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Christmas Trivia Questions for Kids and Families
Thirty Christmas questions to share by the tree, from Santa's reindeer to holiday customs around the world, with answers. Then play our Holidays category on the TV, with everyone answering on their phones.
Tap or click a question to see the answer.
Easy Christmas trivia questions for kids
1.In the poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," how many reindeer pull St. Nicholas's sleigh?
Eight. The poem first appeared in 1823 in a newspaper in Troy, New York, with no author's name on it.
2.In Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, what does grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge famously grumble about Christmas?
"Bah! Humbug!". The ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley, warns Scrooge that three spirits will visit him.
3.In Australia, Christmas Day falls in which season?
Summer. Summer there runs from December to February, so some families celebrate with a barbecue on the beach.
4.In the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas," what is given on the first day?
A partridge in a pear tree. The words first appeared in print in 1780, in a London children's book called Mirth Without Mischief.
5.Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean is famous for millions of which red animals marching to the sea each year?
Crabs (red crabs). Each female red crab can release up to 100,000 eggs into the ocean.
6.In Italy, La Befana is a kind old woman who fills children's stockings on the night of January 5. How does she travel?
On a broomstick. Children who behaved well get sweets, while naughty ones may find coal instead.
7.Mexico's Las Posadas celebrations end each night with children breaking open what candy-filled decoration?
A piñata. Posada means "inn"; the nine nights recall Mary and Joseph's search for shelter in Bethlehem.
8.In France, the Christmas cake called a bûche de Noël is made to look like what?
A log. It comes from an old custom of burning a big log at Christmas and keeping it lit until Twelfth Night.
9.Canada Post gives Santa his own postal code, H0H 0H0. What jolly laugh does it look like?
Ho ho ho. Children can mail letters to Santa at the North Pole without a stamp, and Santa writes back.
10.In Japan, the classic Christmas cake is a sponge cake with whipped cream and which red fruit?
Strawberries. The sweet shop Fujiya helped make it popular in 1922 with the slogan "Let's eat cake at Christmas!"
11.In the Philippines, the parol is a glowing Christmas lantern usually made in what shape?
A star. Parol comes from the Spanish word farol, meaning lantern, and the star recalls the Star of Bethlehem.
12.Mistletoe is an evergreen plant that grows where?
On the branches of trees. Birds eat its berries and spread the seeds to new trees in their droppings.
Medium Christmas trivia questions
13.In A Christmas Carol, what is the family name of Scrooge's clerk Bob and his little son Tiny Tim?
Cratchit. As a young apprentice, Scrooge worked for a cheerful old employer named Fezziwig.
14.In December 1965, astronauts aboard Gemini 6 played which Christmas song in space on a harmonica and bells?
"Jingle Bells". Astronaut Wally Schirra gave the tiny harmonica to the Smithsonian in 1967.
15.The bright red "petals" of a poinsettia are actually what part of the plant?
Leaves (called bracts). Poinsettias are native to Mexico and Guatemala. In Mexico they're called flor de nochebuena, the Christmas Eve flower.
16.In North America, wild reindeer are known by what name?
Caribou. Unlike most deer, female reindeer grow antlers too, and they keep them through the winter.
17.In 1882, Edward Johnson lit the first electric Christmas tree lights. Which famous inventor did he work with?
Thomas Edison. Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white and blue bulbs for the tree in his New York City home.
18.In Spain and much of Latin America, children leave out their shoes on the eve of January 6 for gifts from whom?
The Three Kings (the Wise Men). In Puerto Rico, children fill little boxes with grass or hay for the kings' camels and horses.
19.Which North American air defense command "tracks" Santa's sleigh every Christmas Eve, a tradition that began in 1955?
NORAD. It started when a newspaper ad printed the wrong phone number, and a child calling Santa reached Col. Harry Shoup instead.
20.According to the Gospel of Matthew, the magi (wise men) brought the child Jesus gold, frankincense and what?
Myrrh. Matthew says a star went ahead of the magi and stopped over the place where the child was.
21.Every year since 1947, which country has given London a giant Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square?
Norway. It's a thank-you for Britain's support during World War II. The spruce is usually over 20 meters (65 feet) tall.
22.Which English queen is said to have served gingerbread figures made to look like her important guests?
Queen Elizabeth I. The earliest gingerbread was often a honey cake, and some old recipes didn't even use ginger.
Hard Christmas trivia questions for adults
23.Reindeer eyes change color with the seasons. They are golden in summer. What color are they in the dark Arctic winter?
Blue. The change happens in a mirror-like layer at the back of the eye and helps them see in very dim light.
24.In the UK, families traditionally mix the Christmas pudding together on the Sunday before Advent. What is that day called?
Stir-up Sunday. Each person stirs and makes a wish, and whoever finds the silver sixpence baked inside is said to get good luck.
25.Which 1800s Harper's Weekly cartoonist drew the first known pictures of Santa living at the North Pole with a toy workshop?
Thomas Nast. His first Santa Claus drawing appeared in Harper's Weekly in January 1863.
26.In the short form "Xmas," the X stands for which Greek letter, the first letter of "Christ" in Greek?
Chi. The abbreviation goes back to the mid-1500s, and the "-mas" comes from an Old English word for Mass.
27.Christstollen, a famous German Christmas bread, gets a yearly festival with a giant stollen parade in which city?
Dresden. In 1730, a Saxon ruler, Augustus the Strong, had a stollen baked that weighed about 1,800 kilograms (almost 4,000 pounds).
28.The real "Good King Wenceslas" from the carol was not a king but a duke. Which land, now in the Czech Republic, did he rule?
Bohemia. John Mason Neale wrote the carol's words in 1853, set to a 13th-century tune that praises spring.
29.In Denmark, whoever finds the whole almond hidden in the Christmas rice pudding traditionally wins what prize?
A marzipan pig. The pudding, called risalamande, is served cold with hot cherry sauce.
30.Panettone, the tall Italian Christmas bread, comes from which city?
Milan. Its name likely comes from "pan de ton," a Milanese luxury bread made richer with honey and raisins.
Ways to use these Christmas questions
Tuck one question into each little door of an Advent calendar so the countdown comes with a fact a day. Read a few aloud while the cookies cool or the gingerbread house sets, and let the winner lick the frosting spoon. Teachers can use them at the classroom party before winter break, where the questions about Australia's beach Christmas or Italy's Befana make a natural way into a quick world map lesson. On Christmas Eve, save the reindeer questions for the wait before bed, and on a long car ride to Grandma's, let the kids take turns being quizmaster.
Make it a Bingo night: free printable Christmas bingo cards from Room Game Night.
Play Christmas trivia together
Room Trivia has a whole Holidays category with different questions: four answers to pick from, points for speed, and a scoreboard. Put it on a TV or laptop and everyone answers on their own phone. Free, with no app and no account.