The questions
Keep score: one point per right answer.
Q 1Which country started the tradition of the Christmas tree?
Germany, in the 1500s.
Q 2How many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh in the 1823 poem?
Eight. Rudolph came later, in 1939.
Q 3In what year was “Silent Night” first performed?
1818, in Oberndorf, Austria.
Q 4What is the name of the Grinch's dog?
Max.
Q 5Which plant do people kiss under?
Mistletoe.
Q 6What do children in Italy wait for on 5 January?
La Befana, who brings gifts.
Q 7Who invented the Christmas cracker?
Tom Smith, a London sweet maker, in the 1840s.
Q 8What colour are the berries on holly?
Red.
Q 9Which city sends a Christmas tree to Trafalgar Square each year?
Oslo, Norway.
Q 10What does “Feliz Navidad” mean?
Merry Christmas, in Spanish.
Q 11In the song, what did my true love give me on the fifth day?
Five gold rings.
Q 12What Christmas plant is named after a US envoy to Mexico?
The poinsettia, after Joel Poinsett.
Q 13What is the best-selling Christmas single of all time?
“White Christmas” sung by Bing Crosby.
Q 14On which date do many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas?
7 January.
Q 15What does the X in Xmas come from?
The Greek letter Chi, the first letter of Christ in Greek.
Q 16Which island in the Indian Ocean is named after Christmas?
Christmas Island, sighted on Christmas Day in 1643.
Q 17What is the main gift-giving day in Germany and Poland?
Christmas Eve, 24 December.
Q 18In Home Alone, what city is Kevin's family flying to?
Paris.
Q 19How many days of Christmas are there in the carol?
Twelve.
Q 20What did NORAD start tracking in 1955?
Santa's sleigh, after a misprinted phone number in an advert.
Christmas movie trivia
Eight questions about the films everyone watches every year. If you get stuck, our classic Christmas movies list has a summary of each.
Movie 1In Elf, what is the name of the department store where Buddy works?
Gimbels.
Movie 2What does Kevin's family forget in Home Alone?
Kevin himself. They leave for Paris without him.
Movie 3In It's a Wonderful Life, what happens every time a bell rings?
An angel gets his wings.
Movie 4Who plays Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol?
Michael Caine.
Movie 5In The Polar Express, what gift does the boy choose from Santa?
A silver bell from Santa's sleigh.
Movie 6What does Ralphie want for Christmas in A Christmas Story?
A Red Ryder BB gun.
Movie 7In The Nightmare Before Christmas, what is Jack Skellington the king of?
Halloween Town, as the Pumpkin King.
Movie 8What does Clark Griswold cover his house with in Christmas Vacation?
Thousands of Christmas lights, 25,000 of them.
Christmas song trivia
How well do you know the carols? Press the Jingle Bells button at the top of the page for some background music while you play.
Song 1In "The Twelve Days of Christmas", what is given on the first day?
A partridge in a pear tree.
Song 2Which song asks a Christmas tree how lovely its branches are?
"O Tannenbaum", known in English as "O Christmas Tree".
Song 3What year was "Jingle Bells" published?
1857, by James Lord Pierpont.
Song 4In "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", what weather makes Santa ask for Rudolph's help?
A foggy Christmas Eve.
Song 5Which carol was first sung in Oberndorf, Austria in 1818?
"Silent Night".
Song 6In the song, which reindeer do the others not let join in any reindeer games?
Rudolph.
Christmas trivia for kids
Easy questions for younger players. Pair them with the Christmas countdown for kids.
Kids 1What colour is Santa's suit?
Red with white fur trim.
Kids 2What do reindeer like to eat?
In the wild, mostly moss and lichen. On Christmas Eve, carrots, of course.
Kids 3Where does Santa live?
At the North Pole.
Kids 4What do you hang by the fireplace for Santa to fill?
A stocking.
Kids 5What shape is a gingerbread man?
A little person.
Kids 6What do you put on top of a Christmas tree?
A star or an angel.
Hard Christmas trivia for adults
Six tougher ones to settle a tie. Several answers are explained on our Christmas traditions page.
Hard 1Which US state was the first to make Christmas a legal holiday?
Alabama, in 1836.
Hard 2In which country did the tradition of the Yule log begin?
It comes from older northern European winter festivals, especially in Scandinavia and Germanic lands.
Hard 3What is the name of the Icelandic Christmas Eve tradition of giving books?
Jólabókaflóð, the "Christmas book flood".
Hard 4What are the names of Santa's reindeer in the 1823 poem?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (later Donner) and Blitzen.
Hard 5Which city's Christmas market is often called the oldest in Germany?
Dresden's Striezelmarkt, first held in 1434.
Hard 6How many gifts in total are given in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?
364, if you add up every gift repeated on each day.
How to run a Christmas trivia game
- Split into teams of two to four, mixing ages.
- Play in rounds: general, movies, songs, kids and hard. Give the kids' round to the youngest team.
- One point per answer, two for the hard round.
- Read the question, tap to reveal. Each answer above stays hidden until you tap it, so the quizmaster can play from a phone.
- Add a tiebreaker: guess the exact seconds until Christmas right now. Closest wins.
Want more? Try the Christmas jokes and riddles or the Christmas anagrams.
Questions people ask
Quick answers about this countdown.
How many Christmas trivia questions are on this page?
46: twenty general questions plus rounds on movies, songs, kids and hard trivia.
Is there Christmas trivia for kids?
Yes, there is a kids' round with six easy questions.
Can I use these questions for an office party?
Yes. Split into teams and play round by round, revealing each answer with a tap.
What is a hard Christmas trivia question?
Try: how many gifts in total are given in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? The answer is 364.
Keep exploring
More countdowns, tools and Christmas reading on Christmas Days Left.