Christmas quiz: 40 trivia questions and answers

How to run the quiz

1. Split into teams of two to six, and give each team a pencil and an answer sheet from the PDF.
2. The quiz host reads each question out twice, slowly. Teams talk it over and write their answer.
3. After each round, swap sheets with the next table and mark them as the host reads out the answers.
4. Score one point for each right answer. The team with the most points after four rounds wins.

A tip for care homes: print the question pages too, so everyone can read along in large print while the host reads out.

The questions

Here are all 40 questions. The answers to each round are underneath it: tap or click to show them.

Round 1: Christmas traditions

1. On which date is Boxing Day?
2. Which plant do people traditionally kiss under at Christmas?
3. What do children hang up on Christmas Eve for Father Christmas to fill?
4. Which royal couple helped make the Christmas tree popular in Victorian Britain?
5. What do we call the four weeks leading up to Christmas?
6. Which London sweet maker invented the Christmas cracker in the 1840s?
7. In 1843, Sir Henry Cole had the first printed what made?
8. What colour are holly berries?
9. Which feast day, on 6 January, comes at the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas?
10. In Britain, what is traditionally left out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve?

Answers to round 1

1. 26 December
2. Mistletoe
3. A stocking
4. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
5. Advent
6. Tom Smith
7. Christmas card
8. Red
9. Epiphany
10. A mince pie and a glass of sherry (and a carrot for the reindeer)

Round 2: Christmas food

1. Which bird is the most popular choice for Christmas dinner in Britain?
2. What is poured over the Christmas pudding before it is set alight?
3. Which Christmas vegetable is named after the capital of Belgium?
4. What did mince pies first contain that most no longer do?
5. Which nut is marzipan mainly made from?
6. What is the German fruit bread, dusted with icing sugar, eaten at Christmas?
7. What is traditionally made on Stir-up Sunday, the Sunday before Advent?
8. Which red berries are made into a sauce to serve with turkey?
9. What do the French call their chocolate Christmas log cake?
10. What are pigs in blankets?

Answers to round 2

1. Turkey
2. Brandy
3. Brussels sprouts
4. Meat
5. Almonds
6. Stollen
7. The Christmas pudding
8. Cranberries
9. Bûche de Noël
10. Small sausages wrapped in bacon

Round 3: Carols and songs

1. Finish the carol title: “Silent …”
2. In “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, what did my true love give to me on the first day?
3. In the same carol, how many lords are a-leaping?
4. Finish the line: “Hark! The herald angels …”
5. In “Good King Wenceslas”, on which feast did the king look out?
6. In which country was “Silent Night” first sung, in 1818?
7. Finish the line: “O come, all ye …”
8. What does the carol tell us to deck the halls with?
9. In “Away in a Manger”, what did the little Lord Jesus lay down?
10. Counting every repeat, how many gifts are given in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?

Answers to round 3

1. Night
2. A partridge in a pear tree
3. Ten
4. Sing
5. The Feast of Stephen (26 December)
6. Austria
7. Faithful
8. Boughs of holly
9. His sweet head
10. 364

Round 4: Christmas around the world

1. Which country gives London a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square every year?
2. In Australia and South Africa, which season is it at Christmas?
3. Which saint is Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, based on?
4. Saint Nicholas was a bishop in Myra. In which country is Myra today?
5. In which country is KFC fried chicken a favourite Christmas meal?
6. How do you say “Merry Christmas” in French?
7. In the Christmas story, in which town was Jesus born?
8. The poinsettia, with its bright red leaves, first came from which country?
9. In which country do children put out their shoes for Sinterklaas in early December?
10. In Italy, which kind old woman brings presents on the night of 5 January?

Answers to round 4

1. Norway
2. Summer
3. Saint Nicholas
4. Turkey
5. Japan
6. Joyeux Noël
7. Bethlehem
8. Mexico
9. The Netherlands
10. La Befana

Printing tips

• A4 suits most of the world. US Letter suits the United States and Canada.
• Print one answer sheet for each team: each sheet holds two rounds, so a team needs both sheets.
• Print at Actual size or 100% if you can. Fit to page works too.
• Plain office paper is fine, and every page prints clearly in black and white.

Free to print and share

Print as many copies as you like, at home or for a care home, day centre, club or class. Please don’t sell this quiz or put it on another website. Link to this page instead.