150 Christmas Trivia Questions and Answers

On this page

1. How to play Christmas trivia
2. Christmas movie trivia questions
3. Christmas music trivia questions
4. Christmas history and traditions trivia
5. Christmas books and stories trivia
6. Christmas food trivia
7. Christmas around the world trivia
8. Easy Christmas trivia for kids
9. Tips for running a trivia round at a party
10. Questions hosts ask

The printable quiz above pulls 30 of the best questions from the lists below and adds four answer choices to each, so nobody stares at a blank line. Add your party name to the top, print one per player or team, and the answer key comes out on its own page. You can also run it on a TV in Play mode.

How to play Christmas trivia

You need a host, a list of questions and something to write on. That’s it.

1. Split the room into teams of two to five. Mixed ages on each team works best, so the grandparents cover the 1940s movies and the teenagers cover Ariana Grande.
2. Pick a round from the lists below (10 questions per round is a good size).
3. Read each question twice. Teams whisper and write their answer on scrap paper.
4. After 10 questions, read the answers aloud and have teams swap sheets to mark them.
5. Keep a running score on a whiteboard or the back of a gift bag, then start the next round.

For scoring, one point per correct answer is plenty. If you want a twist, let each team “double” one question per round: they get two points if they’re right and lose one if they’re wrong. It gives the quiet team a way to catch up.

Christmas movie trivia questions

Forty questions about the Christmas movies people actually rewatch every year. If your crowd is mostly movie people, the printable movie quiz below has 25 of them in multiple-choice form.

Classic Christmas movies

1. Who plays George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)? James Stewart
2. Who directed It’s a Wonderful Life? Frank Capra
3. What’s the name of the town where It’s a Wonderful Life takes place? Bedford Falls
4. What’s the name of the angel trying to earn his wings in It’s a Wonderful Life? Clarence Odbody
5. In Miracle on 34th Street (1947), which department store hires Kris Kringle as its Santa? Macy’s
6. Which Academy Award did Edmund Gwenn win for playing Kris Kringle in the 1947 Miracle on 34th Street? Best Supporting Actor
7. Which child star played Susan Walker in the 1947 Miracle on 34th Street? Natalie Wood
8. The song “White Christmas” was introduced in which 1942 movie? Holiday Inn
9. White Christmas (1954) stars Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen and which comedian? Danny Kaye
10. In what year was A Christmas Story released? 1983
11. What does Ralphie want for Christmas in A Christmas Story? A Red Ryder BB gun
12. What “major award” does Ralphie’s father win in A Christmas Story? A leg lamp
13. In A Christmas Story, which of Ralphie’s friends gets his tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole? Flick
14. Which actor stars in Scrooged (1988), a modern spin on A Christmas Carol? Bill Murray
15. Die Hard (1988) takes place during a Christmas party in which office tower? Nakatomi Plaza
16. Who plays John McClane in Die Hard? Bruce Willis
17. Who plays Hans Gruber, the villain of Die Hard? Alan Rickman
18. What’s the family’s last name in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)? Griswold
19. Who plays Clark in Christmas Vacation? Chevy Chase
20. Who plays Cousin Eddie in Christmas Vacation? Randy Quaid

Newer Christmas movies (1990 and later)

1. In what year did Home Alone come out? 1990
2. Who plays Kevin McCallister in Home Alone? Macaulay Culkin
3. Where is the McCallister family flying when they leave Kevin behind in Home Alone? Paris
4. What do the burglars in Home Alone call themselves? The Wet Bandits
5. Which two actors play the burglars Harry and Marv in Home Alone? Joe Pesci (Harry) and Daniel Stern (Marv)
6. Who composed the music for Home Alone? John Williams
7. In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where does the rest of the family go while Kevin ends up in New York? Miami
8. Who stars as Scott Calvin in The Santa Clause (1994)? Tim Allen
9. In Jingle All the Way (1996), which toy is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character desperate to find? A Turbo-Man action figure
10. Who plays Buddy in Elf (2003)? Will Ferrell
11. Who directed Elf? Jon Favreau
12. Which actor plays Buddy’s father, Walter Hobbs, in Elf? James Caan
13. What does Buddy pour on his spaghetti in Elf? Maple syrup
14. Who wrote and directed Love Actually (2003)? Richard Curtis
15. Who plays the Prime Minister in Love Actually? Hugh Grant
16. Which actor plays the conductor in The Polar Express (2004), along with several other roles? Tom Hanks
17. In The Polar Express, what does the boy ask Santa for as the first gift of Christmas? A bell from Santa’s sleigh
18. The Polar Express movie is based on a picture book by which author? Chris Van Allsburg
19. In The Holiday (2006), the characters played by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swap homes. One is in Los Angeles; the other is in which English county? Surrey
20. Four Christmases (2008) stars Reese Witherspoon and which actor? Vince Vaughn

Christmas music trivia questions

These are all about song titles, singers and songwriters, so nobody has to sing. If you want a musical round, play the first few seconds of a song and ask teams to name the artist.

1. Who recorded “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in 1994? Mariah Carey
2. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” first appeared on which 1994 album? Merry Christmas
3. Who wrote the song “White Christmas”? Irving Berlin
4. According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby’s recording of which song is the best-selling physical single of all time? “White Christmas”
5. Who recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in 1958? Brenda Lee
6. How old was Brenda Lee when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”? 13
7. Who had the original 1957 hit with “Jingle Bell Rock”? Bobby Helms
8. Under what title was “Jingle Bells” first published in 1857? “The One Horse Open Sleigh”
9. In December 1965, astronauts played “Jingle Bells” on a harmonica and bells during which NASA mission? Gemini 6 (Gemini VI-A)
10. Which charity supergroup recorded “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in 1984? Band Aid
11. Who wrote and recorded “Feliz Navidad” (1970)? José Feliciano
12. Whose 1957 recording made “Blue Christmas” a holiday standard? Elvis Presley
13. Who first recorded “Santa Baby” in 1953? Eartha Kitt
14. Which couple released “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” in 1971? John Lennon and Yoko Ono
15. Mel Tormé co-wrote “The Christmas Song.” Which singer recorded its best-known version? Nat King Cole
16. “Silent Night” was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in which country? Austria
17. Which singing cowboy recorded “Here Comes Santa Claus” in 1947? Gene Autry
18. Who sang “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” in 1963? Darlene Love
19. Who released the song “Mistletoe” in 2011? Justin Bieber
20. Who released “Underneath the Tree” in 2013? Kelly Clarkson
21. “Carol of the Bells” grew out of a Ukrainian folk chant arranged by which composer? Mykola Leontovych
22. Which French composer wrote the music for “O Holy Night” in 1847? Adolphe Adam
23. Which band released “Little Saint Nick” in 1963? The Beach Boys
24. Which former Beatle released “Wonderful Christmastime” in 1979? Paul McCartney
25. Who released “Step Into Christmas” in 1973? Elton John
26. Who released “Santa Tell Me” in 2014? Ariana Grande
27. Judy Garland introduced which Christmas song in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis? “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
28. Which composer wrote the instrumental “Sleigh Ride”? Leroy Anderson
29. Which girl group recorded a famous 1963 version of “Sleigh Ride”? The Ronettes
30. Who recorded “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” in 1963? Andy Williams
31. Who sang “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” released as a single in 1964? Burl Ives
32. “Fairytale of New York” (1987) is by The Pogues featuring which singer? Kirsty MacColl
33. Who composed the music for The Nutcracker ballet? Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
34. Handel’s Messiah, a Christmas concert favorite, premiered in 1742 in which city? Dublin

Christmas history and traditions trivia

Where Christmas trees, cards, tinsel and Santa’s North Pole address came from. These tend to stump adults, which makes them good tiebreakers.

1. Which president signed the 1870 law that made Christmas a federal holiday? Ulysses S. Grant
2. An 1848 newspaper drawing of which royal couple beside a Christmas tree helped make trees popular in Britain? Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
3. Which country has sent London a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square every year since 1947? Norway
4. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition began with a tree put up by construction workers in what year? 1931
5. Which president lit the first National Christmas Tree, in 1923? Calvin Coolidge
6. Which president is credited with the first known indoor White House Christmas tree, in 1889? Benjamin Harrison
7. Who showed off the first Christmas tree lit with electric bulbs, in New York in 1882? Edward H. Johnson, an executive at Thomas Edison’s electric company
8. In “Xmas,” the X stands for which Greek letter? Chi, the first letter of “Christ” in Greek
9. The poinsettia is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. minister to which country, where the plant grows wild? Mexico
10. National Poinsettia Day falls on which date? December 12
11. Who commissioned the first commercial Christmas card, in 1843? Sir Henry Cole
12. The Twelve Days of Christmas end with the Feast of Epiphany on what date? January 6
13. What metal was the earliest tinsel made from? Silver
14. Which cartoonist’s drawings for Harper’s Weekly shaped the American image of Santa, including his home at the North Pole? Thomas Nast
15. Which illustrator painted the Coca-Cola Santa ads that began in 1931? Haddon Sundblom
16. Saint Nicholas was bishop of which town, in present-day Turkey? Myra
17. What date is Saint Nicholas’s feast day? December 6
18. NORAD’s Santa tracking started in 1955 because of a misprinted phone number in an ad for which store? Sears
19. Which American colony banned celebrating Christmas from 1659 to 1681? Massachusetts Bay Colony
20. Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, got its name when a ship’s captain spotted it on Christmas Day of what year? 1643
21. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) usually falls on which dates? December 21 or 22
22. What’s the date of Boxing Day? December 26

The NORAD question has a happy ending: the military still tracks Santa every Christmas Eve, and you can follow along at the official NORAD Tracks Santa site.

Christmas books and stories trivia

A short round on the stories that shaped the holiday, starting with Dickens.

1. In what year did Charles Dickens publish A Christmas Carol? 1843
2. What’s the name of Scrooge’s late business partner? Jacob Marley
3. After Marley’s ghost, how many spirits visit Scrooge? Three (Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come)
4. What’s the name of Tiny Tim’s father? Bob Cratchit
5. Who wrote the 1905 short story “The Gift of the Magi”? O. Henry
6. The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” was first published in what year? 1823
7. Which writer is usually credited with “A Visit from St. Nicholas”? Clement Clarke Moore (some researchers credit Henry Livingston Jr.)
8. How many reindeer are named in “A Visit from St. Nicholas”? Eight
9. The Polar Express, the picture book, won which major children’s book award in 1986? The Caldecott Medal

Christmas food trivia

1. What’s the French name for a Christmas cake shaped like a log? Bûche de Noël
2. Stollen, the fruit bread dusted with powdered sugar, comes from which country? Germany
3. Panettone, the tall Christmas sweet bread, comes from which Italian city? Milan
4. Traditional mince pies used to contain which ingredient that most modern ones leave out? Meat
5. Which English queen is credited with the earliest gingerbread men, decorated to look like her guests? Queen Elizabeth I
6. Lebkuchen, a German Christmas gingerbread, is famously made in which city? Nuremberg
7. The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a Christmas Eve tradition in which community? Italian-American
8. What’s the name of the Sunday before Advent when British families traditionally stir the Christmas pudding? Stir-up Sunday
9. Old-fashioned sugar plums weren’t plums at all. What were they? Seeds, nuts or spices coated in layers of hard sugar
10. What dish do many Mexican and Mexican-American families make in big batches for Christmas Eve? Tamales
11. In Denmark, what’s hidden in the Christmas rice pudding (risalamande), with a prize for whoever finds it? A whole almond
12. What’s the name of the ring-shaped cake eaten in Spain on Three Kings’ Day, January 6? Roscón de Reyes

Christmas around the world trivia

How other countries celebrate, from Iceland’s 13 Yule Lads to the roller-skating churchgoers of Caracas. This round works well at a party with guests from different backgrounds; ask them to add a question from their own family’s traditions.

1. In Japan, which fast-food chain’s fried chicken became a popular Christmas meal after a 1974 ad campaign? KFC
2. How many Yule Lads visit children in Iceland’s Christmas tradition? 13
3. What’s the name of Iceland’s tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve? Jólabókaflóð, the “Christmas Book Flood”
4. In Italy, which kindly old witch brings gifts on the night of January 5? La Befana
5. Las Posadas in Mexico runs for how many nights, from December 16 to 24? Nine
6. In Alpine folklore, which horned figure goes after naughty children, especially on the night of December 5? Krampus
7. In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas traditionally arrives by steamboat from which country? Spain
8. Sweden celebrates St. Lucia Day on what date? December 13
9. Which Swedish town builds a giant straw goat every Advent, a goat that has been burned down many times? Gävle
10. What’s the name of the star-shaped Christmas lantern of the Philippines? Parol
11. Simbang Gabi in the Philippines is a series of how many dawn Masses before Christmas? Nine
12. A folk tale told in Ukraine about a poor widow’s tree explains why some families hang an ornament shaped like which creature? A spider
13. In Caracas, Venezuela, how do some people traditionally travel to the early-morning Christmas Masses? On roller skates
14. In Catalonia, what’s the name of the smiling log that children “feed” and then tap with sticks so it gives them treats? Tió de Nadal (also called Caga Tió)
15. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on what date? January 7 (Russian Orthodox Christians do too)
16. Which London candy maker is credited with inventing the Christmas cracker in the 1840s? Tom Smith
17. Which British monarch gave the first royal Christmas broadcast, in 1932? King George V
18. What’s the name of Poland’s Christmas Eve supper, where many families set an extra place for an unexpected guest? Wigilia
19. Spain’s huge Christmas lottery, El Gordo, is drawn on what date? December 22
20. In Russia, who brings gifts at New Year’s with his granddaughter Snegurochka? Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost)
21. In Greece, which saint traditionally brings gifts on New Year’s Day? Saint Basil
22. In the Czech Republic, which fish is traditionally bought live for Christmas Eve dinner, sometimes kept in the bathtub until then? Carp
23. In Austria and parts of Germany, which childlike gift-bringer brings presents on Christmas Eve? The Christkind

Easy Christmas trivia for kids

Ten questions young kids have a real shot at. Let them answer out loud instead of writing, and give a candy cane for every right answer.

1. What three gifts did the Wise Men bring, according to the Gospel of Matthew? Gold, frankincense and myrrh
2. The name “Santa Claus” comes from which Dutch name? Sinterklaas
3. How many sides or points does a snowflake usually have? Six
4. What are reindeer called in North America? Caribou
5. Can girl reindeer grow antlers? Yes. Reindeer are the only kind of deer where females can grow antlers too.
6. What flavor is a classic candy cane? Peppermint
7. “Mele Kalikimaka” means Merry Christmas in which language? Hawaiian
8. How do you say Merry Christmas in German? Frohe Weihnachten
9. How do you say Merry Christmas in Italian? Buon Natale
10. How do you say Merry Christmas in French? Joyeux Noël

Tips for running a trivia round at a party

For a big group or office party

With more than 20 people, use teams of five and have each team send one runner to hand in answer sheets. Run it in Play mode on a TV so the question stays on screen, and keep it to three rounds; people start drifting after about 30 questions.

For a family gathering

Let kids join adult teams, and throw in the kids’ round as a bonus where only the youngest person on each team can answer. It gives them a moment to shine and keeps the teens from taking over.

For a small group

With four to six people, skip teams. Go around the table and ask each person a question in turn. If they miss it, the next person can steal it for a point.

Prizes

Small and silly works best: a box of candy canes, a paper crown, or first pick in the gift exchange. For an office crowd, the winning team could earn the right to pick the next party’s playlist.

Trivia pairs well with a lower-key game while people eat. Our free Christmas bingo cards work for every age, and you’ll find more ideas in Christmas party games for adults and Christmas party games for families. Planning for November first? Our Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers follow the same format, and every holiday game we make is on the Christmas games page.

Questions hosts ask

By the Party Game Book editors. Every game here is free to print for personal, classroom and non-commercial use. How we make and check our games.