These Christmas quiz questions are 80 original questions in 8 rounds of 10, written for a UK family or office Christmas quiz, with the answer printed under every question. Two rounds are family friendly and six are pitched at adults, and the free printable host pack, team answer sheet and winners’ certificate come with them. Rounds 1 and 2 make a family Christmas quiz on their own, and all eight rounds make a full festive quiz for adults. The Christmas quiz questions all come with answers.
Quick answer: This page has 80 Christmas quiz questions and answers in 8 rounds of 10, written for UK families and offices. Rounds 1 and 2 are family friendly: traditions, then food and drink. Rounds 3 to 8 are for adults: songs, TV and film, the world, history, Boxing Day and carols. Print the host pack, team sheet and certificate free.
Christmas quiz questions: the 8 rounds at a glance
The quiz has 8 rounds of 10 questions, two for the whole family and six for adults, and every round runs from four easy questions to two hard ones.
| Round | Topic | Best for | What it asks about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UK Christmas traditions | Everyone, including children who can read | Advent calendars, crackers, cards and the royal broadcast |
| 2 | Christmas food and drink | Everyone, including children who can read | Dinner, puddings, sweets and festive treats |
| 3 | Christmas songs and number ones | Adults and older teenagers | Chart toppers, charity singles and Christmas number ones |
| 4 | Christmas on TV and film | Adults and older teenagers | Scrooge, Whoville and the films people watch every year |
| 5 | Christmas around the world | Adults and older teenagers | Customs from Japan and Mexico to the Netherlands and Italy |
| 6 | Christmas history | Adults and older teenagers | Saints, truces, bans and the first nativity scene |
| 7 | Boxing Day and the festive season | Adults and older teenagers | The day after Christmas, Hogmanay and Twelfth Night |
| 8 | Name that carol | Adults and older teenagers | Carols identified from their background alone, without lyrics |
In the family rounds the four easy questions are pitched at children who can read, and the last two are bonus questions for the grown-ups. There are no alcohol questions in them. The adult rounds are harder: chart facts, dates and film trivia that tend to start friendly arguments.
Looking for something younger children can play on a screen? Try the online Christmas trivia quiz. This page is different: printable UK rounds, a harder mix and host guidance for a whole room. For a general quiz night with ten non-festive rounds, see these pub quiz questions.
The 80 questions and answers, round by round
Read each question aloud, and the answer is printed straight underneath for the quizmaster, so use the host pack or cover the page when teams can see it. Pick the rounds of Christmas quiz questions that suit your group, and mix family-friendly Christmas quiz questions with harder rounds for adults.
Round 1: UK Christmas traditions (family friendly)
Questions 1 to 4 are easy and 5 to 8 are medium. Questions 9 and 10 are bonus questions for the grown-ups.
- What name is given to the calendar with a little door to open on each day of December?
Answer: An Advent calendar - Which plant do people traditionally kiss under at Christmas?
Answer: Mistletoe - What is the traditional British name for Santa Claus?
Answer: Father Christmas - What colour is the nose of Rudolph the reindeer?
Answer: Red - Which Victorian London sweet-maker is credited with inventing the Christmas cracker?
Answer: Tom Smith - Which German-born husband of Queen Victoria helped make the Christmas tree popular in Britain?
Answer: Prince Albert - In which year was the first commercial Christmas card produced in London?
Answer: 1843 - On which day of the week does each of the four weeks of Advent begin?
Answer: Sunday - In which year was the monarch’s Christmas message first broadcast on television?
Answer: 1957 (by Queen Elizabeth II) - Which king gave the first royal Christmas message on the radio, in 1932?
Answer: King George V
Round 2: Christmas food and drink (family friendly)
Questions 1 to 4 are easy and 5 to 8 are medium. Questions 9 and 10 are bonus questions for the grown-ups.
- Which small, round, green vegetable that looks like a tiny cabbage is a classic side at a British Christmas dinner?
Answer: Brussels sprouts - In “pigs in blankets”, what are the little sausages wrapped in?
Answer: Bacon - What name is given to the small sweet pastries filled with spiced dried fruit that are eaten at Christmas?
Answer: Mince pies - Which large bird is now the most popular centrepiece of a British Christmas dinner?
Answer: Turkey - Which small silver coin was traditionally hidden in a Christmas pudding for luck?
Answer: A sixpence - What is the name given to the last Sunday before Advent, when families traditionally make the Christmas pudding?
Answer: Stir-up Sunday - In which Italian city did the sweet bread panettone originate?
Answer: Milan - Which nut is the main ingredient of the marzipan that covers many Christmas cakes?
Answer: The almond - In which year did Mackintosh first launch the Quality Street chocolate and toffee selection?
Answer: 1936 - In which country did the fruit-and-nut Christmas bread called stollen originate?
Answer: Germany (Dresden is its most famous home)
Round 3: Christmas songs and number ones
Questions 1 to 4 are easy, 5 to 8 are medium and 9 and 10 are hard.
- Which singer recorded “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in 1994?
Answer: Mariah Carey - Which pop duo, led by George Michael, recorded “Last Christmas” in 1984?
Answer: Wham! - Which charity supergroup, organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, had the Christmas number one in 1984?
Answer: Band Aid (“Do They Know It’s Christmas?”) - Which glam rock band had the Christmas number one in 1973 with “Merry Xmas Everybody”?
Answer: Slade - Which singer sang the female part in The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York”?
Answer: Kirsty MacColl - Which Paul McCartney band had the Christmas number one in 1977 with “Mull of Kintyre”?
Answer: Wings - Which Queen single was the Christmas number one in 1975?
Answer: “Bohemian Rhapsody” - Which girl group had three Christmas number ones in a row from 1996 to 1998?
Answer: The Spice Girls - Which duo’s cover of “Always on My Mind” kept “Fairytale of New York” from the Christmas number one spot in 1987?
Answer: The Pet Shop Boys - Which band’s “Killing in the Name” became the Christmas number one in 2009 after an online campaign?
Answer: Rage Against the Machine
Round 4: Christmas on TV and film
Questions 1 to 4 are easy, 5 to 8 are medium and 9 and 10 are hard.
- Which author wrote the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol?
Answer: Charles Dickens - Which 1990 film follows eight-year-old Kevin McCallister, left behind when his family flies to Paris?
Answer: Home Alone - Which actor played Buddy, the human raised by elves, in the 2003 film Elf?
Answer: Will Ferrell - Which green, grumpy creature tries to steal Christmas from the people of Whoville?
Answer: The Grinch - In the 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life, what is the name of the hero played by James Stewart?
Answer: George Bailey - What is the name of the skeleton hero of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas?
Answer: Jack Skellington - Which actor played Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)?
Answer: Michael Caine - Which 2003 British romantic comedy includes a famous scene in which a man declares his love using cue cards?
Answer: Love Actually - Who played Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 British film Scrooge?
Answer: Alastair Sim - In the 1988 film Die Hard, which fictional Los Angeles skyscraper hosts the Christmas Eve office party?
Answer: Nakatomi Plaza
Round 5: Christmas around the world
Questions 1 to 4 are easy, 5 to 8 are medium and 9 and 10 are hard.
- In which season does Christmas fall in Australia?
Answer: Summer - What is Father Christmas called in France?
Answer: Père Noël - What does the Spanish greeting “Feliz Navidad” mean in English?
Answer: Merry Christmas - In which country is Santa Claus Village, found near Rovaniemi in Lapland?
Answer: Finland - What is the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas, who brings gifts to children in the Netherlands in early December?
Answer: Sinterklaas - Which American fast-food chain’s fried chicken is a popular Christmas meal in Japan?
Answer: KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) - In Mexico, what name is given to the nine nights of processions held before Christmas?
Answer: Las Posadas - On which date in the Gregorian calendar does the Russian Orthodox Church celebrate Christmas?
Answer: 7 January - In Italian folklore, which old woman brings gifts to children on the eve of Epiphany?
Answer: La Befana - On which date is Saint Lucy’s Day, marked in Sweden with candlelit processions of children in white?
Answer: 13 December
Round 6: Christmas history
Questions 1 to 4 are easy, 5 to 8 are medium and 9 and 10 are hard.
- Which saint, a fourth-century bishop known for giving gifts, inspired the character of Santa Claus?
Answer: Saint Nicholas - According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, in which town was Jesus born?
Answer: Bethlehem - The word “Christmas” comes from an Old English phrase meaning “Christ’s …” what?
Answer: Mass (“Christ’s Mass”) - Which three gifts did the wise men bring to the infant Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew?
Answer: Gold, frankincense and myrrh - Which Norman duke was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066?
Answer: William the Conqueror - In which year did soldiers on the Western Front hold the famous unofficial Christmas truce?
Answer: 1914 - Which Scandinavian capital sends a Christmas tree to Trafalgar Square in London every year?
Answer: Oslo - In which present-day country was Saint Nicholas born, in the Roman-era city of Patara?
Answer: Turkey - In which year did the English Parliament ban Christmas celebrations during the Puritan era?
Answer: 1647 - In which Italian village did Saint Francis of Assisi stage a living nativity in 1223?
Answer: Greccio
Round 7: Boxing Day and the festive season
Questions 1 to 4 are easy, 5 to 8 are medium and 9 and 10 are hard.
- What is the public holiday on 26 December called in the UK?
Answer: Boxing Day - What is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve?
Answer: Hogmanay - What is the name of the day before Christmas Day, 24 December?
Answer: Christmas Eve - In which sport is the Boxing Day Test played each year in Melbourne?
Answer: Cricket - Which Scottish poet is credited with the words of “Auld Lang Syne”?
Answer: Robert Burns - On which date is the Feast of the Epiphany celebrated in Western Christianity?
Answer: 6 January - At Hogmanay, what is the name for the first person to cross the threshold after midnight?
Answer: The first-footer - Boxing Day is also the feast day of which saint, the first Christian martyr?
Answer: Saint Stephen - At which racecourse is the King George VI Chase run on Boxing Day?
Answer: Kempton Park - At what time on Christmas Day is the monarch’s Christmas message traditionally broadcast?
Answer: 3 pm
Round 8: Name that carol
Read each clue twice and ask teams for the carol title. The clues use facts about the carol, never its words, so nobody needs to sing. Questions 1 to 4 are easy, 5 to 8 are medium and 9 and 10 are hard.
- First performed in Austria in 1818, this carol was written in German as “Stille Nacht”.
Answer: Silent Night - A carol about a king who goes out on the Feast of Stephen to help a poor man gather winter fuel.
Answer: Good King Wenceslas - A carol that builds up over twelve days, beginning with a bird in a fruit tree.
Answer: The Twelve Days of Christmas - A carol about three eastern travellers following a star, written in 1857 by an American clergyman, John Henry Hopkins Jr.
Answer: We Three Kings - This carol’s Latin title is “Adeste Fideles”.
Answer: O Come, All Ye Faithful - The words began as a hymn by Charles Wesley, and the tune is adapted from Mendelssohn.
Answer: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Isaac Watts published the words in 1719, based on Psalm 98.
Answer: Joy to the World - Phillips Brooks, an American clergyman, wrote this carol in 1868 after a visit to the Holy Land.
Answer: O Little Town of Bethlehem - A poem by Christina Rossetti that Gustav Holst later set to music, set in the coldest part of the year.
Answer: In the Bleak Midwinter - Written by Cecil Frances Alexander in 1848, this carol traditionally opens the service of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College, Cambridge, sung first by a solo chorister.
Answer: Once in Royal David’s City
Free printable Christmas quiz pack: host pack, answer sheet and certificate
The pack is three PDFs in US Letter and A4, with no pictures, so it prints cleanly in black and white. The pack keeps all the Christmas quiz questions and answers in one place for the host.
Print one team answer sheet for each team. Keep the host pack yourself, because it has every answer.
How to run a quiz with these Christmas quiz questions
Run a Christmas quiz with a quizmaster who reads the questions, teams of four to six who share one answer sheet, and a swap-and-mark routine at the end of each half.
Teams
Aim for teams of four to six. For a family quiz, mix ages on every team so children can take the easy questions and adults the hard ones. For an office quiz, mix departments. Each team chooses a festive name and one person to hold the pen.
Time
All 8 rounds take about an hour and a half: five minutes to welcome everyone, four rounds, a short break and marking, four more rounds, then marking and prizes. Each round takes about eight minutes, with each question read twice and around 30 seconds to answer. A short family game of rounds 1 and 2 takes about 20 minutes.
Scoring
Every correct answer scores one point, so a round is worth up to 10 and the whole quiz up to 80.
| What | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Correct answer | 1 | A wrong or blank answer scores 0 |
| One round | Up to 10 | Ten questions per round |
| Whole quiz | Up to 80 | All 8 rounds |
| Family quiz (rounds 1 and 2) | Up to 20 | Optional: grown-ups answer only questions 9 and 10 for bonus points |
| Tie-break | Closest wins | Used only when teams are level on points |
The tie-break
If teams finish level, ask each tied team to write down a year and give the win to the closest. The tie-break question is: “In which year did Oslo first give London the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree?” The answer is 1947 (Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, Wikipedia). The spare is: “In which year was the film White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, released?” The answer is 1954 (White Christmas, Wikipedia).
Marking and keeping it fair
At the end of each half, swap sheets between tables and read the answers aloud while teams mark. Ask the quizmaster to settle any dispute, and agree before round 1 that the quizmaster’s decision is final. No phones, one answer per line, and no hints while questions are read.
What you need for a Christmas quiz night
You need one printed answer sheet per team, pens and the host pack. Print the Christmas quiz questions in large type so the host can read them easily.
- One team answer sheet (2 pages) per team.
- The host pack, printed once for the quizmaster.
- Pens or pencils, with a few spares.
- The winners’ certificate and cards, printed on thicker paper if you can.
- A watch or phone timer for the quizmaster.
- A whiteboard or paper to keep the running scores.
- Mince pies and a small prize, if you like.
The UK festive calendar behind the questions
The UK festive season runs from Stir-up Sunday in late November to Epiphany on 6 January, and several questions use its dates.
- Stir-up Sunday is the last Sunday before Advent (Stir-up Sunday, Wikipedia).
- The King’s Christmas message is embargoed until 15:00 GMT on 25 December (Royal Christmas Message, Wikipedia).
- In 2026 Christmas Day is Friday 25 December, and the Boxing Day bank holiday is substitute day Monday 28 December in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (GOV.UK bank holidays).
- Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve, 31 December (Hogmanay, Wikipedia).
Facts behind some of the answers
These are the answers quiz teams query most often, each with its source. Read these facts aloud after each round of Christmas quiz questions to keep the game lively.
- The monarch’s Christmas message began on radio in 1932 with King George V and was first televised in 1957 (Royal Christmas Message, Wikipedia).
- The first commercial Christmas card was produced in London in 1843 (Christmas card, Wikipedia).
- Slade had the Christmas number one in 1973, Queen in 1975 and the Spice Girls three years running from 1996 to 1998 (Christmas number one, Wikipedia).
- “Fairytale of New York” was kept off the 1987 Christmas number one spot by the Pet Shop Boys (Fairytale of New York, Wikipedia).
- Oslo has given London the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree every year since 1947 (Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, Wikipedia).
- England’s Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647 (Christmas, Wikipedia).
- The Christmas truce of 1914 took place along the Western Front (Christmas truce, Wikipedia).
Print the Christmas quiz questions before the party and pick one person to read them out.
Frequently asked questions about the Christmas quiz
Which rounds are family friendly?
Rounds 1 and 2, UK Christmas traditions and Christmas food and drink. Their last two questions are a step harder, so treat them as bonus questions for the grown-ups.
How long does the Christmas quiz take?
All 8 rounds take about an hour and a half with a break and two marking sessions. Each round of ten takes about eight minutes, so a family game of two rounds takes about 20 minutes.
Can I run the quiz on a video call?
Yes. Read each question aloud, ask every team to write its answers on its own printed sheet, and read the answers out at the end of each half so teams can mark themselves.
What if two teams finish level?
Use the tie-break: each team writes down a year, and the closest wins. The host pack gives the question and a spare.
Does the carol round use song lyrics?
No. Round 8 gives clues about the carol, such as who wrote it and when, and asks for the title. Nobody needs to sing.
Is there an online Christmas quiz for children?
Yes. The online Christmas trivia quiz is for children to play on a screen. This page has printable UK rounds with a harder mix for families and offices.
Were the answers checked?
Yes. Every answer was checked against a published source, mostly Wikipedia, and chart and date facts were checked against dedicated articles. The sources are listed on this page.
Are these Christmas quiz questions and answers UK-specific?
They were written for a UK family or office quiz, so rounds cover British traditions such as crackers and the royal broadcast, plus Christmas number ones. Round 5 looks further afield, with customs from Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Italy.
What printables come with this festive quiz?
There is a free host pack, a team answer sheet and a winners' certificate. The answer sits under every question for the quizmaster, so use the host pack or cover the page when teams can see it.
More Christmas games and printables
- Christmas trivia, an online quiz for children
- Christmas bingo cards and Christmas tambola
- Christmas scavenger hunt for children between rounds
- Christmas jokes for kids to read out in the interval
- Left right Christmas game for the whole room
- How many days until Christmas, with a live countdown
Sources
- Christmas number one: Christmas number one singles, from 1973 to 2009
- Royal Christmas Message: radio and television broadcasts, and the 3 pm time
- Christmas: 1647 ban, the word Christmas and traditions
- Christmas truce: the 1914 truce
- GOV.UK: bank holidays for 2026
- Wikipedia articles on each carol, film, food and custom named in the questions
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