Need help with today's NYT Strand? Since today's theme, “Santa's Visit,” is associated with Christmas, you may find inspiration from something familiar.

Below are some helpful hints and what-if answers for Strands #297. First, a few hints will lead you to the full solution for Strands #297.

WARNING: There are spoilers for Strands #297.

The official theme for NYT Strands #297 is... “Santa's Visit.”

And here's an unofficial hint from me: “A Little Gift of Awakening.”

If you're still in the dark, here's a handy word that gives you a valuable hint token:

Still struggling? Spangram gives you a hint on conjunctive words. Today's word starts with S and ends with G.

STOCKING.

Now, what's the answer to today's strand in game #297?

Drumroll, please.

... Spangram was NATURENAMES.

Strands #297

“A visit from Santa”

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Hello Strands fans! Today's puzzle is on an appropriate theme for those who find time to play, and it's simple enough that you won't be distracted from today's fun for long.

When I spotted ORANGE in the lower left corner, it immediately clicked that this was about stocking stuffing, but before connecting the spangram of STOCKING, I went looking for a classic naughty present. Sure enough, I found a chunk of COAL on the right side.

The spangram then split the grid in two, making the cleanup fairly seamless. He found SOCKS in the upper right corner and SCARF directly below it. He then noticed TOYS in the upper left corner and PLUSHIE below it.

Two answers remained on the other side; CANDY was spelled backwards from bottom to top, and PENS was spelled downwards.

Are you reading this in a slower time zone? The full article on Strand's solution to yesterday's game #296 can be found here.