New Years word search
Thirteen New Years words are hiding in this 12x12 grid, from a five letter toast to a ten letter resolution. All eight directions are in play, so check the diagonals and read backwards too.
Curated by 
Esme Rook
·
Updated August 2026
Play it right here
Drag across the letters to select a word. Words hide across, down and diagonally, forwards and backwards. Works with mouse and touch.
What words are hidden in this New Years word search?
Thirteen: midnight, fireworks, countdown, resolution, calendar, champagne, sparkler, toast, January, noisemaker, glitter, cheers and festive. They hide in all eight directions, diagonally and backwards as well as across and down. RESOLUTION is the ten letter anchor and the easiest first find; TOAST is usually the last one standing.
Midnight words, not December decorations
Every word on this board belongs to the last hour of the year and the first minute of the next one. There is no tree, no reindeer and no snow here, so nothing repeats the Christmas word search or the winter word search, and the three sheets can go out together on the same table. That is the point of the pair: December is decorated, the New Year is counted down.
Three New Years sheets to print
The board on this page is the middle one. Two more grids print from here, each built from its own word list, so a family or a classroom can hand out three different sheets before the countdown starts. Every sheet has its own solution page.
The 12x12 board on this page
Thirteen midnight words in a 12x12 grid, the same board you can play at the top of this page, with a marked solution sheet in case the party turns competitive.
10x10 for the early sleepers
Eight easy words on a 10x10 grid for the children who never make it to the countdown: nothing hides diagonally and nothing is written backwards.
15x15 for the ones still awake
Eighteen long words, from hogmanay to pyrotechnics, buried in a 15x15 grid for whoever is still at the table at one in the morning.
Print it or play it
Play the 12x12 right on this page or print the free PDF; the separate solution sheet marks all thirteen words on the same grid, so the puzzle can go around the room while the answers stay in your pocket. The playable board, the PDF and the solution come from one generated puzzle, so they always match. It prints clean in black and white on ordinary paper, for the classroom on the last day of term and for the table on the thirty first.
