Spectrum #36: Order these Christmas songs by when they were written — the solution
The Spectrum puzzle from September 19, 2026: six things on one hidden scale, earliest to latest, with every figure and where the checks were best spent.
The puzzle
Order these Christmas songs by when they were written, earliest at the top and latest at the bottom. The board opened in this order:
- Feliz Navidad
- White Christmas
- Silent Night
- All I Want for Christmas Is You
- Jingle Bells
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Nothing was in its place; Feliz Navidad opened 4 places from home.
The walkthrough
The ends first. Silent Night is the earliest of the six at 1818 and All I Want for Christmas Is You the latest at 1994. Anchor those and the middle four are what is left to place.
Where the scale splits. The widest gap is between Jingle Bells (1857) and White Christmas (1942) — 85 years apart. Everything above that line belongs on the earliest side and everything below it on the latest side, so sorting the six into those two groups is most of the puzzle.
The closest call. White Christmas (1942) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1949) are only 7 years apart — the pair that is a coin flip without the figures, and the place to spend a check: a check locks whatever is already right and leaves only the wrong tiles to swap.
The answer
| # | Earliest to Latest | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silent Night | 1818 |
| 2 | Jingle Bells | 1857 |
| 3 | White Christmas | 1942 |
| 4 | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | 1949 |
| 5 | Feliz Navidad | 1970 |
| 6 | All I Want for Christmas Is You | 1994 |
Previous: Spectrum #35 (Fri, Sep 18) · Next: Spectrum #37 (Sun, Sep 20)
About Spectrum
Spectrum is Noggin’s daily ordering puzzle: six things, one hidden scale, three checks. Tiles in the right place lock green; the figures turn over when the board is done. How to play Spectrum, or play today’s.