Nudge 1 It should be obvious that themers are contrived phrases. But they can be easily transformed into conventional entries. But how?
Nudge 2 The five themers all have something in common. That thing has nothing to do with their
Nudge 2a meaning.
It has a lot to do with their
Nudge 2b letters.
Nudge 3 The significance of those (see Nudge 2b) is the same as in the WSJ puzzle of two weeks ago (“Table for Two”). The table in question is periodic.
Nudge 4 The clue at 69A tells you what to do with that element of the themers.
Nudge 5 The themers have now become new phrases. But the clues for those five new theme entries do not fit. For each one, you must search the clues for a clue that does fit.
Nudge 6 Those clues lead you to new entries. As in most metas, the relevant letter of those entries is the first one.
Nudge 7 You now have a 5-letter word. But that word is not the title of a Christmas song. To create that title, you have to do something similar to the way you transformed the themers except that you must do it in reverse. In other words.
Nudge 7a what had been removed must now be restored.
Nudge 8 Or you could forget all of this, go to Google, and enter the words above the grid.