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Christmas

Christmas quiz 2026

Fifty Christmas questions over nine rounds, finishing with a hard round for the smug one at the end of the table. This is the free version; the full Christmas Quiz has 80 new questions and a picture round.

Questions
50
Rounds
9
Difficulty
Easy to hard

Round 01 / Around the world

Christmas around the world

  1. In which country did the tradition of the decorated Christmas tree begin?

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    Germany

    Prince Albert helped make it popular in Britain in the 1840s.

  2. In which country is it traditional to eat KFC for Christmas dinner?

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    Japan

    A 1970s advertising campaign made it a national tradition.

  3. Which city gives a giant Christmas tree to London's Trafalgar Square every year?

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    Oslo

    Norway has sent one every year since 1947, as thanks for Britain's help during the Second World War.

  4. In the Netherlands, what is the name of the saint who arrives by steamboat in November with presents?

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    Sinterklaas

    Also accept: Saint Nicholas, St Nicholas

  5. In Italy, which kindly witch brings presents to children on the night before 6 January?

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    La Befana

    Also accept: Befana

Round 02 / Traditions & TV

Traditions and telly

  1. What is Twelfth Night traditionally the time to do with your decorations?

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    Take them down

    Also accept: Take down the decorations

    Leaving them up after Twelfth Night is said to bring bad luck.

  2. Which Julia Donaldson picture book became an animated film first shown on BBC One on Christmas Day 2009?

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    The Gruffalo

  3. Which BBC sitcom, set in Barry and Essex, returned for a 2019 Christmas special that was the most-watched show on Christmas Day?

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    Gavin & Stacey

    Also accept: Gavin and Stacey

    It was the first new episode in ten years.

  4. Wallace and Gromit's "The Wrong Trousers" and "A Close Shave" both premiered at which time of year on the BBC?

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    Christmas

    They were first shown at Christmas in 1993 and 1995.

  5. In "Only Fools and Horses", which 1996 Christmas special saw the Trotters finally become millionaires?

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    Time on Our Hands

    More than 24 million people watched it.

Round 03 / Food & drink

Christmas dinner

  1. What is the main fruit in a traditional mince pie filling?

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    Dried fruit

    Also accept: Raisins, Currants, Sultanas

    Raisins, currants and sultanas. Traditional mincemeat once really did include meat.

  2. Which bird was the most common Christmas dinner in England before turkey took over?

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    Goose

    Also accept: A goose

    Think of the prize goose in "A Christmas Carol".

  3. Which Christmas cake from Italy, tall and dome-shaped, is often sold in a tall box?

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    Panettone

  4. What is "eggnog" mainly made from?

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    Milk, eggs and sugar

    Also accept: Eggs and milk, Eggs, milk and sugar

    Often with a generous splash of rum, brandy or bourbon.

  5. Which cake, often hiding a bean, was traditionally eaten on Twelfth Night?

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    Twelfth cake

    Also accept: Twelfth Night cake

    Whoever found the bean became king or queen for the night.

Round 04 / Words & names

Christmas words and names

  1. Which of Santa's reindeer shares its name with a Roman god of love?

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    Cupid

  2. Which Christmas character is also called Kris Kringle?

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    Santa Claus

    Also accept: Father Christmas, Santa, St Nicholas

  3. "Noel" comes from a French word meaning what?

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    Christmas

  4. The three wise men are also known by which name?

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    The Magi

    Also accept: Magi, The three kings

  5. What is the old word for Christmas that gives us "Yuletide"?

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    Yule

Round 05 / The nativity

The nativity

  1. Which angel told Mary she would have a baby?

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    Gabriel

    Also accept: The angel Gabriel

  2. According to Matthew's Gospel, to which country did Joseph and Mary flee with Jesus to escape Herod?

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    Egypt

  3. Who was the king of Judea when Jesus was born?

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    Herod

    Also accept: King Herod, Herod the Great

  4. The name Emmanuel, used of Jesus at Christmas, means what?

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    God with us

    From Matthew's Gospel, quoting Isaiah.

  5. Which two Gospels tell the story of Jesus's birth?

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    Matthew and Luke

Round 06 / History

Christmas history

  1. Which saint, a 4th-century bishop from what is now Turkey, inspired the legend of Santa Claus?

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    St Nicholas

    Also accept: Saint Nicholas, Nicholas

  2. The modern image of Santa in a red suit was popularised by adverts for which drink in the 1930s?

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    Coca-Cola

    Also accept: Coke

    Red Santas existed before, but Haddon Sundblom's Coca-Cola illustrations fixed the image.

  3. In which century did Queen Victoria and Prince Albert popularise the Christmas tree in Britain?

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    The 19th century

    Also accept: 1800s, 19th

    A drawing of the royal family round their tree appeared in 1848.

  4. Oliver Cromwell's Puritan government did what to Christmas in the 1640s and 1650s?

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    Banned it

    Also accept: Abolished it, Cancelled it

  5. In which year did Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" first reach No.1?

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    1984

Round 07 / Nature

Christmas in nature

  1. No two snowflakes are alike, but how many sides does a snowflake usually have?

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    Six

    Also accept: 6

  2. Female reindeer grow antlers. True or false?

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    True

    Reindeer are the only deer where both males and females grow antlers.

  3. What colour are mistletoe berries?

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    White

  4. What type of tree is a traditional Norway spruce?

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    A conifer

    Also accept: Evergreen, Fir, Spruce

    It's the classic British Christmas tree.

  5. In which country would you find the town of Rovaniemi, known as the official home of Santa Claus?

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    Finland

    It sits on the Arctic Circle in Lapland.

Round 08 / Kids can play

The family round

  1. What is a snowman's nose traditionally made from?

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    A carrot

    Also accept: Carrot

  2. What do you traditionally leave out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve?

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    A mince pie and a drink

    Also accept: Mince pie, Milk and cookies, Sherry

    Plus a carrot for Rudolph.

  3. Where does Father Christmas live?

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    The North Pole

    Also accept: North Pole, Lapland

    Lapland is also a winner.

  4. How many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh, including Rudolph?

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    Nine

    Also accept: 9

  5. What is the name of the snowman in the song who comes to life when a hat is put on his head?

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    Frosty

    Also accept: Frosty the Snowman

More family christmas questions

Round 09 / No conferring

The hard round

  1. In "A Christmas Carol", what is the name of Bob Cratchit's youngest son?

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    Tiny Tim

    Also accept: Tim

  2. What was the name of the ghost of Scrooge's former business partner in "A Christmas Carol"?

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    Jacob Marley

    Also accept: Marley

  3. Which Christmas carol begins "Good King..."?

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    "Good King Wenceslas"

    Also accept: Good King Wenceslas

    Wenceslas was a real Duke of Bohemia in the 10th century.

  4. What is the name of the church service held just before midnight on Christmas Eve?

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    Midnight Mass

  5. What is the date of the Feast of the Epiphany?

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    6 January

    Also accept: 6th January

  6. Which composer wrote "Messiah", with its famous "Hallelujah" chorus, performed at Christmas?

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    George Frideric Handel

    Also accept: Handel

    It premiered in Dublin in 1742.

  7. In "The Twelve Days of Christmas", what does my true love send on the eighth day?

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    Eight maids a-milking

    Also accept: Maids a-milking

  8. Which country's people traditionally eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve, one per chime?

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    Spain

  9. Adding up every gift in "The Twelve Days of Christmas", how many gifts are there in total?

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    364

    One partridge a day for twelve days, two turtle doves for eleven days, and so on.

  10. By the Met Office's definition, what is needed for an official white Christmas?

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    One snowflake seen falling on Christmas Day

    Also accept: A single snowflake falling

    Just one flake, observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December. Snow already lying on the ground doesn't count.

Free version vs full version

Free version · this page

Questions and answers only

50 questions to play or host

  • Every question and answer on this page
  • Play along with automatic marking
  • Present on screen, copy or print
  • No host pack or team answer sheets
  • No picture round or tie-breakers
  • Anyone can look these questions up

Pick a topic

How to run it

  1. Pick five or six rounds for a family quiz and save the rest for Boxing Day. All nine is a proper quiz night.
  2. Put the family round in the middle, so the kids are still awake for it and the grown-ups get a breather.
  3. Crackers make good tie-breakers: first team to read out their cracker joke in a straight face wins.
  4. Give the hard round double points. Somebody's uncle has been waiting all year for this.