Holiday parties are slowly making a comeback this year after the pandemic upended plans in 2020. If you’re too busy planning out your actual holiday style to think about Associated Press style rules, then we’ve got you covered.
Here are some tips assembled from the AP Stylebook and its holiday guides:
Holidays are capitalized: Hanukkah (which was Nov. 28 to Dec. 6), Christmas Eve, Christmas, Christmas Day, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s, New Year’s Day, Lunar New Year.
But greetings are lowercase, unless you’re using them as an exclamation: “Have a happy new year, wishing you a merry Christmas, sending season’s greetings your way” versus “Happy holidays! Merry Christmas! Season’s greetings! Happy New Year!” Feliz Navidad is also capitalized.
Do not use Xmas.
Watch your apostrophes. It’s “Happy holidays from the Poynters,” not “Happy holiday’s from the Poynter’s.”
It’s just a Christmas tree, unless you’re referring to the National Christmas Tree in Washington. Similarly, leave other Christmas-related terms like card and wreath lowercase.
Both Santa Claus and Santa are acceptable. Just “Claus” is not. But you can use Mrs. Claus to refer to Santa’s wife. They live in the North Pole. And “Santa Clause” either refers to the Tim Allen movie or is a misspelling.
Other holiday-related figures include the Grinch, Kriss Kringle and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
You can top a cookie with frosting or icing; either is acceptable. Other foods and drinks you might enjoy this holiday season include coquito, cornbread, eggnog, fruitcake, gingerbread, kugel, latkes, panettone and sugarplums.
As of last year, the word preheat is acceptable. Remember, dressing is usually cooked outside of the bird while stuffing is cooked inside.
Be precise. Are you drinking Champagne or sparkling wine? One comes from a specific region in France while the other is a more general category. When exactly is midnight? Use exact times like 11:59 p.m. Friday or 12:01 a.m. Saturday instead.
Some songs you might hear this holiday season: “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “White Christmas” and “Auld Lang Syne.” But if you’re writing out musical notes, keep them lowercase: fa la la la la, la la la la.
