NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #297 (Wednesday, December 25 2024)

NYT Strands on a cellphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide/NY Times/Shutterstock)
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Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "A visit from Santa" — is appropriately Christmas themed, so maybe you can draw inspiration from what's around you.

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #297, as well as the answers, should it come to that. We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #297, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #297.

Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints

The official theme for NYT Strands #297 is... "A visit from Santa".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Small gifts to wake up to."

If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:

  • SPENT
  • DONE
  • PLOYS
  • RAINY
  • SNAGS
  • PLUCK
  • CRANE

Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with S and ends with G.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's STOCKING.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #297?

Drumroll, please...

  • ORANGE
  • COAL
  • SOCKS
  • SCARF
  • TOYS
  • PLUSHIE
  • CANDY
  • PENS

Strands #297

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was NATURENAMES.

Strands #297

“A visit from Santa”

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Hi Strands fans, and happy Christmas! Today's puzzle is appropriately themed for those who find time to play it, and it's simple enough that it shouldn't divert you from the joys of the day for too long.

When I found ORANGE in the bottom-left corner, it immediately clicked that this was about stocking fillers, but before connecting the spangram of STOCKING, I went searching for the classic naughty-child gift. Sure enough, I found a lump of COAL on the right-hand side.

The spangram then divided the grid in two, which made cleaning up pretty seamless. I found SOCKS in the top-right corner, with SCARF directly below it. I then noticed TOYS in the top-left corner, with PLUSHIE below to complete that side of the board.

Two answers were left to find on the other side. CANDY was spelt backwards from the bottom upwards, and that just left PENS spelt downwards to finish the puzzle in time to return to some well-earned Christmas trash TV.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #296 right here.

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.