No matter what country they live in, students are usually exposed to Christmas in one way or another, whether it’s through their own family traditions, a homestay family’s traditions, from watching movies, etc. They can all benefit from knowing the best way to spell and capitalize holiday terms. Help your students learn common holiday phrases, capitalization rules, and word choices about Christmas and the holidays with the following tips!
Capitalization Rules:
Here is a list of when to use capital letters in holiday expressions:
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
- Christmastime
- Christmas morning
- Christmas dinner
- New Year’s Eve
- a New Year’s Eve party
- New Year’s Day
- the new year
- Santa Claus
- Santa
- a Santa hat
Prezzies Vs. Pressies:
This shortened form of “presents” is heard more and more these days. Both prezzies and pressies are pronounced / ˈprɛ ziz / (ˈpreh zees). So what’s the difference?
- Prezzies (singular “prezzie”) is the preferred spelling in North American English (US and Canada).
- Pressies (singular “pressie”) is the preferred spelling in British English, but prezzies is also common.
What to Write on Cards / Emails / Texts:
Your students will surely appreciate knowing how to wish each other well in English during the holiday season. Here is a list of common expressions (often followed by an exclamation point):
- Merry Christmas (common in North American English)
- Happy Christmas (common in British English)
- Happy Holidays (usually capitalized, though “Happy holidays” is also correct)
- Season’s Greetings (usually capitalized, though “Season’s greetings” is also correct—note: this expression is considered to be more formal)
- Happy New Year
Christmas Resources on Sprout English’s Site:
We’ve got you covered for holiday lessons and fun!
- Christmas (vocabulary lesson): Word Bank (Holidays section)
- Christmas – Find the Objects (vocabulary/coloring worksheet): Games Room (Paper Games section)
- Christmas Bingo: Games Room (Bingo section)
- For more Christmas activity ideas, check out 7 Christmas and New Year’s Classroom Activity Ideas on our sister site, ESL-Library!
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