40 Christmas Trivia Questions and Answers (Easy to Hard)

A good round of Christmas trivia is the easiest way to wake up a holiday gathering, and it needs nothing but the questions. These 40 are sorted into six categories so you can pitch them to the right crowd: the movie and tradition questions play well at any age, while the history and music ones have a few that reliably stump the grown-ups.

Read them aloud, split into teams, or just go around the room. Answers are right below each question, so glance only when you have to. Want a version that scores itself? The free Christmas trivia game gives you five random questions, a difficulty setting, and a score to beat.

Movies and TV

1. What does Buddy the Elf say are the four main food groups? Candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup.
2. What is the surname of the family in Home Alone? The McCallisters.
3. Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas? Henry Selick. It's commonly misremembered as Tim Burton, who produced and wrote it but did not direct.
4. In A Christmas Story, what gift does Ralphie desperately want? A Red Ryder BB gun.
5. What is the name of the Grinch's loyal dog? Max.
6. In It's a Wonderful Life, what happens every time a bell rings? An angel gets its wings.
7. What 1988 action film set on Christmas Eve fuels an annual "is it a Christmas movie" debate? Die Hard.
8. What is the name of the prospector in the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special? Yukon Cornelius.

Music and carols

9. What holiday was "Jingle Bells" originally written for? Thanksgiving.
10. What is the best-selling Christmas single of all time? "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby.
11. Who wrote and originally performed "Feliz Navidad"? José Feliciano.
12. In "The Twelve Days of Christmas," what is given on the fifth day? Five gold (golden) rings.
13. In what year was Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" released? 1994.
14. In which country was "Silent Night" first performed, in 1818? Austria.
15. Which Christmas song was the first ever broadcast from space? "Jingle Bells," played by the Gemini 6 astronauts in 1965.

History and origins

16. Which country started the modern Christmas tree tradition? Germany.
17. Who wrote A Christmas Carol, published in 1843? Charles Dickens.
18. Saint Nicholas, the historical basis for Santa Claus, was a bishop in a town in what modern-day country? Turkey (the town of Myra).
19. What is the proper title of the poem that begins "'Twas the night before Christmas"? "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
20. What does the "X" in "Xmas" actually stand for? The Greek letter Chi (Χ), the first letter of "Christ" (Christos) in Greek.
21. Which English leader and Parliament effectively banned Christmas celebrations in the 1640s and 1650s? Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Parliament.
22. In what year did Christmas become an official federal holiday in the United States? 1870.

Traditions and customs

23. What plant are people traditionally meant to kiss under at Christmas? Mistletoe.
24. What is traditionally baked into a Christmas pudding for whoever finds it to have good luck? A coin (a silver sixpence, by tradition).
25. What do you call the wreath, usually with four candles, used to count down the Sundays before Christmas? An Advent wreath.
26. In the UK, what is pulled apart at the dinner table with a "crack," revealing a paper crown and a joke? A Christmas cracker.
27. The tradition of hanging stockings comes from a legend about which figure secretly leaving gold? Saint Nicholas.
28. How many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh in the original poem, before Rudolph? Eight.

Food and drink

29. Panettone, the tall, domed sweet bread, is a Christmas tradition from which country? Italy.
30. What fast-food meal is famously the traditional Christmas dinner in Japan? KFC (fried chicken).
31. What spice gives gingerbread its name and signature flavor? Ginger.
32. What is the main dairy ingredient in eggnog, alongside eggs and sugar? Milk or cream.

Around the world

33. In Iceland, how many Yule Lads visit children in the nights before Christmas? Thirteen.
34. In Sweden, what animated character does much of the country watch at 3pm on Christmas Eve? Donald Duck (known there as Kalle Anka).
35. In Italy, who is the kindly old witch said to bring children gifts on the eve of Epiphany? La Befana.
36. In the Netherlands, on what date does Sinterklaas traditionally deliver gifts? December 5 (St. Nicholas Eve).
37. In Mexico, what are the nine nights of processions reenacting Mary and Joseph's search for shelter called? Las Posadas.

The stumpers

38. How many gifts are given in total across all verses of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? 364.
39. Name all eight of Santa's original reindeer (not counting Rudolph). Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (sometimes Donder), and Blitzen.
40. What soft drink company's 1930s advertising helped cement the modern image of a jolly, red-suited Santa Claus? Coca-Cola. (A common myth says they invented the red suit; they didn't, but their ads made it the dominant version. For how Santa was really assembled over 1,700 years, see our history of Santa Claus.)

Keep the party going

Trivia is just the warm-up. If the group's competitive, our best Christmas party games covers everything from White Elephant to charades, sorted by who's playing. When the questions run out, the night usually drifts to a movie, and the best Christmas movies list has the right pick for the room. Or just play the scored version of this quiz with the free Christmas trivia tool.