Christmas trivia questions and answers
60 questions for the family or the Christmas party, in eight rounds: traditions around the world, songs, name the carol, movies, food, history, an easy round for kids and a harder one for adults. Tap Answer under a question to see it, or print the quiz with the answers on a page of their own.
Keep score for the quiz on your iPhone or iPad, team by team. Tallynight is free, with no ads.
Get TallynightHow to play Christmas trivia as a team game
Split into teams of two to six, and mix the ages so the kids and the grandparents play together. One person hosts. They read each question aloud twice, and each team agrees on an answer and writes it down.
Each right answer scores 1 point. After each round, teams swap answer sheets and mark each other's while the host reads the answers out. For a bonus round, make the harder round worth 2 points a question, or give each team a joker to double the round it feels best about.
Keep score in Tallynight on an iPhone or iPad, on the free online score keeper, or on the printed team score sheet. The trivia night guide has more on rounds, jokers and tie-breakers.
Christmas traditions around the world
Who brings the presents, and when, from Iceland to Japan.
In Iceland, how many Yule Lads visit, one a night, in the nights before Christmas? A) 3 B) 7 C) 13
Answer
C) 13. Children leave a shoe on the windowsill for a small gift.
In Italy, who brings children presents on the night of 5 January?
Answer
La Befana, a kind old woman on a broomstick.
In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat in November. Which country does he sail from, in the story?
Answer
Spain.
In Mexico, what are the nine nights of processions from 16 to 24 December called?
Answer
Las Posadas. They recall Mary and Joseph's search for a place to stay.
On St Lucia's Day in Sweden, 13 December, what does the girl chosen as Lucia wear on her head?
Answer
A crown of candles, or of lights.
In Catalonia, children feed a log called the Tió de Nadal, then tap it with sticks at Christmas. What does it give them?
Answer
Sweets and small presents.
In which country do many families eat fried chicken from KFC at Christmas, a custom that grew from a 1974 advertising campaign?
Answer
Japan.
Christmas songs
Who wrote them, who sang them, and where they were first heard.
Which carol was first sung on Christmas Eve 1818, in the village church of Oberndorf, Austria?
Answer
Silent Night, written in German as Stille Nacht by Joseph Mohr, with music by Franz Xaver Gruber.
Guinness World Records lists Bing Crosby's recording of which Irving Berlin song as the best-selling single, at an estimated 50 million copies?
Answer
White Christmas, first heard in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in 1939, in a booklet given away by which department store?
Answer
Montgomery Ward. Robert L. May, one of its copywriters, wrote the story.
Which singing cowboy made Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer a hit song in 1949? A) Roy Rogers B) Gene Autry C) Johnny Cash
Answer
B) Gene Autry.
Who wrote and sang Feliz Navidad, released in 1970?
Answer
José Feliciano.
Which singer released All I Want for Christmas Is You in 1994?
Answer
Mariah Carey.
Name the carol
The host reads the line aloud, and teams name the carol. Every line here comes from a carol old enough to be in the public domain.
“'Tis the season to be jolly”
Answer
Deck the Halls.
“The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes”
Answer
Away in a Manger.
“Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices”
Answer
O Holy Night.
“Let nothing you dismay”
Answer
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.
“Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel”
Answer
Good King Wenceslas.
“Good tidings we bring to you and your kin”
Answer
We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Christmas movies
The films families watch every December.
In Home Alone (1990), where is Kevin's family flying when they leave him behind?
Answer
Paris.
What do the two burglars in Home Alone call themselves?
Answer
The Wet Bandits.
In Elf (2003), what are the four main food groups of elves?
Answer
Candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup.
In It's a Wonderful Life (1946), what is the name of George Bailey's guardian angel?
Answer
Clarence.
In A Christmas Story (1983), what does Ralphie want for Christmas?
Answer
A Red Ryder BB gun.
In The Polar Express, what is the first gift of Christmas the boy chooses?
Answer
A silver bell from Santa's sleigh.
In The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), which part does Kermit the Frog play?
Answer
Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's clerk.
In Miracle on 34th Street (1947), what convinces the court that Kris Kringle is Santa Claus?
Answer
The post office delivers sacks of letters addressed to Santa to him, in court.
Christmas food
Breads, cakes and puddings from around the world.
Which sweet bread with raisins and candied fruit comes from Milan? A) panettone B) focaccia C) brioche
Answer
A) Panettone.
Which German Christmas bread, full of dried fruit and dusted with sugar, is famous in Dresden?
Answer
Stollen.
In France, the bûche de Noël is a cake shaped like what?
Answer
A log, the Yule log.
On Christmas Eve, many Italian American families serve the Feast of the Seven what?
Answer
Fishes.
In Britain, what is stirred into a Christmas pudding, for luck to whoever finds it?
Answer
A silver coin, often a sixpence.
Which spice in mulled wine is a dried flower bud? A) cinnamon B) cloves C) nutmeg
Answer
B) Cloves.
Christmas history
Where Scrooge, the reindeer and the Christmas tree came from.
Which Charles Dickens story, published in December 1843, introduced Ebenezer Scrooge?
Answer
A Christmas Carol.
In A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Scrooge's late business partner, whose ghost visits first?
Answer
Jacob Marley.
In the poem first printed in 1823 as Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas, better known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, how many reindeer pull the sleigh?
Answer
Eight. Rudolph came later, in 1939.
In 1848, the Illustrated London News printed a picture of which royal couple around a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, spreading the custom across Britain?
Answer
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Which president lit the first National Christmas Tree, on Christmas Eve 1923?
Answer
Calvin Coolidge.
In which year did British and German soldiers stop fighting along parts of the Western Front for an unofficial Christmas truce? A) 1914 B) 1916 C) 1918
Answer
A) 1914, in the first winter of the First World War.
Since 1955, which North American military command has tracked Santa's flight on Christmas Eve?
Answer
NORAD. It began at CONAD, NORAD's forerunner, when a newspaper ad printed a wrong phone number and children called it to talk to Santa.
An easy round for kids
Ten easy questions, several with three choices to pick from. Let the youngest at the table answer first.
What colour is Rudolph's nose?
Answer
Red.
Where does Santa Claus live?
Answer
The North Pole.
What are Santa's helpers called? A) elves B) gnomes C) fairies
Answer
A) Elves.
In Dr. Seuss's Grinch story, how many sizes does the Grinch's heart grow? A) one B) three C) ten
Answer
B) Three.
How many points does a snowflake have? A) 4 B) 6 C) 8
Answer
B) 6.
What do people hang up by the fireplace for presents?
Answer
Stockings.
Which plant do people kiss under at Christmas?
Answer
Mistletoe.
On the first day of Christmas, what did my true love give to me?
Answer
A partridge in a pear tree.
Which spice gives gingerbread its name?
Answer
Ginger.
In Australia, which season is it at Christmas?
Answer
Summer.
A harder round for adults
Ten harder questions for the grown-ups. Play it as a bonus round, worth 2 points a question.
Add up every gift in every verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas. How many are there? A) 78 B) 144 C) 364
Answer
C) 364.
In the 1823 first printing of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, what were the reindeer we now call Donner and Blitzen named?
Answer
Dunder and Blixem, from the Dutch for thunder and lightning.
Who sent the first commercial Christmas card, in London in 1843?
Answer
Henry Cole. His friend John Callcott Horsley painted the design.
In what year did Christmas become a US federal holiday? A) 1789 B) 1870 C) 1941
Answer
B) 1870, in a law signed by President Ulysses S. Grant.
Handel's Messiah, now sung every Christmas, was first performed in 1742 in which city?
Answer
Dublin.
In December 1965, Gemini 6 astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford played Jingle Bells in space. On what? A) a harmonica and bells B) a ukulele C) a recorder
Answer
A) A small harmonica and a handful of bells, now at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
The poinsettia is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US minister to which country, where the plant grows wild?
Answer
Mexico.
Jingle Bells was first published in 1857 under what title?
Answer
One Horse Open Sleigh.
Which city has sent London the Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square every year since 1947, as thanks for help in the Second World War?
Answer
Oslo, in Norway.
Which cartoonist's Christmas drawings for Harper's Weekly, starting in 1863, shaped how Americans picture Santa Claus?
Answer
Thomas Nast.
Tie-breaker
If teams are tied for first, each writes down a number. The closest answer wins, over or under.
In what year did Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker first play, in St Petersburg?
Answer
1892.
More games for Christmas
When the quiz is done, keep the party going. Our Christmas games has games for big groups, the family table and the slow days after Christmas.
Answers
- C) 13. Children leave a shoe on the windowsill for a small gift.
- La Befana, a kind old woman on a broomstick.
- Spain.
- Las Posadas. They recall Mary and Joseph's search for a place to stay.
- A crown of candles, or of lights.
- Sweets and small presents.
- Japan.
- Silent Night, written in German as Stille Nacht by Joseph Mohr, with music by Franz Xaver Gruber.
- White Christmas, first heard in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.
- Montgomery Ward. Robert L. May, one of its copywriters, wrote the story.
- B) Gene Autry.
- José Feliciano.
- Mariah Carey.
- Deck the Halls.
- Away in a Manger.
- O Holy Night.
- God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.
- Good King Wenceslas.
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
- Paris.
- The Wet Bandits.
- Candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup.
- Clarence.
- A Red Ryder BB gun.
- A silver bell from Santa's sleigh.
- Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's clerk.
- The post office delivers sacks of letters addressed to Santa to him, in court.
- A) Panettone.
- Stollen.
- A log, the Yule log.
- Fishes.
- A silver coin, often a sixpence.
- B) Cloves.
- A Christmas Carol.
- Jacob Marley.
- Eight. Rudolph came later, in 1939.
- Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
- Calvin Coolidge.
- A) 1914, in the first winter of the First World War.
- NORAD. It began at CONAD, NORAD's forerunner, when a newspaper ad printed a wrong phone number and children called it to talk to Santa.
- Red.
- The North Pole.
- A) Elves.
- B) Three.
- B) 6.
- Stockings.
- Mistletoe.
- A partridge in a pear tree.
- Ginger.
- Summer.
- C) 364.
- Dunder and Blixem, from the Dutch for thunder and lightning.
- Henry Cole. His friend John Callcott Horsley painted the design.
- B) 1870, in a law signed by President Ulysses S. Grant.
- Dublin.
- A) A small harmonica and a handful of bells, now at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
- Mexico.
- One Horse Open Sleigh.
- Oslo, in Norway.
- Thomas Nast.
- 1892.
Keep score for the quiz in Tallynight
Choose Something else, then Rounds, and under Who wins pick Highest. Add each team as a player, then tap Start game.
After each round, type every team's score on one keypad, with any joker already doubled. The table keeps the totals and who's in front, and you can tap any round to fix a marking mistake.
- Every team's round on one keypad
- Running totals and who's in front
- Tap any round to fix a marking mistake
- A winner card for the family chat
Questions
How many questions do you need for Christmas trivia?
For a family game, three or four rounds of 10 is plenty. For a Christmas party, plan on six rounds or so. This page has 60 questions in eight rounds, so pick the rounds that suit your crowd.
Is there a printable version?
Yes. Tap Print the questions and answers below the last round. The questions print first and the answers come on a separate page, so the host can keep them out of sight. Most browsers can save it as a PDF from the same window.
Is there Christmas trivia for kids?
Yes. The easy round for kids has 10 questions about Santa, Rudolph, the Grinch and snowflakes, several with three choices. Put a child on each team, or let the kids play that round on their own.
Is there Christmas trivia for adults?
The harder round for adults covers the first Christmas card, the first song played in space and where Santa's look came from. Play it as a bonus round worth 2 points a question.
How do you play Christmas trivia with a big group?
Split into teams of four to six, with one host to read the questions. Each team writes its answers on a sheet and hands it in after every round. The printed team score sheet has room for eight teams.
How do you keep score in trivia?
One point for each right answer. The host reads out the answers and the scores after each round. Keep them in Tallynight, on the online score keeper or on paper. The trivia night guide covers half points, jokers and tie-breakers.