Holidays and seasons · hangman category
New Year's Hangman Words
New Year's hangman words for countdowns, resolutions, fireworks and fresh starts, ready to play online or print as a free sheet with answers.
Read the word list
New Year's has two sides, and the list draws on both. One is the party: midnight, confetti, fireworks, sparklers, a countdown. The other is the quiet side: resolutions, goals, calendars, habits and looking back at the year. Together they let a teacher use one list for a class celebration in December and for a goal-setting lesson in January.
A few entries are short and quickly solved, such as year, ball and hats. At the other end, resolution, celebrate and reflection are long and need steady guessing. Confetti and sparkler are harder for a particular reason: they lean on double letters, or on f and k, which players tend to leave until late. The phrases, such as new year's eve and ring in the new year, give whole-class rounds a sense of occasion without needing any extra setup.
64 entries. Our solver needed 3.0 wrong guesses on average: 25 easy, 26 medium and 13 hard. The toughest is ball drop (11 misses), the quickest confetti (0).
- midnight Easy · 1
- countdown Medium · 3
- confetti Easy · 0
- fireworks Easy · 0
- sparkling Medium · 3
- cider Hard · 6
- resolution Easy · 0
- january Medium · 3
- calendar Easy · 0
- celebrate Easy · 0
- party Hard · 5
- balloon Medium · 3
- streamers Easy · 0
- toast Easy · 1
- fresh Easy · 1
- start Easy · 1
- goals Easy · 1
- tradition Easy · 1
- ball Hard · 10
- drop Medium · 2
- parade Easy · 1
- lucky Hard · 10
- clock Medium · 4
- tick Hard · 7
- hours Medium · 3
- year Hard · 9
- hats Medium · 4
- tiara Medium · 2
- glitter Medium · 2
- cheers Easy · 0
- reflection Easy · 0
- memories Easy · 1
- gratitude Easy · 1
- wishes Medium · 4
- hope Hard · 6
- change Medium · 3
- habits Medium · 3
- planner Medium · 4
- journal Medium · 2
- diary Medium · 2
- resolve Easy · 0
- begin Hard · 5
- anew Easy · 1
- dancing Easy · 1
- music Medium · 4
- snack Medium · 3
- sparkler Easy · 0
- grapes Medium · 2
- kazoo Hard · 8
- sparkle Easy · 0
- gathering Easy · 0
- noisemaker Easy · 0
- new year's eve Medium · 4
- happy new year Hard · 8
- ring in the new year Hard · 6
- new year's day Medium · 4
- new year's resolution Medium · 4
- countdown clock Medium · 3
- ball drop Hard · 11
- party hats Medium · 3
- fresh start Easy · 1
- auld lang syne Medium · 3
- times square Medium · 4
- good luck Hard · 9
Words worth a closer look
- januaryNamed for Janus, the Roman god of doorways and beginnings, usually pictured with two faces looking forward and back. A fitting origin for the first month.
- confettiFrom the Italian confetti, the plural of confetto, a sugared almond once thrown at celebrations. The double t and the f are the late guesses.
- resolutionComes from the Latin resolvere, meaning to loosen or settle. A useful word for a goal-setting lesson, because a resolution is a decision that has been settled.
- midnightA compound of mid and night, with a silent gh. The same ight pattern shows up in light, bright and sight.
- calendarThe ending is ar, not er. That last letter is the one most often misspelled, so it is worth a look on the printed sheet.
- countdownA compound of count and down. Players tend to find the o and u quickly, but the two d's stay hidden for a while.
- times squareIn New York City, where a lit ball has been lowered on New Year's Eve since 1907. Teachers sometimes use it to talk about time zones.
- auld lang syneA Scots phrase from a poem popularized by Robert Burns and traditionally sung at midnight. Auld is Scots for old and syne means since, so the whole phrase is roughly old long since.
- noisemakerA compound of noise and maker. Once players see noise they usually get it, but the k and the second e tend to stay hidden.
Using this list in class
The first school day in January is the obvious moment, and the two-part approach works well. Start with a round of party words as a warm-up, then use resolution, goals, habits and planner as the lead-in to a goal-setting activity. Upper elementary students can write one resolution using at least two words from the list.
For spelling, the list covers compound words (midnight, countdown), double letters (confetti, sparkling) and the gh in midnight. It also suits a quiet session in late December, when a printed sheet and a partner are all you need.
Print a New Year's Hangman worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
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