We've collected all of our advent calendar puzzles below in case you need a bit of distraction (or another outlet for family competitiveness!), and you can also listen to our carols through our Youtube channel. If you are still to make your dinner plans, our Christmas page has some handy information about some big community get-togethers.
Christmas Carol anagrams
Christmassy Connections
A seasonal riddle
Puzzling places
Punny songs
More tricky connections
Oxfordian anagrams
Modern hieroglyphics?
1) Driving Home For Christmas 2) Silent Night 3) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree 4) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 5) Jingle Bells 6) Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) 7) Santa Baby 8) While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night
Wintery Word Ladders
Invented by Oxford's own Lewis Carroll on Christmas Day in 1877, in order to get from the start word to the final word one must progressively change one letter on each line.
E.G. GOLD
HOLD
HOLE
HOME
Can you solve these festive word ladders?
Mixing it up
This is essentially a problem solved by stacking up multiples of the difference between the jugs. So... To make 4l from a 5l and a 7l jug, you: Fill the 7l jug. Pour it into the 5l jug: now you have 2 l in the larger jug. Empty the 5l jug, and pour the 2l into it. Fill the 7l jug Pour it into the 5l jug to fill it, which will use up 3l. You now have 4l left in the larger jug. Hooray! For the 3-jug problems, your largest jug is the water reservoir, acting as the tap and drain, leaving the other two jugs to make the required amounts. So for the 8pt, 5pt and 3pt problem, the solution would be: Pour from the full 8pt jug into the 5pt jug. (In descending order, the amounts would start at 8, 0, 0, and after pouring become 3, 5, 0.) Pour from the 5pt jug which is now full, into the 3pt jug (3, 2, 3) Pour the full 3pt jug back into the 8pt jug (6, 2, 0) Pour the 2pts left in the 5pt jug back into the smallest 3pt jug (6, 0, 2) Fill up the 5pt jug from the 6pt of water that's in the 8pt jug, to leave 1pt in it (1, 5, 2) Pour from the full 5pt jug, to top up the 2pt in the 3pt jug. This only uses 1pt from the 5pt jug, leaving 4pt in there (1, 4, 3) Now empty the full 3pt jug back into the 8pt jug, adding it to the 1pt that was left in there, and now you have two 4pt quantites measured out (4, 4, 0) This is great as a maths problem, but I'm glad it's not how milk gets to us these days.
Slide into Christmas
Remember those fiddly puzzles from your childhood where you had to slide parts of the picture around until, elated, the completed image appeared before your eyes?
How to play: Click a moveable square to move it to the empty space, and try to complete the image in the fewest possible moves!
(Thanks to Cédric Blondeau for his sliding puzzle library - Merry Christmas, Cédric!)
The 12 d of c (12 days of Christmas!)
For this puzzle, all you need to do is work out the well-known phrase or fact from the first letter of each word. Not as straightforward as it sounds!
A P is W 1000 W
26 L in the A
2 4 6 8 W D W A
29 D in F (in a L Y)
7 B F 7 B
20,000 L U the S
12 S of the Z
24 C = P G
38 P by S
A S in T S 9
A picture is worth 1000 words; 26 letters in the alphabet; 2 4 6 8 who do we appreciate?; 29 days in February (in a Leap Year); 7 brides for 7 brothers; 20,000 leagues under the sea; 12 signs of the Zodiac; 24 carats = pure gold; 38 plays by Shakespeare; a stitch in time saves 9
Matchsticks made in Heaven
1. Christmas Tree
Can you move three matches to end up with 4 equilateral triangles? They aren't necessarily all the same size.
Can you move three matches to end up with 5 equilateral triangles, all the same size? You have to think right out of the matchbox for this one.
2. 5 Boxes
Can you move two matches to make four boxes? (No loose ends, no overlapping.)
3. Acre
Two argumentative brothers inherit a field and 8 fence panels. Can you place 8 matches to divide this field exactly in half, so that each half is the same shape?
4. Cocktail
Here's a cocktail with an umbrella in it. Can you move two matches to recreate the cocktail with the umbrella outside it?
5. Turna Fish
Here's a fish swimming one way. Can you move three matches to make the same fish swim the other way?
6. Wigwam
Can you move three matches to create three triangles of the same size touching corner to corner?
7. Equation
Here's an equation which is not correct. Can you move 1, 2, or 3 matches to make correct equations? There are several answers when you move just one match.
EELS, EMITS, ISLE, ITEMS, ITS, LEES, LEST, LETS, LIES, LIMES, LIST, LOSE, LOST, LOTS, MEETS, MELTS, METTLES, MILES, MIST, MISTLETOE, MITES, MITTS, MOIST, MOLES, MOLEST, MOST, MOTES, MOTLIEST, MOTTLES, OILS, OMITS, SEEM, SEMI, SET, SETTLE, SILO, SILT, SIM, SIT, SITE, SLEET, SLIM, SLIME, SLIT, SLOT, SMILE, SOIL, SOLE, SOT, STEM, STEEL, STILE, STOLE, TEES, TEEMS, TEST, TIES, TILES, TILTS, TIMES, TITLES, TITS, TOILS, TOMES, TOMS, TOTEMS, TOTES
Can you spot the 10 differences between these two images?
Can you work out the identities of these festive film characters?
1. BETH DUDE FLY (3)
2. DEAD ROB CYCLONE (2)
3. JINGLE CONK TALKS (2)
4. RHYME LIAR (2)
5. CRONE BREEZES EGO (2)
6. CATS POEMS FORTHRIGHTNESS (4)
7. WALRUS SNAKE (2)
8. NO JAM CLENCH (2)
9. UNHOLY COW ID (3)
10. STOP PET PREP (2)
Bonus: HUNGER BRAS (2)
Cross-jig-word-saw
This is a hybrid puzzle (as you might have guessed from the name!) where you need to transfer the sections on the right to the grid on the left, to make a completed crossword.
The grid is symmetrical horizontally and vertically. None of the pieces need to be rotated. Here are the across clues to help you:
1. Questioning
2. Region; Eager
3. Pitch
4. Hitch a ride on
5. Finished
6. Fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes
7. Rip; Centre
8. Car model with a rear door that lifts up
All the trimmings
Can you identify these things that might be found on the Christmas Dinner table?
This last one is hard, since the item it's depicting is a bit obscure. It's a wine...
Characterful Connections
Being Elizabeth
Watching the Queen's speech today? Here's a quiz about Liz: people who have played Queen Elizabeth I or II on screen! In the marked downward squares you'll find another name. Why has this person been singled out?
Clues:
1. This Australian has also played Bob Dylan and a Royal Elf
2. This actor played QEI in Sally Potter's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's gender-swapping classic, Orlando, alongside Tilda Swinton in the title role
3. This actor played our current monarch, in The Crown
4. Better known as Queen Victoria, this actor has also looked unamused as Colin Firth failed to lay his cloak over a puddle for her
5. The Queen's stunt double, at least for the opening of the London 2012 Olympics
6. How the former Commonwealth loves to laugh at the monarchy! This actor has kept the US in stitches with a series of Saturday Night Live sketches.
7. This poor Queenie had a lot of cunning plans to contend with, but fortunately had the heart and stomach of a concrete elephant
8. This actor has been in many films but always as Her Majesty, appearing with the likes of Leslie Nielsen in Police Squad, and Austin Powers
9. This member of a famous acting dynasty stars in a political thriller about how Rhys Ifans really wrote Shakespeare's plays
10. From 1971 came a severe portrayal of Elizabeth R, with painstakingly recreated dresses, by an actor who later became an MP. Perhaps 16th century politics are good practice for 20th century ones.
11. A light-hearted portayal of the young QEII, breaking her curfew on VE Day, was offered by this Canadian, in a film with a surprisingly high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, who thought it slight but charming
The Dictionary Game
This is a lovely game, best played with two or more people and a real physical dictionary, by a roaring fire with some hot-buttered crumpets. So imagine we have piped woodsmoke and crumpet aromas down your Smellovision™ screen, and sit back for our digital version.
The idea is to guess a word chosen by the other player, who has the dictionary. They will tell you the definition of the previous word, and the definition of the word that follows. (With real people, they can give the definition of the middle word as a clue, but we don't have that luxury.) It's important to pick words that aren't too related, but which are all fairly well-known, avoiding technical words for different types of geological rock formation and the like.
So for example, we might have:
Word before: a naive person, especially a new recruit in the US army
Word after: fairly green
What's the word in the middle?
The word after sounds like it might be GREENISH, so although there are a number of synonyms for a naive person, the one we want is probably GREENHORN. That means the word in the middle must begin somewhere between GREENHO - GREENI.
The common word between those is GREENHOUSE.
Your turn! (Answers at the bottom if you need them.)
1. Word before: sensational theatre with exaggerated characters and emotions
Word after: large fruit of the gourd family, with very sweet flesh and lots of seeds, often eaten as a dessert
2. Word before: happy, elated
Word after: a lever that can be used to control a computer, especially for gaming, or an aircraft
3. Word before: to search the internet for two legitimate words and no quotes, and get just one result in return
Word after: 10 to the power 100, or 1 with 100 noughts after it
4. Word before: jokey, fond of being humorous of playful
Word after: a young kangaroo
5. Word before: animal excrement
Word after: related to the Isle of Man, a type of cat
6. Word before: a tray, typically made of silver, such as a butler might use to bring in a vast pile of Ferrero Rocher
Word after: a volley of simultaneous shots from artillery or other guns in battle
7. Word before: shadow or shade, especially the fully shaded area of the earth or moon during a total eclipse
Word after: a portable device used to protect the user from the rain
Merry Music Mashup
Whoops, something's gone wrong with these Christmas classics! Can you identify these seven songs?
'All I Want for Christmas Is You' - Mariah Carey 'Last Christmas' - Wham! 'Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) - The Darkness 'Lonely This Christmas' - Mud 'Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy' - Bing Crosby, David Bowie 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday' - Wizzard 'Christmas Wrapping' - The Waitresses
Cheery Cryptograms
Fancy cracking our cryptic carol-themed cryptograms? Here's an example to help you get to grips with ciphers.
Give these ones a go:
Even more connections
Wordwatching Birdsearch
Can you find the following words, all related to seasonal flora and fauna?
3 letters:
FIR, IVY
4 letters:
BLUE, CONE, DOVE, LEAF, PEAR, PINE, TREE, WREN
5 letters:
BERRY, CAMEL, GEESE, HOLLY, ROBIN, SHEEP
6 letters:
CACTUS, DONKEY, NEEDLE, NORWAY, SPRUCE, TURTLE, WREATH
8 letters:
NORDMANN, REINDEER
9 letters:
PARTRIDGE, LODGEPOLE, MISTLETOE
10 letters: POINSETTIA
Quizmas
1. Which brands produce the following festive concoctions:
a) Clementine Latte
b) Eggnog Latte
c) Gingerbread Latte
d) Festive Flat White (with Mince Pie syrup)
2. What was the traditional Christmas meal in England before turkey took over?
a) A joint of beef with horseradish
b) A partridge with pear
c) A pig's head with mustard
3. Who holds the record for most Christmas number 1 singles?
a) Cliff Richard
b) The Beatles
c) Michael Jackson
4. What food is technically illegal to eat on Christmas day thanks to a law passed by Oliver Cromwell which was never rescinded?
a) Chocolate log
b) Figgy Pudding
c) Mince pies
5. Match these statistics (13% / 27% / 57%) with the facts:
a) % adults in the UK would sacrifice seeing family on Christmas day if it meant they could spend more time on Facebook
b) % of families watch the Queen's Speech
c) % of families always attend church on Christmas Day
6. In Japan, what is the most popular Christmas dinner?
a) Turkey Roast
b) McDonalds
c) KFC
7. How many calories does the average Brit consume on Christmas day?
a) 4,550
b) 8,500
c) 7,000
8. When meeting the demonic folklore beast Krampus, what is it customary to offer him?
a) Your left shoe
b) Schnapps
c) A lump of coal
Giving something back
If you've enjoyed all of this fun, festive nonsense, why not spread the festive cheer a little further with our charitable suggestion of the day:
Welcome to Daily Info’s 2023 Advent Calendar – 24 days of festive tips, free activities & local shopping suggestions!
This year's calendar offers a mix of Christmas suggestions, taking in traditions in Oxford and the wider area, and free activities & events in the build up to the big day.
