Christmas quiz: 100 questions and answers for 2026

Here are 100 Christmas quiz questions and answers, split into 10 rounds of 10 that you can lift out and use on their own. They run from toddler-friendly warm-ups to a final round that will make the know-it-alls sweat. The questions mix British and American references, so they work whether you call it a Christmas quiz or Christmas trivia.

I've run Christmas quizzes for family groups of anywhere between 5 and 35 people, and the key is variety. You need questions that Uncle Brian can answer, that the kids feel included in, and that stop your competitive cousin from winning everything. That's why each round has a difficulty note at the top, so you can mix and match. Need names for the teams? We've got Christmas quiz team names ready to go.

If you'd rather have a single theme, there are deeper dives into Christmas film quiz questions and Christmas music quiz questions.

Round 1: Easy Christmas quiz questions (warm-up)

Difficulty: easy. Good for kids, grandparents and anyone who's had two sherries already.

1What colour is Rudolph's nose?Use in quizUse

Answer:Red(click to reveal)

2What is the date of Christmas Day?Use in quizUse

Answer:25 December(click to reveal)

3What plant, with white berries, do people traditionally kiss under?Use in quizUse

Answer:Mistletoe(click to reveal)

4What do children hang up on Christmas Eve for Santa to fill?Use in quizUse

Answer:A stocking (accept sock)(click to reveal)

5Complete the film title: Home ___Use in quizUse

Answer:Alone(click to reveal)

6What do you pull with a friend to get a paper hat, a small gift and a terrible joke?Use in quizUse

Answer:A Christmas cracker(click to reveal)

7Not counting Rudolph, how many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh?Use in quizUse

Answer:Eight(click to reveal)

8Complete the carol title: "Jingle ___"Use in quizUse

Answer:Bells(click to reveal)

9What colour is the Grinch?Use in quizUse

Answer:Green(click to reveal)

10What spiky, dark green plant with red berries is a classic Christmas decoration?Use in quizUse

Answer:Holly(click to reveal)

Round 2: Christmas film trivia questions

Difficulty: easy to medium. Films are great equalisers, because every generation has its own favourites.

11Which actor played Kevin McCallister in Home Alone?Use in quizUse

Answer:Macaulay Culkin(click to reveal)

12Which actor plays Buddy in Elf?Use in quizUse

Answer:Will Ferrell(click to reveal)

13Which 1988 action film is the subject of an annual argument about whether it counts as a Christmas film?Use in quizUse

Answer:Die Hard(click to reveal)

Yes, it counts. It's set at a Christmas party, and that's good enough for quiz purposes.

14In Love Actually, what job does Hugh Grant's character have?Use in quizUse

Answer:Prime Minister(click to reveal)

15Which actor played the Grinch in the 2000 live-action film?Use in quizUse

Answer:Jim Carrey(click to reveal)

16Which actor plays the conductor, the hobo and several other roles in The Polar Express?Use in quizUse

Answer:Tom Hanks(click to reveal)

17What is the name of the town in It's a Wonderful Life?Use in quizUse

Answer:Bedford Falls(click to reveal)

18In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington is the king of which town?Use in quizUse

Answer:Halloween Town(click to reveal)

19Which actor played Scrooge opposite the Muppets in the 1992 film?Use in quizUse

Answer:Michael Caine(click to reveal)

20In Miracle on 34th Street, which department store employs Kris Kringle as its Santa?Use in quizUse

Answer:Macy's(click to reveal)

Round 3: Christmas songs and music

Difficulty: easy to medium. Play the intros if you have a speaker handy, or just read them out.

21Which singer had a 1994 hit with "All I Want for Christmas Is You"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Mariah Carey(click to reveal)

It's been a fixture of festive playlists for three decades and shows no sign of leaving.

22Which duo recorded "Last Christmas" in 1984?Use in quizUse

Answer:Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley)(click to reveal)

23Which band told us "It's Christmas!" in their 1973 hit "Merry Xmas Everybody"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Slade(click to reveal)

24Who wrote "White Christmas", the song most famously sung by Bing Crosby?Use in quizUse

Answer:Irving Berlin(click to reveal)

He wrote it in the 1940s, and Bing Crosby's version remains one of the best-selling singles of all time.

25Which 1970s band had a hit with "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Wizzard(click to reveal)

26In "The Twelve Days of Christmas", what do you get on the seventh day?Use in quizUse

Answer:Seven swans a-swimming(click to reveal)

27Which singer recorded "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in 1958?Use in quizUse

Answer:Brenda Lee(click to reveal)

28Which singer-songwriter wanted to be "Driving Home for Christmas"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Chris Rea(click to reveal)

29Which actress and singer recorded the flirty "Santa Baby" in 1953?Use in quizUse

Answer:Eartha Kitt(click to reveal)

30Which Welsh singer wished us "Merry Christmas Everyone" in 1985?Use in quizUse

Answer:Shakin' Stevens(click to reveal)

Round 4: Food and drink

Difficulty: easy to medium. Everyone has strong opinions about the dinner, which helps.

31What are "pigs in blankets"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Sausages wrapped in bacon(click to reveal)

32Which vegetable, named after the capital of Belgium, is loved and hated in roughly equal measure at Christmas dinner?Use in quizUse

Answer:Brussels sprouts(click to reveal)

They're a member of the cabbage family, and boiling them to mush is what gives them their bad name.

33Which spirit is traditionally poured over a Christmas pudding and set alight?Use in quizUse

Answer:Brandy (accept rum)(click to reveal)

34What traditionally gets hidden inside a Christmas pudding for luck?Use in quizUse

Answer:A coin (traditionally a silver sixpence)(click to reveal)

35Which creamy drink is made from milk, sugar and beaten eggs, often with a splash of rum or brandy?Use in quizUse

Answer:Eggnog(click to reveal)

36What is stollen?Use in quizUse

Answer:A German fruit bread (dusted with icing sugar and often filled with marzipan)(click to reveal)

37Panettone, the tall, domed fruit bread, comes from which country?Use in quizUse

Answer:Italy(click to reveal)

38In France, what is a bûche de Noël made to look like?Use in quizUse

Answer:A log (a Yule log)(click to reveal)

39What flavour is a traditional candy cane?Use in quizUse

Answer:Peppermint(click to reveal)

40In America, what do children traditionally leave out for Santa, with a carrot for the reindeer?Use in quizUse

Answer:Milk and cookies(click to reveal)

Round 5: Christmas around the world

Difficulty: medium. Fine for a mixed team, because there's always one well-travelled person.

41Which country is famous for a Christmas Day tradition of eating fried chicken from a certain fast food chain?Use in quizUse

Answer:Japan(click to reveal)

The KFC Japan tradition started with a 1970s marketing campaign and now needs ordering weeks in advance.

42Which European country holds a giant Christmas lottery called El Gordo on 22 December?Use in quizUse

Answer:Spain(click to reveal)

43In Iceland, which gift is traditionally exchanged on Christmas Eve, followed by an evening of reading?Use in quizUse

Answer:Books(click to reveal)

44What season is it in Australia on Christmas Day?Use in quizUse

Answer:Summer(click to reveal)

45In Italian folklore, which friendly witch brings gifts to children on the night before Epiphany?Use in quizUse

Answer:La Befana(click to reveal)

46Which Southeast Asian country is known for having the longest Christmas season, with carols starting as early as September?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Philippines(click to reveal)

47The poinsettia, that red-leaved Christmas plant, is native to which country?Use in quizUse

Answer:Mexico(click to reveal)

48Each year Britain receives a huge Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square from which country, as a thank-you for help during the Second World War?Use in quizUse

Answer:Norway(click to reveal)

The tree has been sent every year since 1947 and is usually a spruce chosen from the forests near Oslo.

49In Sweden, girls in white dresses and crowns of candles celebrate the saint's day of which saint on 13 December?Use in quizUse

Answer:St Lucia(click to reveal)

50In the Netherlands, which gift-bringer is said to arrive by steamboat from Spain?Use in quizUse

Answer:Sinterklaas(click to reveal)

His arrival in mid-November kicks off the season there, and gifts are exchanged on 5 December rather than Christmas Day.

Round 6: Christmas traditions and history

Difficulty: medium. This is where the general knowledge types get to shine.

51The Christmas cracker was invented in 1840s London by Tom Smith, who made what for a living?Use in quizUse

Answer:Sweets (he was a confectioner)(click to reveal)

See Tom Smith on Wikipedia for the full story of how the bang got added.

52In which year was the first commercially produced Christmas card sent?Use in quizUse

Answer:1843(click to reveal)

53Which German-born prince helped make Christmas trees fashionable in Victorian Britain?Use in quizUse

Answer:Prince Albert(click to reveal)

A famous 1848 illustration of the royal family around a decorated tree helped the idea catch on across the country.

54Boxing Day falls on the feast day of which saint?Use in quizUse

Answer:St Stephen(click to reveal)

55Santa Claus is based on which fourth-century saint?Use in quizUse

Answer:Saint Nicholas (a Greek bishop of Myra, in modern-day Turkey)(click to reveal)

56In which war did soldiers famously stop fighting and play football in no man's land on Christmas Day 1914?Use in quizUse

Answer:The First World War(click to reveal)

57Which monarch gave the first royal Christmas radio broadcast in 1932?Use in quizUse

Answer:King George V(click to reveal)

58Which fizzy drink company's 1930s adverts helped cement the image of Santa in a red suit?Use in quizUse

Answer:Coca-Cola(click to reveal)

They didn't invent the modern Santa, but the artwork by Haddon Sundblom made the look famous.

59How many Sundays are there in Advent?Use in quizUse

Answer:Four(click to reveal)

60What three gifts did the wise men bring to the baby Jesus?Use in quizUse

Answer:Gold, frankincense and myrrh(click to reveal)

Round 7: Christmas TV and books

Difficulty: medium. Particularly good for the British contingent.

61In A Christmas Carol, what is the surname of Scrooge's clerk, Bob?Use in quizUse

Answer:Cratchit(click to reveal)

Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 1843, and the story is a big reason we think of Christmas as a time for generosity.

62Tiny Tim's famous line is "God bless us, every ___"?Use in quizUse

Answer:One(click to reveal)

63Which author and illustrator created The Snowman?Use in quizUse

Answer:Raymond Briggs(click to reveal)

64Which actor made his first full appearance as the Doctor in the 2005 Doctor Who Christmas special?Use in quizUse

Answer:David Tennant(click to reveal)

Details on the episode are on Wikipedia.

65Del Boy and Rodney finally became millionaires in a 1996 Christmas special of which sitcom?Use in quizUse

Answer:Only Fools and Horses(click to reveal)

66André Previn famously "played all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order" in the Christmas show of which comedy duo?Use in quizUse

Answer:Morecambe and Wise(click to reveal)

Their Christmas specials were national events in the 1970s, with audiences in the tens of millions.

67In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Narnia is under a spell where it is "always winter but never ___"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Christmas(click to reveal)

68In A Charlie Brown Christmas, what kind of tree does Charlie Brown bring home?Use in quizUse

Answer:A tiny, scrawny one (accept small or sad)(click to reveal)

69In the 1964 TV special about a famous reindeer, what is the name of the place where unwanted toys end up?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Island of Misfit Toys(click to reveal)

70Complete the poem: "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a ___"Use in quizUse

Answer:Mouse(click to reveal)

Round 8: Christmas general knowledge

Difficulty: medium. A mixed bag of bits and bobs that don't fit anywhere else.

71In which US city is the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree put up every year?Use in quizUse

Answer:New York City(click to reveal)

72Which British TV channel has broadcast an "Alternative Christmas Message" since 1993?Use in quizUse

Answer:Channel 4(click to reveal)

73Which US-Canadian military organisation famously tracks Santa's journey every Christmas Eve?Use in quizUse

Answer:NORAD(click to reveal)

74Many Orthodox churches that follow the Julian calendar celebrate Christmas on which date?Use in quizUse

Answer:7 January(click to reveal)

75In the abbreviation "Xmas", the X comes from the first letter of the word for Christ in which language?Use in quizUse

Answer:Greek(click to reveal)

76The month of December gets its name from the Latin for which number?Use in quizUse

Answer:Ten(click to reveal)

77What was the name of the Roman winter festival, held in December, that shares many traditions with Christmas?Use in quizUse

Answer:Saturnalia(click to reveal)

It ran for several days around the middle of December, with feasting, gift-giving and a good deal of role reversal.

78The Santa Claus Village, on the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, is in which country?Use in quizUse

Answer:Finland(click to reveal)

79Around which date does the winter solstice usually fall in the Northern Hemisphere?Use in quizUse

Answer:21 December(click to reveal)

80Which continent did the turkey originally come from?Use in quizUse

Answer:North America(click to reveal)

Round 9: Funny Christmas quiz questions

Difficulty: easy, with a groan factor. Keep this one near the end, when people are relaxed and slightly daft.

81What do you call a snowman in July?Use in quizUse

Answer:A puddle(click to reveal)

82What do you get if you cross a snowman with a vampire?Use in quizUse

Answer:Frostbite(click to reveal)

83What nationality is Santa Claus?Use in quizUse

Answer:North Polish(click to reveal)

84What do reindeer hang on their Christmas trees?Use in quizUse

Answer:Horn-aments(click to reveal)

85What do you call Santa's little helpers?Use in quizUse

Answer:Subordinate clauses(click to reveal)

86In Catalonia, which Christmas tradition involves hitting a log with sticks until it "poops" out sweets?Use in quizUse

Answer:Caga Tió (the Tió de Nadal)(click to reveal)

87What is the postcode that Canada Post uses for letters addressed to Santa?Use in quizUse

Answer:H0H 0H0(click to reveal)

88Which pink, yellow-spotted character had the Christmas number one in the UK in 1993?Use in quizUse

Answer:Mr Blobby(click to reveal)

89In Elf, what does Buddy pour all over his spaghetti?Use in quizUse

Answer:Maple syrup(click to reveal)

90In Home Alone, what does Kevin slap on his cheeks before screaming?Use in quizUse

Answer:Aftershave(click to reveal)

Round 10: Hard Christmas trivia questions

Difficulty: hard. Save this for the teams that have been smug all night.

91Which charity single kept "Last Christmas" off the top spot in 1984?Use in quizUse

Answer:"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid(click to reveal)

92Which song was the UK Christmas number one in 2009, after a Facebook campaign to stop The X Factor winner taking the top spot?Use in quizUse

Answer:"Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine(click to reveal)

You can check any year in the list of UK Christmas number ones.

93Which 1987 festive classic was stuck at number two in the UK, behind a Pet Shop Boys cover?Use in quizUse

Answer:"Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl(click to reveal)

94Rudolph was created in 1939 as a promotion for which US department store chain?Use in quizUse

Answer:Montgomery Ward(click to reveal)

A copywriter there wrote the story as a giveaway booklet for shoppers, and millions of copies went out in the first year.

95In which country was "Silent Night" first performed in 1818?Use in quizUse

Answer:Austria(click to reveal)

It was first performed at a church in Oberndorf, near Salzburg, with lyrics by Joseph Mohr and music by Franz Gruber.

96Which two of Santa's reindeer have names that mean "thunder" and "lightning" in German?Use in quizUse

Answer:Donner and Blitzen(click to reveal)

They first appeared in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", though in the original the spellings were closer to Dutch.

97In "The Twelve Days of Christmas", how many gifts in total does your true love give by the end of the twelfth day?Use in quizUse

Answer:364(click to reveal)

Work out each day's running total, then add them up. The famous pear tree partridge alone appears 12 times.

98In Love Actually, Billy Mack's comeback single is a rewrite of which 1967 hit by The Troggs?Use in quizUse

Answer:"Love Is All Around"(click to reveal)

99Traditional mince pies originally contained what, alongside the dried fruit and spices?Use in quizUse

Answer:Minced meat (and suet)(click to reveal)

The sweet version we know today only took over gradually, which is why the name stuck.

100In which year did Queen Elizabeth II give her first televised Christmas message?Use in quizUse

Answer:1957(click to reveal)

How to run your Christmas quiz

You don't need all 100 questions in one go. Pick the rounds that suit the room.

Family quiz: Rounds 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9. Mixed ages, lots of laughs, nobody gets left out. Our family Christmas quiz has even gentler options for younger kids.

Office quiz: Rounds 2, 3, 6, 8 and 10. Competitive enough to be fun, with a hard round to settle the winner.

Pub quiz: Ten rounds of ten is a full night, so mix up the order. Take a look at our Christmas quiz round ideas for formats that go beyond straight question-and-answer, and pair it with some Christmas party games for the quieter bits.

Split people into teams carefully. Mix the generations so each team has a range of ages, and avoid putting all the competitive types together.

Read the questions out twice. People are chatting, eating and arguing about the last mince pie. A second read-through is kinder than a repeat request.

Go easy on the prizes. Novelty chocolate and bragging rights work better than anything expensive, and nobody should feel bad about losing.

A Christmas quiz tiebreaker

Ties happen, and a sudden-death question saves arguments. Ask: "In which year was Home Alone released?" Closest guess wins. The answer is 1990. If you'd rather a different style, ask teams to guess how many Brussels sprouts will be left on the table at the end of the meal, and settle it afterwards.

Want to run it on a big screen?

If you'd rather not read out of a screen full of text, you can paste any of these rounds into our free quiz creator and get a big-screen scoreboard, so the host can focus on the banter.

For something the kids can join in with, there's our family Christmas quiz. The quiz calendar has themed rounds for every month of 2027, starting with Burns Night in January.