New Year crossword puzzle
Count down through twelve clues about midnight, resolutions, fireworks, calendars, goals and the clean January page waiting on the other side.
Curated by 
Esme Rook
·
Updated October 2026
Play it right here
12 clues to solve: 5 across and 7 down. Tap a square and type; tap it again to switch between across and down. Solved words lock in green.
Across
- 2. Small colored paper pieces tossed in celebration (8)
- 5. System of months, weeks and days (8)
- 6. Explosive display of light in the sky (8)
- 10. Promise to change or improve in the coming year (10)
- 11. Backward count to midnight (9)
Down
- 1. First month of the year (7)
- 2. Bells heard as the clock strikes twelve (6)
- 3. Moment when the new year begins (8)
- 4. Time that has not happened yet (6)
- 7. Social celebration with guests (5)
- 8. A result you plan to achieve (4)
- 9. Short speech followed by raised glasses (5)
What does this New Year crossword celebrate?
Celebration words share the board with planning words. It works before midnight as a party activity or after it as a gentle way to talk about goals for the year. CONFETTI, a FIREWORK and a TOAST sit next to the CALENDAR, a RESOLUTION and the FUTURE.
January, party and goal
January, party and goal are short anchors. Use them to reveal calendar and resolution, and from there midnight and countdown follow. RESOLUTION, ten letters, is the longest answer and the busiest, crossing PARTY, GOAL, MIDNIGHT and TOAST. GOAL is the shortest at four. COUNTDOWN connects to the grid only through TOAST, so fill the short speech followed by raised glasses before you count backward.
Chimes, toasts and a backward count
CHIMES are clued as the bells heard as the clock strikes twelve, and COUNTDOWN as the backward count to midnight. The clue for RESOLUTION, a promise to change or improve in the coming year, makes a good start for a talk about plans, and FUTURE, the time that has not happened yet, fits the same talk. It suits family parties, classes coming back after the holidays and anyone who wants a quiet activity before the fireworks. The New Year's word search covers the same night, and the winter crossword carries on into January.
Online before midnight, printed after
Fill it in on this page, or download the PDF and print the puzzle on a single sheet. The completed grid comes as its own answer-key PDF, so the host can reveal it once the countdown ends. Other themes are on the printable crossword puzzles hub.
