By John Carmichael
As we ease into the holiday season and Christmas nears, the right strain can make things a little brighter and a lot more relaxed.
Peppermint Kush (photo credit: Leafly).
For this 2025 Christmas guide, we pulled together a dozen strains with winter-ready names, seasonal flavors and proven popularity on modern menus across the country.
Peppermint Kush
Peppermint Kush is tailor-made for December: a heavy indica with a sharp mint flavor and smell, backed by earthy, peppery undertones. Often testing around 18–22% THC, it delivers a fast-onset full-body high that pairs well with a quiet night by the fireplace or winding down after travel. The flavor lands somewhere between herbal tea and peppermint bark, giving this strain strong Christmas-candy energy.
The strain was also on the list in 2024.
Peppermint Cookies
Peppermint Cookies combines classic cookie-dough sweetness with cool mint notes, making it feel like a jar of holiday cookies in flower form. This indica-dominant hybrid has picked up competition hardware in the past and continues to appear on modern menus for its dense, frosty buds and dessert-forward terpene profile. Expect a comfortable, body-heavy high that still keeps the mood light enough for gift wrapping, decorating or late-night conversations.
Candy Cane
Candy Cane remains a go-to holiday strain thanks to its minty, berry candy profile and cheerful, indica-leaning effects. Bred from AK-47, Mango and White Widow, it typically tests in the mid-teens to around 20% THC, offering a relaxed but not couch-locked experience that fits a long evening of movies or board games. The sweet, dessert-like flavor and sugar-high style euphoria make it an easy fit beside actual peppermint sticks.
Jack Frost
Jack Frost looks like it rolled straight out of a snow globe, with crystal-covered buds and a bright, piney-citrus aroma. A sativa-leaning hybrid, it is known for creative, euphoric and energizing effects that can help you power through cooking, cleaning or last-minute shopping without getting too wired. The wintery name and frosted appearance make Jack Frost an obvious choice for daytime Christmas festivities.
Snowcap
Snowcap (often stylized Snow Cap) is a balanced or slightly sativa-leaning hybrid that stays popular for its uplifting high and zesty citrus-mint flavor. It tends to deliver a buzzy, social head high with minimal heaviness, ideal for holiday parties, game nights or catching up with visiting family. The strain’s trichome-laden buds live up to the name, looking like they’ve been dusted with fresh snow.
Snow Lotus
(Photo credit: BC Bud Supply).
Snow Lotus, also known as Goohead, has become a cult favorite for its resinous, snow-blanketed buds and hybrid indica-leaning effects. Modern THCa versions keep it in rotation on contemporary menus, particularly with consumers who like potent concentrates and flower. Expect a mix of earthy, lemon and pine notes, plus a deeply relaxing body feel that works well after a long day of shopping, cooking or hosting.
Northern Lights
Northern Lights might not scream Christmas by name, but its aurora-inspired branding, piney aroma and legendary popularity make it a winter essential. Frequently highlighted on 2024 and 2025 “most popular strain” lists, it remains one of the most sought-after indicas on dispensary shelves. With sweet, earthy, pine notes and a heavy, tension-melting body high, Northern Lights is perfect for curling up in front of a holiday movie marathon.
Blizzard
Blizzard and its various phenotypes bridge the gap between novelty and legit winter workhorse. The strain is generally described as a frosty hybrid or indica with creamy, sweet and earthy flavors, plus a smooth, calming high. It fits those deep-winter nights where you want to slow everything down and let the day’s chaos fade into the background while the “storm” stays outside.
Santa’s Cookies
Santa’s Cookies feels like it was bred specifically for Christmas Eve. Typically a balanced hybrid built from Girl Scout Cookies and Cherry Pie genetics, it delivers a sweet, buttery cookie aroma with fruity and gassy undertones and mid- to high-teens THC levels. The effect is usually an immediate, cheerful head buzz that settles into a relaxed body high – just right for stuffing stockings, baking desserts or sneaking one last cookie from the tray.
Santa’s Stash
Santa’s Stash (sometimes marketed under holiday cookie variants) was literally created as a Christmas-season strain, combining Girl Scout Cookies and Cherry Pie to capture the flavor of sugar cookies left under the tree. Expect a sweet, nutty, cherry-tinged profile and a balanced hybrid high that keeps you merry without knocking you out too early. It’s an excellent choice for exchanging gifts, playing party games or putting together toys that definitely did not require assembly.
Sugar Plum
Sugar Plum brings Nutcracker vibes with a candy-plum aroma and an upbeat, sativa-leaning effect profile. The strain has won multiple cups and continues to see life in infused pre-rolls and flower offerings, making it a solid modern pick for those who prefer a more active holiday high. With juicy, fruity flavors and an uplifting buzz, Sugar Plum works well for decorating, cooking or heading out to see light displays.
1979 Xmas Bud
For a nostalgic throwback, 1979 Xmas Bud brings old-school holiday energy into 2025. Modern reproductions of this mostly indica strain are noted for growing like a Christmas tree and smelling strongly of pine and classic skunk, with a deeply relaxing, narcotic-leaning body stone. This is the strain for late-night, lights-off sessions when the house is finally quiet, the leftovers are put away and you want to drift into a long winter’s nap.
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