#657Saturday, December 20, 2025
Strands answers for December 20, 2025 — “All the trimmings” (#657)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 20, 2025 (puzzle #657) is CHRISTMASTREE, a 13-letter answer to the theme "All the trimmings". The 6 theme words are ANGEL, LIGHTS, ORNAMENT, RIBBON, STAR and TINSEL.
Where is each answer on the December 20 Strands board?
Strands #657 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram CHRISTMASTREE.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANGEL | 5 | row 5, column 6 | row 6, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| LIGHTS | 6 | row 3, column 4 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| ORNAMENT | 8 | row 2, column 5 | row 1, column 1 | right to left |
| RIBBON | 6 | row 8, column 1 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| STAR | 4 | row 1, column 6 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TINSEL | 6 | row 7, column 4 | row 7, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| CHRISTMASTREE | 13 | row 4, column 1 | row 8, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 20 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 13 letters6 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads T-A-N-R-T-S, row 2 reads N-M-R-I-O-A, row 3 reads E-H-I-L-S-R, row 4 reads C-G-S-A-M-T, row 5 reads H-O-N-T-E-A, row 6 reads T-B-R-L-G-N, row 7 reads S-B-E-T-S-L, and row 8 reads R-I-E-I-N-E.
How hard was the December 20 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #657 as average: it sits at the 36th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the December 20 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #657 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the December 20 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 20, 2025?
The Strands clue for December 20, 2025 is “All the trimmings”, on puzzle #657. It is answered by the spangram CHRISTMASTREE, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 20, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for December 20, 2025 are ANGEL, LIGHTS, ORNAMENT, RIBBON, STAR and TINSEL, plus the spangram CHRISTMASTREE.
What was the big word in the December 20, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 20, 2025 is CHRISTMASTREE, 13 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 8, column 3. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “All the trimmings” mean?
The Strands theme “All the trimmings” for December 20, 2025 means CHRISTMASTREE — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands December 20, 2025?
Strands puzzle #657 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 20, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #657 rates average on a computed index, harder than 36% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 20, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, December 20, 2025 is #657, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in December 2025, part of the full Strands archive.