What am I missing? The colorful squares were unexpected but pretty, but when I finished the puzzle I hoped they would explode into confetti or something New Year's Eve-ish. But no. Were they supposed to? Or like trophy wives, just sit there for effect? Well anyway, a happy 2026 to the NYT puzzling community.
@Local hero The colorful squares were definitely needed for the theme. Isn’t that enough? Happy new year, everyone!
@Local hero Budget cuts at the NYT as the Great Recession of 2025 hits the dance floor. No extra dollars for lights this year!
I thought there'd be a real window at the New Year's Eve party, but it was just sham pane. (I won't wine about it.)
@Mike But it had a great big banner (an old long sign). And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere! and gie's a hand o’ thine ! And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught, for auld lang syne. For auld lang syne, my jo, for auld lang syne, we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne. For all verses in both Scots and English: <a href="https://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/newyearsongslyrics/auldlangsynelyrics.html" target="_blank">https://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/newyearsongslyrics/auldlangsynelyrics.html</a>
@Mike The host gave his New Year’s address by the canyon, so he could hear the prose echo. (He was in a bubbly mood.)
@Mike I’m shiraz hell getting sick of all these puns, but cava great new year!
@Mike did you bay at the moonshine?
@Mike Happy New Year’s, Mike. Thanks for the puns! Cheers 🥂!!
@Mike I hate to burst your bubble, but your jokes have gone flat. Shape up, and maybe you can have a wry January. (Happy New Year, and thanks for all the puns!)
@Mike I knew you would cava niche for yourself today, and not drop the ball.
@Mike Knocking the head off a bottle of wine on New Year's Eve is so crude. It can cause a nasti spumonte the whole party in just one sec ond. (Best to twist off the cap as we do most days.)
I was hoping the hats would explode into fireworks when I finished the puzzle. Still a lot of fun and love the bright colors!
@suebee SAME! Or at the least fireworks over the puzzle!
@suebee Exactly what sort of hats do you wear on New Years?
So -- it is relevant that I have not-so-great eyesight -- I thought that the symbol after 1A was a 🎄aka a Christmas tree; that the other symbols of similar shape were otherwise-colored Christmas trees; and the various round shapes were 🌳 aka round-topped trees. Why the trees were blue as well as red and yellow and green, I had no idea, but I figured it would become clear as I did the puzzle. It did not. Why are trees going to parties? Or, more accurately, /how/ are trees going to parties??? So I come to the column, and the header image is of what looks at first glance to be ping pong paddles 🏓 "Aha," I says, "it's multicolored Christmas trees and multicolored paddles / racquets. That ... makes even less sense??" Finally I pulled out a magnifier and determined the symbols were, er, party hats and balloons. 🎈 Which connects better to the party theme I guess... 😂
@Isabeau I couldn’t see what the little symbols were, either. It definitely took something away,alas.
@Isabeau I took the hats for trees, too.
@Isabeau I can't tell you how many times I've thought "what the hey is that?" when I see some complicated emoji in a text. Even the face ones can have inscrutable expressions. I think it's the "you kids and your ..." of our generation.
@Isabeau I also have very bad vision. I work on an iPad, and I zoom a section to work on. As soon as I did that, the colorful squares came to life. I suspect that many people who had trouble seeing them might have been working on a Phone.
@Isabeau I recognized the balloons as balloons but also thought the party hats were Christmas trees until I looked at the comments.
@Isabeau I also thought it was odd that two of the themed answers were actual types of parties but the 3rd is just a pun.
Aww… no confetti? Happy New Year, everyone. 🎉
@Heidi I know — I was hoping for some fanfare or an animation after solving the puzzle in app. 🎉
@Heidi et alii Kinda makes you want to send the whole NYT Games crew a holiday card...one with lotsa GLITTER on it. A gift that keeps on giving....I can see them now, brushing themselves off (an exercise in futility) and inadvertantly spreading the clingy clutter hither, thither, and yon....forced to rue the day they REACHED INto their mail slot...
@MOL If I can tell that there's glitter involved, the card just goes right into the garbage in the building lobby without even making it upstairs to my apartment.
As your resident alphadoppeltotter, a role I’ve inexplicably taken in the past eight years, it is my duty to inform you that this puzzle has an unusually low number of double letters, at three, where unusual is any number less than five. This is the fifth time this year that this has happened. I remain your humble servant, ever on the alert.
@Lewis Is this where someone asks, "What's a LERT?"
First time I’ve heard of a BOXSOCIAL. Ironically, or perhaps moronically, it took me ages to realise it was an X I needed for XIN 🤦🏾♂️ And don’t get me started on AMNESIC. I know it’s a variant of ‘amnesiad’ but it looks so wrong and hurts me to my very soul. So I’ve decided I’m going to forget it ever happened.
@Sebastian After CELLRECEPTION I went with BOTSOCIAL and TIC which really messed me up and were my last parts of the solve.
@Sebastian right thanks for reminding me I came to comment about that but once I got here I forgot
@Sebastian Box Socials made famous by the 1943 musical "Oklahoma!"
@Sebastian I had figured out the theme after SQUARE DANCE, so when I had the BO I knew it had to be BOX SOCIAL. I guess I've seen the movie Oklahoma too many times, and also been on stage in a couple of amateur productions. So that was a gimmee. I need one now and then.... It took me awhile to figure out MANSCAPE. What kind of truck is a RAL?
I know it’s tomorrow, but- Happy New Year to all of you, my daily huddle of language laborers, word-nerds, grammar geeks, puzzle patrons, clue connoisseurs, and oddly, my morning friends who have offered this quirky stranger support, shared your own triumphs and struggles, and continue to return here, to do what we do, every day. Our smultonställe, ( or “field of wild strawberries”) which some may remember is a Swedish word meaning a special place discovered, treasured, and returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness. Thank you to all. I’d list you, but the list is long… how blessed am I for simply that? Wishing each and every one of you health, contentment, and whatever else you guys wish for, from llamas to gardening to giant poodles… Happy, happy, happy new year!
@CCNY - What lovely wordplay to celebrate Wordplay. Thanks for saying it so well for all of us 🎉
@CCNY All the best to you! (This is my smultronställe too…)
@CCNY, Beautiful! Thank you. And a Happy New Year to you, as well! 🎉🍾🥂🥳
@CCNY Love it. I've saved smultonställe to a note.
When I go to our friends’ place tomorrow night, there will be: eating, tending the giant bonfire, climbing around the snow cave, playing fiddle tunes. What an amusing idea to include a few puzzle people off in the corner, trying to fill in the squares, cells, boxes, and blocks. Happy New Year, crossnerds!
@Cat Lady Margaret That sounds like an amazing way to ring in 2026. I hope you have fun. Happy new year!
@Cat Lady Margaret Planning on playing some fiddle tunes tonight myself. HNY!
A more challenging Wednesday than usual for me. Finished 1:43 slower than my average. But I can’t feel too crestfallen, because I completed my goal this year: 365 days completing every crossword without hints! Gold boxes all the way through 2025!
@ZachG Good for you Zach! Congratulations. What a great way to end 2025.
@ZachG, Congratulations! A great crossword year for you! 🎉
@ZachG congratulations! This was also a completely gold star year for me as well. After decades of solving, I thought it would never happen, and now I am dreading the puzzle that breaks my streak. My New Year’s resolution is to relax and simply enjoy the solve… and leave the streak anxiety behind.
Our constructor says this puzzle came together very quickly. I suppose a very quick solve returns the favor. The swimmers recently did laps; will today's [Paddle people] object to being called ROWERS? Did EDIE EDIT? Is a MIME really [lost for words?] [Mess around a sty] is slop, not MUD, right? 62A? Badges? We don't need no... Thanks, Jeffrey Best wishes to all for a better new year
@Barry Ancona Unless a farmer spills the slop it won't be a mess; it will be in a trough.
On the last day of 2025, I would like to express my gratitude to all the constructors and contributors. I value all of you and your insights. Thank you for your commitment to wordplay and puzzles. I truly admire the dedication to this community and the love of words, puns and misdirection. Thank you for putting so much thought and energy into puzzles - without this column and commentary I would probably have given up all puzzles except Mondays. Happy New Year
This completes my first perfect calendar year! I started doing the NYT crossword with a few friends at lunchtime in high school back in the 1970s when Eugene T Maleska was the editor. Kids, in the olden days the crossword didn’t gradually get harder throughout the week (that was one of the best later innovations by Will Shortz), so you never knew what you were going to get. And you had to wait until the next day to check your work (no happy music). Throughout my working career, I would do the puzzle with small groups of colleagues. I am a social solver who really enjoys the interaction and conversation that crossword solving elicits. Now that I am retired it’s just me and my wife doing the puzzle together every evening. Of course we do Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, and Strands too. Many thanks to the New York Times for providing a lifetime of thoughtful entertainment, may the new year bring every solver many tasty chewy aha moments!
@Kevin Loved hearing your perspective. Thanks for sharing it.
I loved the theme of today’s puzzle! I’m a new solver on a 7-day streak and am amazed by how much joy working the daily crossword puzzles bring me. I hope this becomes a daily habit that I continue for the rest of my life. I’m also so grateful for the puzzle tips and to get to interact with all of you through the comments. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!
@Logan So happy to have you here! I'm thrilled to hear that the puzzles are bringing you so much happiness already. I've been solving since I was a kid, and it is indeed one of those hobbies that only gets more fun over time. Here's to many more streaks - and may any streak breaks be gloriously unbothered, the crossword will always forgive you. Happy New Year!
@Logan I love the heartfelt positivity of your post 😃
@Logan Lovely to have you joining this happy band of solvers. It is a very friendly group (with an occasional rare exception, and I just ignore those). There are also folks with varied backgrounds and areas of knowledge, so just reading the comments means learning things that are new to you. At least that’s true for me.
Just a heads up -- tomorrow, as I do every January 1, I will be posting not my favorite clues of the week, but my favorite clues of 2025. Good memories for me, and I hope for you as well!
@Lewis Nipping in early to thank you. As day succeeds day relentlessly, there you are again, pointing out to us the admirable features of that day's puzzle: the wittiest clues, the subtle echoes among the various answers, the choice vocabulary. Thanks a million.
@Lewis I started keeping a list of my favorite clues this year, too! I am curious to see if our lists match! Thank you for all your little insights. I enjoy reading your posts!
@Lewis best clue of the year for ATMs in this puzzle, and it was a new one. Special mention worthy.
Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year! Best, Julia
Aww I now feel a bit disappointed that I raced through this one on New Year's Eve Eve, instead of savouring it on the proper day. Almost got my personal best for a Wednesday, so that's something nice. I hope everyone enjoys the last day of 2025, and here's to a wonderful 2026! Thanks Jeffrey!
As we close out 2025, I would just like to thank the NYT crossword crew, the witty puzzle constructors, and the people of this forum... you have provided me with endless entertainment , intellectual stimulation, and hope for a better future in times when I've really needed it this past year. ❤️
Rowers don't have paddles, they have oars. (Unless there's some wordplay here that I'm missing.) Didn't slow me down, though.
@J-J Cote Rowers might own a kayak or a canoe, so they would have paddles. (Is this where Nitpickers Anonymous is meeting today?)
@J-J Cote Please let's not have a row today. It's NYE!
not sure where all these negative comments are coming from - great puzzle, happy new year
Thank you, Jeffrey, for a fun, final grid for 2025! At first I was expecting the hats and balloons to explode into confetti, but then sat back and admired the colors among the symmetry of black squares. While perhaps not intended, I'm now viewing this grid as a hopeful metaphor that there will be more color & joy to come in 2026 as we leave the dark behind. VIVE LA PAIX! Wishing all of you a peaceful, happy and healthy New Year!☮️❣️
So, ATM and ATMS have appeared in the major Crosslandia puzzles around a thousand times. You would think that all the good clues for these answers have been found. But today Jeffrey came up with a brand new one – [Things people prefer to type on in secrecy, for short]. Props for that, sir, and I liked it because it had my brain going all over the place before it hit on the answer with a lovely “Hah!” Thank you for that, Jeffrey, and for a party-in-a-box puzzle that evoked how I want to feel on New Year’s Eve. Speaking of party in a box, this commentariat of old friends and new voices that brings smiles, reflections, quirk and personality in a daily gab, adding sweet richness to life, a gathering I’m so grateful for. To all, a year ahead with a sizeable chunk of pleasure, happy surprises, and wishes granted!
A fun puzzle and cute graphics. But I have no idea what the theme was.
@Dan Do folks in BC get together with neighbors on the same “block” to party? It’s still a thing down here even in these dark times (maybe needed more than ever right now). Happy New Year (almost)!
@Dan The crossword is at a New Year's bash, so the themed entries are made up of a grid part (square/cell/box/block) + a word for "gathering" (dance/reception/social/party). HNY (almost) to all as well!
@Dan It may be like the punchline to a joke one doesn't get. Explaining it often does not help.
Are party hats and balloons associated with SQUARE DANCEs and BOX SOCIALs? Are there really gatherings called CELL RECEPTIONS or is it just a play on words (uniquely, among the themed answers)?
@DIVAS IVLIVS The point is that the hats and balloons just mean some sort of parties, which includes receptions, socials and dances. The first word is just wordplay related to them being inside boxes.
@DIVAS IVLIVS It's simply a mediocre theme that only sort of works 🤷🏽
@DIVAS IVLIVS It was a rather half-baked theme, and I was as confused by its details as you appear to be 🤷🏽
My favorite kids book is Go Dog Go where we learn that dogs have rich internal lives and really know how to party. It turns out that crossword puzzle grids do too! I liked the pretty cells. Thank you!
I did not find this to be, as @Sam wrote, "a delightfully festive solve." First, the little party icons were just there to force me to print my paper copy using more ink, since only the newspaper version was displayed. Unless I'm missing something, they serve no real purpose. XES IN, followed by the improbable REACHED IN? And I never heard of a BOX SOCIAL. Maybe that's on me, but I don't think it's in common parlance. CELL RECEPTION is oddly not a gathering, so it didn't fit the theme the way the other did. The answer for Book Reviewer was also a stretch, since CPAs review the books, plural. IDLE CHAT is another answer that, though it may appear in a dictionary, is something that no one says. It's IDLE CHATTER. The revealer was easy enough to come by, but I was saddened to have this be the final puzzle of the year. It was a total slog that fell flat on its face, IMO. Happy New Year from this curmudgeon to all of you, even those who dislike my opposing viewpoints 🎈🎆🎉
@Times Rita Curmudgeonly cheers, Rita!
@Times Rita yes, is it a thing like the other theme answers are… Is what I thought. Apparently it is, but not a modern or global thing. Reachedin could have had a more sensical clue.
@Times Rita Had a similar experience across the board. A glance at Wikipedia reveals BOX SOCIAL to be a thing — but not much of one. Sounds like a regional phrase that was in common usage early in the last century and maybe even a few decades ago. Although now that I have written that I am sure we will hear from someone who attends a BOX SOCIAL every other Saturday … Still, I found this one a bit meh to be honest. Oh well — can’t win em all. Happy New Year!
@Times Rita I know BOX SOCIAL from the musical Oklahoma!
Today is #2000 in our current yellow star streak, which we started on July 11, 2020. Happy New Year to all, looking forward to more happy puzzling!!
@FR Kern I'm 'only' at 1571. Is it scary or comforting to know that there are other's at least as neurotic as I am?
@FR Kern, Wow!!! Well done! That is an impressive streak! How odd that it falls on the last day of the year, too. Have a great 2026! 🎉🍾🥂
I'm so grateful I rediscovered my love of crosswords this year, and made NYTCW part of my daily routine. Thank you to all the talented constructors, and to everyone here for the daily laughs. Wishing you all a joyful 2026! May you indulge in Oreos and IPAs while listening to Brian Eno or Yoko Ono, and may you never be chased by orcas or emus. 🎈🥳🎉
Initially confused by the artwork—are these things supposed to be part of the answers?, but it turns out they're just for decoration and holiday theming. No problems getting through this one, and fairly quickly. What wasn't obvious was filled in by crosses, which then made things obvious, which was appreciated. Happy New Year! and hopefully a better one in the wings! Thanks, Jeffrey!
So, what's the big deal? Colors? Bright lights that flash? Party poppers? I did visit the NYT puzzle app to see what I missed by printing and solving on paper with my trusty pen... apparently, nuthin'..... Fizzle. Deflation. NO GO. There IS going to be a New Year's Eve party later (here at our CCRC)....from 4 to 6 p.m. Yep, we're a wild and crazy bunch! It's just as well this was a quick solve. Yesterday when I felt ambitious I suggested cheese grits, and now I am expected to go cook 'em. Jeez Louise. It's sunny, with blue skies, the wind is down, and it's up to 31 degrees. I should be grateful. (Repeat this until attitude improves....)
@Mean Old Lady It's 20 degrees here. Celsius 😃 (And dad sent me pics of Lucek playing in the snow)
@Mean Old Lady Enjoy your party and all the best for a happy new year from a fellow quilter
Today’s puzzle didn’t do it for me. Maybe I’m just not in the right frame of mind. I got it fine with no help but the theme seemed a bit so-so. CELL RECEPTION seemed like the theme answers were going to be some sort of pun but apart from the square/box/etc connection they were all just other gatherings. Anyway, it whiled away a few minutes and took my mind off my troubles, so thanks.
I’m EDIE CENA, CHAIR of the SQUARE DANCE. I’m here to brag about my fascinating guests. First and foremost, LIBERACE, freshly MANSCAPED and looking svelte from months of AVID adherence to a NO CARB PLAN. He was stunning in DIOR. I thought, “AMORE di amore!” We were graced by ALI ADAB, the most prominent of the EMIRS in attendance, along with their wives in NIQABs. Then there was Milli Ami, the life of every PARTY, who so enjoyed the XIN, (or is it Zin?) that she began chanting VIVE LE ROI, understood by no one but enjoyed by all. REN YEN was there, a Chinese diplomat and a CPA, but hardly a stick in the MUD. He GETS COMFY in any room. Our musical guest was rap group “STEALTH PERPS RPM” (no “The”), of you TUBE fame, accompanied by their pet MACAW named MINI, and their manger PAPA BEAR. Of some concern was FBI agent, TED TRENT, a sometimes AMNESIC. He REACHed INto his cold case files and saw that “YEN REN” was an international spy who he confused with our guest, REN YEN. I could go on about how TRENT SET A TRAP, BLOCKed CELL RECEPTION, but fortunately for you dear reader, there is a word limit.
@Kathryn That was fun to read and it also saved my bacon. I was finished except for the small NW corner. I had the wrong pickup truck name and the wrong bragging sports star and also didn’t know that particular veil for Muslim women. Thanks for the assist 😊
BOX SOCIAL? Is that a thing? I've never heard that and I can't imagine what it could possibly mean. I found the puzzle rather uninteresting, with a meh theme, at best, and bland fill. None of the clues or answers popped at me in a particularly fun way, and even though I struggled with some entries, I filled the grid in Tuesday time 🤷🏽 At first I interpreted the party hats as Christmas trees. Such headgear was completely unknown in the Poland of my early, pre-1989 childhood. You can buy party hats these days, but they are still not popular, at all. Balloons have always been a thing especially at kids' parties (exclusively rubber ones before, and plastic ones more recently) but for years now they've been frowned upon for environmental reasons, so their popularity rightly wanes.
@Andrzej I think there’s one in the original movie version of Oklahoma, if you can somehow stream that in Portugal. Women made box lunches or dinners, men bid on the meals and the right to share them with the woman who made them, and the town raised a little money from the sales.
@Andrzej This can't possibly be right. Wszystkiego najlepszego w Nowym Roku
Oh, the farmer and the cowman must be friends. The second act of Oklahoma is set at a BOX SOCIAL. And I've probably read novels that had them as plot points. Fun theme with a bit of crunch in the cluing. <a href="https://youtu.be/j8tF9J-u8k4?si=XePt3tTz_d7yaz8F" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/j8tF9J-u8k4?si=XePt3tTz_d7yaz8F</a>
Slightly (7%) faster than average. Raise a hand if you never heard of box social. (I have now, after looking it up) I lost my smart phone. Turns out, someone found it, but they could not contact me because I had no phone. They turned it over to the police, who brought it to my house. Needless to say, it was the best CELL RECEPTION ever.
@Jim, wow, nice police to take the time to do that. That wouldn’t happen in a big city. The number that displays on my iPhone‘s home screen is my daughter‘s phone number, for that reason. If I were to lose it, and someone finds it, they can call her.
Echoing a few other sentiments here- I too am very grateful to have taken the leap to try NYT crosswords this year and to have found this forum to share our delights and woes. Appreciating all involved. Wishing everyone the best for 2026!
Fun puzzle, bright and cheery. Happy New Year Crossword Community!
I needed the balloons to rise and the lights to go on after the solve. Cmon NYT!!!
Well.... um, yeah, I did the puzzle. I may have even done did it. But enough about that. Thanks to you all for making 2025 a bit more palatable! Wishing you a wonderful 2026! May all your party hats explode with confetti upon completion of this year tonight! 🥳🥳🩵🥳🥳
Adding my thanks for all the hard work in making these puzzles available to us, and also to this friendly community for being, well, friendly. A small haven in a tough year. May 2026 bring kindness, strength and hope. Whoever you are.
As a paddler, can I quibble about 28A? ROWERS use oars, not paddles ... LOL (Or, as I like to say, paddlers see where they're going, rowers see where they've been...) Happy New Year to my fellow solvers! The last puzzle of 2025 was a fun one!
@Ian thank you! I came here to say this. Very common mistake.
@Ian Never tell a dragon boater they are rowing! They will snap at you that they PADDLE and likely tell you why paddling’s form is completely different from rowing (and of course how a paddle and oar are apples and oranges!) 😂
May your 2026 be healthy, happy and fulfilling, and may the current times change to a positive path, one that we can be proud of. Thanks for good wishes yesterday. No bad news, really, no cancer, but not much help either. Oh well, tomorrow is another year. Happy New Year!
@dutchiris I'm very glad there's no cancer! I also understand how hard it is to wait and to know there's something but not know what it is. Best to you in 2026!!
Fairly easy to complete. The “theme” did nothing for me. Bah humbug!
["Blech! Next time make these cookies with one-thousandth as many of those seed pods."] May the new year bring you all love, joy and the pursuit of absurdity!! MILLI VANILLA
First and foremost Happy New Year fellow puzzlers - you are my people ! Am I the only one who had BLACK party before BLOCK ? I just thought the partying seemed to be happening in the black squares -LOL . I thought this was fun- but I ,too was hoping for confetti or balloons or maybe even horns ! Let us go forward in peace and love , and hope for a brighter more benevolent New Year - Happy 2026 all.
Fun! Took me forever to figure out that I had REACHESIN (instead of reached in) which made "mess around a sty" MUS (instead of mud). I thought "mus" was just a country way of saying "mess" LOL
@Eli Edwards Muss would have done but you'd be short an S in this grid. That squealing you hear is my tires as I take the turn into a new civil year. I haven't been this anxious to see the back of a year since...last year. Fresh start! Good wishes to all.
@Eli Edwards I made a much bigger mess, because I read the wrong clue--"Green bloom" and Aha! Entered MUM--those odd chrysantheMUMs that are pale green, you know? And went on to get even more confused and frustrated..... MUSS is a word--as in, if you muss a young lady's hair, she'll not forgive you. Just a tip.
Wasn’t crazy about this one. Clues, fill and theme all felt a little anticlimactic after being enticed by such a colorful grid. I did like VIVE LE ROI though.
@Charles Nelson Reilly agreed, I kept on looking for the images to be relevant to the answers
I've never commented before but I can't help myself. ROWERS are oar people.