Santa, reindeer and the North Pole
This round visits Santa's home at the top of the world. It mixes questions about Santa, his reindeer and his workshop with real animals that live in the icy Arctic, such as polar bears and Arctic foxes. Younger children will know the first few answers straight away, while the last two questions about real reindeer will stretch even the oldest kids.
Q1.What color is Santa's suit in most Christmas pictures?Tap to reveal
Answer: Red
The suit is usually trimmed with white fur, and Santa wears a wide black belt and black boots.
Q2.Which of Santa's reindeer has a bright, shiny red nose?Tap to reveal
Answer: Rudolph
Rudolph first appeared in 1939 in a little storybook that a department store gave away to children.
Q3.What are Santa's little helpers who make the toys in his workshop called?Tap to reveal
Answer: Elves
In Denmark and Norway, many families leave out a bowl of rice pudding for a little Christmas elf called the nisse.
Q4.Which big white bear lives in the Arctic, near the North Pole?Tap to reveal
Answer: A polar bear
Under all that white fur, a polar bear's skin is black.
Q5.Not counting Rudolph, how many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh in the famous Christmas poem?Tap to reveal
Answer: Eight
The poem, often called 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, first came out in 1823 and gave the reindeer names like Dasher and Dancer.
Q6.One of Santa's reindeer shares its name with an icy space object that has a glowing tail. Which one?Tap to reveal
Answer: Comet
A comet's tail forms when it travels close to the Sun and some of its ice turns into gas.
Q7.In the United States, what snack do many children leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve?Tap to reveal
Answer: Milk and cookies
Many children also leave a carrot out for the reindeer to munch.
Q8.Which fluffy Arctic animal, a cousin of the dog, has a coat that turns white in winter?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Arctic fox
It even has thick fur on the bottoms of its paws to keep its feet warm on the ice.
Q9.In North America, wild reindeer are known by what other name?Tap to reveal
Answer: Caribou
Reindeer have wide hooves that spread out like snowshoes to help them walk on deep snow.
Q10.In most kinds of deer, only the boys grow antlers. What is special about girl reindeer?Tap to reveal
Answer: They grow antlers too
Boy reindeer drop their antlers in early winter, but many girl reindeer keep theirs until spring.
Christmas around the world
Christmas looks different depending on where you wake up on December 25. In some places it is snowy, in others it is hot and sunny, and a few countries celebrate on a different date. This round travels from Australia to Iceland, meeting the gift-bringers, parades and family traditions children enjoy around the world. It works well next to a globe or a map.
Q1.When it is Christmas in Australia, what season is it there?Tap to reveal
Answer: Summer
The seasons are flipped in the southern half of the world, so many Australian families have Christmas lunch at the beach.
Q2.How do you say Merry Christmas in Spanish?Tap to reveal
Answer: Feliz Navidad
In French people say Joyeux Noël, and in German they say Frohe Weihnachten.
Q3.Which country is usually said to have started the tradition of the Christmas tree?Tap to reveal
Answer: Germany
Early Christmas trees were often decorated with apples and paper roses instead of glass balls.
Q4.In Mexico, what colorful container full of sweets do children break open at Christmas parties?Tap to reveal
Answer: A piñata
Christmas piñatas are often shaped like a star with seven points and are broken at parties called posadas.
Q5.In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas arrives each November on what kind of boat?Tap to reveal
Answer: A steamboat
Dutch children put out their shoes for him, often with a carrot inside for his white horse.
Q6.In Sweden, on St. Lucia's Day, a girl in a long white dress wears a crown of what?Tap to reveal
Answer: Candles
St. Lucia's Day is on December 13, and children often hand out soft saffron buns.
Q7.In Poland, families wait to start their Christmas Eve dinner until someone spots what in the sky?Tap to reveal
Answer: The first star
Many Polish families also set an extra place at the table in case a surprise guest arrives.
Q8.In Italy, a kind old woman brings sweets to children on the night of January 5. What does she fly on?Tap to reveal
Answer: A broomstick
Her name is La Befana, and she fills children's stockings on the night before a holiday called Epiphany.
Q9.In countries such as Ethiopia and Russia, many people celebrate Christmas on which date?Tap to reveal
Answer: January 7
Their churches count the days with older calendars, so their Christmas comes about two weeks after December 25.
Q10.In Iceland, children leave a shoe on the windowsill in the nights before Christmas. Who fills it with small treats?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Yule Lads
There are 13 of them, with funny names such as Spoon-Licker and Door-Slammer.
Christmas food, songs and decorations
Every family has its favorite Christmas treats, songs and decorations. This round covers cookies and sweets, plants that come out every December, things that hang on doors and trees, and well-known Christmas songs. The songs are asked about by title only, so nobody needs to sing, although a class may want to. The last two questions have surprising answers.
Q1.What ring of green leaves and branches do people hang on their front door at Christmas?Tap to reveal
Answer: A wreath
Wreaths are made from evergreens, which are plants that stay green all winter long.
Q2.Which red-and-white striped sweet is shaped like a hook?Tap to reveal
Answer: A candy cane
Most candy canes are flavored with peppermint.
Q3.Which spicy cookie is often baked in the shape of a little person?Tap to reveal
Answer: A gingerbread man
Some families use the same dough to build whole gingerbread houses, stuck together with icing.
Q4.Which Christmas song did two astronauts play on a tiny harmonica and a handful of little bells while flying in space in 1965?Tap to reveal
Answer: Jingle Bells
The song was first published in 1857 under a different title, The One Horse Open Sleigh.
Q5.Which Christmas song is about a snowman who comes to life when a magic hat is put on his head?Tap to reveal
Answer: Frosty the Snowman
The song came out in 1950, and a cartoon about Frosty was first shown on TV in 1969.
Q6.Which Christmas plant has bright red leaves that look like flower petals?Tap to reveal
Answer: A poinsettia
The poinsettia first grew wild in Mexico, where it is called the Christmas Eve flower.
Q7.In Britain, which paper tube goes bang when two people pull it, and holds a paper crown inside?Tap to reveal
Answer: A Christmas cracker
Crackers were invented in London in the 1840s by a sweet maker named Tom Smith.
Q8.Which chocolate cake is rolled up and decorated to look like a piece of wood?Tap to reveal
Answer: A Yule log
In France this cake is called a bûche de Noël.
Q9.The tune of the carol Deck the Halls first came from which country?Tap to reveal
Answer: Wales
The Welsh tune was first sung to celebrate New Year's Eve rather than Christmas.
Q10.Shiny tinsel for Christmas trees was first made from which metal?Tap to reveal
Answer: Silver
Real silver turned dark over time, so most tinsel today is made from plastic.
Christmas stories and films
Christmas is a wonderful time for stories, whether they come from a picture book, a ballet, the Bible or a family film. Every story and film in this round is suitable for children, and the questions ask about characters and plots rather than lines. Children who have read The Snowman or watched the Rudolph special will have an advantage on the harder ones.
Q1.Which grumpy green Dr. Seuss character lives on a mountain high above the town of Whoville?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Grinch
The Grinch's loyal little dog is called Max.
Q2.In the Christmas story from the Bible, where does Mary lay baby Jesus to sleep?Tap to reveal
Answer: In a manger
A manger is a long open box that cows and donkeys eat their hay from, and its name comes from a French word meaning to eat.
Q3.In The Muppet Christmas Carol, which famous frog plays Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's hard-working helper?Tap to reveal
Answer: Kermit the Frog
Miss Piggy plays Bob Cratchit's wife in the same film.
Q4.What is the name of the magical train that takes a boy to the North Pole in a famous picture book?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Polar Express
The book was written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, and it won the Caldecott Medal for its pictures.
Q5.In the ballet The Nutcracker, what does the wooden nutcracker doll turn into?Tap to reveal
Answer: A prince
The music for the ballet was written by the Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
Q6.Which cartoon boy chooses a small, droopy Christmas tree in a famous TV special?Tap to reveal
Answer: Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy come from the Peanuts comic strip drawn by Charles Schulz.
Q7.Who wrote A Christmas Carol, the story of a grumpy man named Ebenezer Scrooge who learns to love Christmas?Tap to reveal
Answer: Charles Dickens
Dickens wrote the whole story in about six weeks, and it was first printed in 1843.
Q8.In the film Arthur Christmas, who is Arthur's dad?Tap to reveal
Answer: Santa Claus
Arthur works in the part of the North Pole that answers children's letters to Santa.
Q9.The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is a famous Christmas picture book. How many words are used to tell its story?Tap to reveal
Answer: None, it is told only in pictures
A cartoon made from the book in 1982 is shown on British TV nearly every Christmas.
Q10.In the 1964 TV special about Rudolph, Hermey is an elf who would rather be what than a toymaker?Tap to reveal
Answer: A dentist
The special was filmed with small puppets moved a tiny bit at a time, a method called stop-motion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these Christmas questions the right level for my child?
The questions are written for children aged 6 to 12. Each round starts with four easy questions a six- or seven-year-old can usually answer, then four medium ones and two harder ones for older children. If you are playing with very young children, stick to the first few questions in each round. Older kids can try the whole list, or take on only the harder questions as a challenge.
How do I run this quiz with a class or at a party?
Split the children into teams of three or four so nobody gets left out, and read one question at a time. Give the answer and the fun fact straight after each question rather than at the end. One round of ten takes about five to eight minutes, so all four rounds fill a class lesson, while a single round suits a car ride or a party game.
Can I use these questions in my classroom for free?
Yes. The questions and answers on this page are free for teachers, parents and group leaders to read aloud in class, at home or at a party. You do not need to sign up or pay for anything. You can also open the quiz on this page on a classroom screen and let the whole class answer together as one big team.
What is the hardest question in this Christmas quiz?
The question about where the tune of Deck the Halls came from is meant to be one of the hardest, because the answer is a small country that many grown-ups do not guess: Wales. The Iceland question about the Yule Lads and the one about The Snowman book, which tells its story without any words, can also puzzle older kids. Share the fun facts afterward, since the harder answers usually make the best stories.
Where can my kids play this Christmas quiz online?
Right here on this page. Scroll to the free quiz, and children can answer the questions one at a time on a phone, tablet or computer, with no sign-up needed. It is a nice way for older kids to play on their own or race a brother or sister. For more quizzes at the same level, try the related kids and holiday trivia pages linked below.
