Round 2 (5 minutes). Move to harder words from the next list up.
- Final (3 minutes). The last two or three spellers take words from the challenge list.
Keep it friendly: let students who are out become word readers or judges. For a full guide to rules, word cards and fair judging, see how to run a classroom spelling bee. If you used our Thanksgiving spelling words in November, the format is the same, so students already know the routine.
More word lists for the season
For grade-level lists outside the holidays, our spelling bee words by grade has words for every year group. Winter-themed words such as icicle, snowflake, blizzard and mitten also work well in the weeks after the break, when the Christmas theme no longer fits.
After the holidays, switch to these winter spelling words for January and February.
For the first week of January, use these New Year's spelling words.
See our Kwanzaa spelling words for a December unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good Christmas spelling words for kids?
For young children, use star, tree, gift, snow, bell, elf and toy. From grade 3, add sleigh, reindeer, present, candle, ribbon and chimney.
How do you spell poinsettia?
Poinsettia is spelled p-o-i-n-s-e-t-t-i-a. Many people say it without the i near the end, which is why it is often misspelled as poinsetta.
Why is there a t in Christmas?
The t comes from the word Christ. It is silent when we say Christmas, so students need to remember it when writing the word.
Is Xmas a real word?
Yes. Xmas is a short form of Christmas. The X stands for the Greek letter chi, the first letter of the Greek word for Christ.
How many Christmas spelling words should I give each week?
Ten to twelve words a week is enough for most classes. Students learn more from a short list practised every day than from a long list read once.
What is a hard Christmas word to spell?
Myrrh, frankincense, poinsettia, wassail and mistletoe are among the hardest. Each has a silent letter, a double letter or an ending that does not match how it sounds.