Christmas Trivia Questions and Answers
Yule Lads, reindeer names, panettone and the first electric tree lights, with the answer one tap away.
- Time
- 15–45 min
- Players
- Two or more people
- Best for
- Holiday parties, family dinners and gift swaps
- Deck
- 100 questions in 5 categories
How to use these Christmas trivia questions
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Read the question on the top card aloud and let everyone call out an answer.
- Tap “Show answer”, then “Next question”, or swipe the card away, for another. Questions do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save a question on this device, or tap “Make a 10-question list” to copy questions with their answers.
When to play Christmas trivia
Trivia needs one reader and a few people who like to guess, so it slips into the slow parts of December: the wait for dinner, the break between gifts, the last half hour of a party. Every card has its answer, so nobody needs to look anything up.
The office holiday party
Teams of coworkers race to name the singer of Jingle Bell Rock or the city behind panettone, and the quizmaster keeps score on the back of a paper plate.
Waiting for dinner
While the food finishes in the oven, read Food and treats aloud, from pepparkakor to the almond hidden in the rice pudding, and let the cooks shout answers from the kitchen.
A movie night in December
Before the film starts, read five cards from Movies, songs and stories, about the Grinch, Scrooge and The Polar Express, and see who knows the books behind the screen.
Ways to play Christmas trivia
Quizmaster with the phone
One person holds the phone and reads each question aloud. Everyone else calls out answers, and the first right one takes the phone and reads the next card. If nobody has it, the quizmaster taps “Show answer” and reads one more.
Teams around the dinner table
Split the table into two teams. The quizmaster reads a card to each team in turn, and the team gets thirty seconds to agree on one answer. Keep score on a napkin, and play one category per round, from Traditions around the world to Trees, lights and decorations.
One question per gift
During a gift swap or while the presents are handed out, read a question before each gift is opened. Whoever is about to unwrap answers first, and anyone can help if they are stuck.
Tips for a good Christmas trivia round
- Mix easy and hard: Santa and the reindeer and Food and treats give everyone an early point, while Traditions around the world stumps even the quiz fans.
- Count close answers when the spirit is right, like “Holland” for the Netherlands or “a cake log” for a bûche de Noël.
- Heart the questions that surprised the room most, like the Yule goat behind Finland’s name for Santa, and save them for next year’s round.
All 100 christmas trivia by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and play there.
Traditions around the world
Yule Lads in Iceland, a straw goat in Sweden and fried chicken on a Japanese Christmas Eve.
- In Australia, Christmas arrives in which season?Answer: summer
- In Japan, which takeout dish is a hugely popular Christmas Eve meal?Answer: fried chicken
- True or false: December 25 is a national public holiday in Japan.Answer: false
- Which country sends London a giant Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square every year?Answer: Norway
- How many Yule Lads visit Iceland, one by one, in the nights before Christmas?Answer: thirteen
- In Italian folklore, which kindly old witch flies on a broom with gifts on the night of January 5?Answer: La Befana
- Vienna, Strasbourg and Dresden are famous for which kind of outdoor December event?Answer: Christmas markets
- What do the UK, Canada and Australia call December 26?Answer: Boxing Day
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- In Poland, who is the extra place set for at the Christmas Eve table?Answer: an unexpected guest
- In Sweden, which animal made of straw is a classic Christmas decoration?Answer: a goat
- What are the star-shaped Christmas lanterns hung in windows across the Philippines called?Answer: parol
- In the Philippines, Christmas songs and decorations often start in which month?Answer: September
- In Germany, on which evening are Christmas gifts traditionally opened?Answer: Christmas Eve
- In Russia, Grandfather Frost brings gifts with his granddaughter. What is she called?Answer: the Snow Maiden
- Besides a small gift and a joke, what do you usually find inside a British Christmas cracker?Answer: a paper crown
- In Scandinavian Christmas rice pudding, what single hidden item wins its finder a prize?Answer: a whole almond
- How do you say “Merry Christmas” in Hawaiian?Answer: Mele Kalikimaka
- “Joyeux Noël” wishes you a merry Christmas in which language?Answer: French
- Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is a territory of which country?Answer: Australia
- In Finland, many people relax in which hot room on Christmas Eve?Answer: the sauna
Santa and the reindeer
The 1823 poem, Rudolph’s first booklet, a postal code at the North Pole and his names in Finland and Brazil.
- The 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” is better known by which title?Answer: ’Twas the Night Before Christmas
- In the 1823 poem, how many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh?Answer: eight
- Which of Santa’s reindeer shares its name with a female fox?Answer: Vixen
- Which reindeer shares its name with an icy visitor that streaks across the night sky?Answer: Comet
- The reindeer names Donner and Blitzen echo the German words for which two things?Answer: thunder and lightning
- Who wrote the 1939 booklet that introduced Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?Answer: Robert L. May
- Which singing cowboy turned Rudolph’s song into a hit in 1949?Answer: Gene Autry
- What snack do many American homes leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve?Answer: milk and cookies
Show all 20 in Santa and the reindeerShow fewer
- Which cartoonist drew Santa for a weekly magazine in the 1860s and helped shape his modern look?Answer: Thomas Nast
- The 1823 poem calls Santa a right jolly old what?Answer: elf
- In the 1823 poem, what does Santa fill before he rises up the chimney?Answer: the stockings
- The name Santa Claus grew from Sinterklaas, a gift-bringer from which country’s folklore?Answer: the Netherlands
- True or false: female reindeer grow antlers too.Answer: true
- In North America, wild reindeer are usually called what?Answer: caribou
- Which Finnish city on the Arctic Circle calls itself Santa’s official hometown?Answer: Rovaniemi
- What postal code does Canada give letters addressed to Santa?Answer: H0H 0H0
- What is Santa called in France?Answer: Père Noël
- What is Santa traditionally called in Britain?Answer: Father Christmas
- Santa goes by Papai Noel in which country?Answer: Brazil
- Finland’s Santa is called Joulupukki. What does the name mean?Answer: Yule goat
Food and treats
Panettone, pepparkakor, bûche de Noël and the cookies other countries bake every December.
- The French bûche de Noël is a cake shaped like what?Answer: a log
- Panettone, the tall sweet bread full of candied fruit, comes from which Italian city?Answer: Milan
- Pandoro, the golden Italian Christmas bread with a star-shaped cross-section, comes from which city?Answer: Verona
- Stollen, a fruit bread often baked with a ribbon of marzipan inside, comes from which country?Answer: Germany
- A classic Japanese Christmas cake is sponge cake with whipped cream and which fruit?Answer: strawberries
- What flavor is a classic red-and-white candy cane?Answer: peppermint
- British mince pies are filled with mincemeat. What is it mostly made of today?Answer: dried fruit and spices
- Which soft, puffy sweets are the classic topping for a mug of hot cocoa?Answer: marshmallows
Show all 20 in Food and treatsShow fewer
- Which bird is traditionally the centerpiece of a British Christmas dinner?Answer: turkey
- Street vendors in many European cities sell which nut, roasted hot, all through December?Answer: chestnuts
- The German spice cookies called Pfeffernüsse have a name that means what?Answer: pepper nuts
- Jam-filled Linzer cookies take their name from a city in which country?Answer: Austria
- Which German city is famous for its Lebkuchen gingerbread?Answer: Nuremberg
- In Mexico, which parcels of corn dough wrapped in husks are a classic Christmas Eve dish?Answer: tamales
- Turrón, a Christmas nougat made with almonds and honey, comes from which country?Answer: Spain
- Greek kourabiedes are buttery Christmas cookies coated in what?Answer: powdered sugar
- What is the big Swedish Christmas buffet called?Answer: julbord
- What are Sweden’s thin, crisp Christmas ginger cookies called?Answer: pepparkakor
- Which small green vegetable is the love-it-or-leave-it side at a British Christmas dinner?Answer: Brussels sprouts
- Which white icing, made from egg whites and powdered sugar, holds a gingerbread house together?Answer: royal icing
Movies, songs and stories
Scrooge, the Grinch, The Nutcracker and the singers behind the songs that fill December.
- Who wrote A Christmas Carol, first published in 1843?Answer: Charles Dickens
- In A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Scrooge’s hardworking clerk?Answer: Bob Cratchit
- Which two-word grumble is Ebenezer Scrooge famous for?Answer: bah, humbug
- Who composed the music for The Nutcracker ballet?Answer: Tchaikovsky
- In The Nutcracker, which fairy dances to the tinkling sound of a celesta?Answer: the Sugar Plum Fairy
- The Nutcracker ballet is based on a story by which German writer?Answer: E. T. A. Hoffmann
- Which author created the Grinch in a 1957 book?Answer: Dr. Seuss
- By how many sizes does the Grinch’s heart grow at the end of his story?Answer: three
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- In the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street, what name does the department store Santa go by?Answer: Kris Kringle
- Which songwriter wrote White Christmas?Answer: Irving Berlin
- In the 2003 movie Elf, what is the name of the human raised at the North Pole?Answer: Buddy
- Who wrote and illustrated the 1985 picture book The Polar Express?Answer: Chris Van Allsburg
- Jingle Bells was first published in 1857 under which title?Answer: One Horse Open Sleigh
- Which Louisa May Alcott novel opens with four sisters grumbling about a Christmas without presents?Answer: Little Women
- Who first recorded Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, in 1958?Answer: Brenda Lee
- Who first recorded Jingle Bell Rock, in 1957?Answer: Bobby Helms
- Which singer released All I Want for Christmas Is You in 1994?Answer: Mariah Carey
- Which Puerto Rican singer wrote and recorded Feliz Navidad in 1970?Answer: José Feliciano
- The 1964 TV special about Rudolph was filmed with which animation technique?Answer: stop-motion
- Raymond Briggs’s 1978 picture book The Snowman tells its whole story without what?Answer: words
Trees, lights and decorations
Poinsettias, glass ornaments, tinsel, aluminum trees and the first electric tree lights.
- Which New York City plaza puts up a giant Christmas tree above an ice rink every year?Answer: Rockefeller Center
- The poinsettia is native to which country?Answer: Mexico
- The bright red “petals” of a poinsettia are actually what?Answer: leaves
- Prince Albert helped make Christmas trees popular in Britain. Which country was he from?Answer: Germany
- In 1882, Edward Johnson lit the first electric Christmas tree. Which inventor was his business partner?Answer: Thomas Edison
- Before electric lights, what did people use to light up their Christmas trees?Answer: candles
- The first tinsel was made from thin strips of which metal?Answer: silver
- True or false: the Douglas fir, a favorite Christmas tree, is not a true fir.Answer: true
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- The Fraser fir, a popular Christmas tree, grows wild in which US mountain range?Answer: the Appalachians
- Hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments were first made in Lauscha, a town in which country?Answer: Germany
- Which German word for a fir tree is also the title of a classic carol?Answer: Tannenbaum
- How many points should a paper snowflake have to match a real one?Answer: six
- Which Englishman commissioned the first commercial Christmas card, in 1843?Answer: Sir Henry Cole
- Some of the first artificial Christmas trees, made in 19th-century Germany, used dyed what?Answer: goose feathers
- Shiny Christmas trees made of which metal were a craze in the late 1950s and 1960s?Answer: aluminum
- Which two foods are strung on thread for an old-fashioned American tree garland?Answer: popcorn and cranberries
- Loud holiday sweaters worn as a joke to December parties are usually called what?Answer: ugly Christmas sweaters
- Which evergreen with prickly leaves and red berries is a classic Christmas decoration?Answer: holly
- On old light strings where one dead bulb darkens the whole string, how are the bulbs wired?Answer: in series
- The Christmas cactus, a favorite holiday houseplant, is native to which country?Answer: Brazil
Frequently asked questions
How many Christmas trivia questions are there?
There are 100 questions, 20 in each of five categories: traditions around the world, Santa and the reindeer, food and treats, movies, songs and stories, and trees, lights and decorations. Every question comes with its answer, shown on the card when you tap “Show answer” and printed under it in the list on this page.
Are these questions about the religious side of Christmas?
No. Every card is about the season as a whole: customs in other countries, Santa folklore, holiday food, classic books, films and songs, and the history of trees and lights. That makes them easy to play at a mixed table or a work party.
How do you run Christmas trivia at a work holiday party?
Pick one person as quizmaster and split the room into small teams of three or four. Read five cards from each category, give each team a minute to write down its answer, then reveal the answers together. A full round of twenty-five questions takes about half an hour.
What should we play after Christmas trivia?
Try Christmas riddles, where the answers hide behind clever clues instead of facts. For open questions with no right answer, Christmas questions gets everyone telling their own holiday stories, and trivia questions keeps the quiz going on any subject.