48 Christmas Trivia Questions & Answers for Adults

Christmas trivia questions and answers turn holiday facts into a group quiz. This list has 48 questions for adults, ranging from familiar films and stories to harder questions about songs, traditions, and December history.

Christmas trivia is a seasonal version of team trivia questions and works as one of your Christmas games for work. It is similar to Christmas icebreakers, with factual answers instead of personal preferences, and fits an office Christmas party. It is also called a Christmas quiz, Xmas trivia, or a holiday trivia game.

This list includes:

1. List of trivia questions for Christmas parties
2. Easy Christmas trivia questions
3. Christmas trivia for adults
4. Christmas movie trivia questions
5. Christmas music trivia questions
6. Christmas trivia around the world
7. Christmas food trivia questions
8. Funny Christmas trivia questions
9. Hard Christmas trivia questions
10. December trivia questions and answers
11. Christmas trivia answer sources

List of trivia questions for Christmas parties

Best for: adult friends, coworkers, or mixed-age groups playing in teams of 2–5.
Time: 15–20 minutes for 12 questions, or 30–40 minutes for 24 questions.
Materials: selected questions, paper and pens, or a private digital answer sheet.

1. Choose the questions before the game. For a short party round, use questions 1–4, 13–16, 27–28, and 37–38. That gives you 12 questions across four categories.
2. Read each question aloud and allow 30 seconds to discuss. Teams write answers instead of shouting them, and submit before the reveal. Keep the answer paragraphs off the shared screen.
3. Award one point per correct answer. Accept surnames, clear alternate spellings, and equivalent wording unless the question specifically asks for a first name or date.
4. Review answers after every four questions. The highest score wins. Let tied teams share the win, or save question 17 as a numerical tiebreaker: closest year wins, with no penalty for going over. Replace it in your main round if you reserve it.

For virtual Christmas trivia, send questions in the main call and collect one private answer per team. Avoid public-chat answers until everyone has submitted. For a group with different traditions, use mixed teams and explain unfamiliar answers after scoring.

Easy Christmas trivia questions

Start here for a warm-up. These questions mix familiar stories and seasonal objects; no one needs to celebrate Christmas to take a guess.

1. What is Scrooge’s first name in A Christmas Carol?

   Answer: Ebenezer. [1]

2. Who wrote A Christmas Carol?

   Answer: Charles Dickens. [2]

3. How many reindeer pull the sleigh in the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas?

   Answer: Eight. The question refers to the poem, rather than later Rudolph stories. [3]

4. What is the first name of the child left behind in Home Alone?

   Answer: Kevin. [4]

5. What mint flavor is used in Spangler’s classic red-and-white candy canes?

   Answer: Peppermint. [5]

6. What vehicle does Santa ride in A Visit from St. Nicholas?

   Answer: A sleigh. [3]

Christmas trivia for adults

Use these history and literature questions for a mixed adult group. They are more specific than warm-up questions without relying on obscure statistics.

7. In what year was A Christmas Carol first published?

   Answer: 1843. [2]

8. Which future V&A director commissioned the Christmas card sold in 1843?

   Answer: Henry Cole. [6]

9. Which London confectioner invented the Christmas cracker?

   Answer: Tom Smith. [7]

10. Saint Nicholas was born in territory that is now part of which country?

    Answer: Turkey. [3]

11. Who is Scrooge’s deceased business partner in A Christmas Carol?

    Answer: Jacob Marley. [1]

12. Which character in A Christmas Carol is Bob Cratchit’s young son whose health worries Scrooge?

    Answer: Tiny Tim. [1]

Christmas movie trivia questions

Name the film version when reading a question. The wording below identifies the relevant adaptation so a different remake does not cause a scoring dispute.

13. Which actor plays Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)?

    Answer: Michael Caine. [8]

14. Which Muppet plays Bob Cratchit in The Muppet Christmas Carol?

    Answer: Kermit the Frog. [8]

15. Who directed The Muppet Christmas Carol?

    Answer: Brian Henson. [8]

16. Who is the Pumpkin King in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

    Answer: Jack Skellington. [9]

17. In which year was The Nightmare Before Christmas released?

    Answer: 1993. [9]

18. What is the name of Scott’s son in The Santa Clause (1994)?

    Answer: Charlie. [10]

19. What is Will Ferrell’s character called in Elf (2003)?

    Answer: Buddy. [11]

20. How many burglars does Kevin defend his home against in the original Home Alone?

    Answer: Two. [4]

Christmas music trivia questions

These questions work without playing a recording. Accept surnames for composers and ordinary variations in song titles.

21. What was the original published title of Jingle Bells?

    Answer: The One Horse Open Sleigh. [12]

22. Who wrote Jingle Bells?

    Answer: James Pierpont, also known as James Lord Pierpont. [12]

23. Who wrote White Christmas?

    Answer: Irving Berlin. [13]

24. Which singer made the famous 1942 recording of White Christmas?

    Answer: Bing Crosby. [13]

25. Which 1942 film introduced White Christmas to movie audiences?

    Answer: Holiday Inn. [13]

26. Who composed the melody of Silent Night?

    Answer: Franz Xaver Gruber. [14]

Christmas trivia around the world

These questions describe particular traditions, not customs followed by every person in a country.

27. In which country can visitors meet Santa year-round in Rovaniemi?

    Answer: Finland. [15]

28. What is the Finnish name for Santa Claus given by Visit Finland?

    Answer: Joulupukki. Accept a recognizable spelling. [15]

29. On what December date does Sweden celebrate Lucia Day?

    Answer: December 13. [16]

30. How many Yule Lads feature in the Icelandic Christmas tradition?

    Answer: Thirteen. [17]

31. What type of gift is associated with Iceland’s Christmas “book flood”?

    Answer: Books. [18]

32. What is the name of the traditional Swedish Christmas buffet?

    Answer: Julbord. [16]

Christmas food trivia questions

A short food round adds variety. These are questions about traditions, so no tasting or food purchases are needed.

33. Which Italian city is associated with the origin of panettone?

    Answer: Milan. [19]

34. How many points are in the traditional star-shaped outline of pandoro?

    Answer: Eight. [19]

35. What whole nut is hidden in the Danish Christmas dessert risalamande?

    Answer: An almond. [20]

36. What fruit is used in the sauce traditionally served with risalamande?

    Answer: Cherries. [20]

Funny Christmas trivia questions

These are surprising factual questions, rather than jokes with invented answers. Read the answer note when a team asks for the story behind it.

37. According to NORAD, what kind of accidental contact began its Santa-tracking tradition: a phone call, a telegram, or a postcard?

    Answer: A phone call, in 1955. The caller reached NORAD’s predecessor, CONAD. [21]

38. Which festive song did Gemini astronauts perform with a harmonica and bells in December 1965?

    Answer: Jingle Bells. [22]

39. The showy red parts of a poinsettia are modified leaves or flower petals?

    Answer: Modified leaves, called bracts. [23]

40. What piece of footwear do Icelandic children place by a window for the Yule Lads?

    Answer: A shoe. [24]

41. Does Christmas fall in Australia’s summer or winter?

    Answer: Summer, using Australia’s four-season calendar. The tropical north also has wet and dry seasons. [25]

42. In A Christmas Carol, how many principal spirits visit Scrooge if you include Jacob Marley?

    Answer: Four: Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. This counts the visiting guides, not every background phantom mentioned in the story. [1]

Hard Christmas trivia questions

Use these as a challenge round. Give the same time and point value as the easier rounds so difficulty does not distort the scoring.

43. Which artist illustrated Henry Cole’s 1843 Christmas card?

    Answer: John Callcott Horsley. [6]

44. Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas?

    Answer: Henry Selick. Tim Burton’s name appears in the title, but Selick directed it. [9]

45. In what year was Silent Night first performed in Oberndorf?

    Answer: 1818. [14]

46. What was the original selling price of Henry Cole’s 1843 Christmas card?

    Answer: One shilling. [6]

December trivia questions and answers

Save these two space-history questions for a December meeting or use one as a numerical tiebreaker before showing its answer.

47. Which Apollo mission entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve in 1968?

    Answer: Apollo 8. [26]

48. On what December date did Apollo 8 launch in 1968?

    Answer: December 21. [26]

For random Christmas trivia, mix questions from different sections instead of reading every category in order. Keep the question numbers on your host copy so you can find the answers quickly.

For another round, explore trivia topics for adults, read the guide to trivia night ideas, or choose virtual Christmas games.

Christmas trivia answer sources

The numbered references beside each answer lead to the source used to check it. Film details refer to the named adaptation; cultural questions identify a particular tradition.

1. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (full text)
2. Charles Dickens Museum: first edition of A Christmas Carol
3. Library of Congress: A Visit from St. Nicholas
4. 20th Century Studios: Home Alone
5. Spangler: classic peppermint candy canes
6. V&A: the first commercial Christmas card
7. V&A: the Christmas cracker
8. Disney: The Muppet Christmas Carol
9. Disney: The Nightmare Before Christmas
10. Disney: The Santa Clause
11. Warner Bros. Shop: Buddy the Elf / Will Ferrell
12. Library of Congress: Jingle Bells
13. Library of Congress: White Christmas
14. Silent Night Museum: history of the song
15. Visit Finland: meeting Santa in Rovaniemi
16. Visit Sweden: the holiday season
17. Visit Iceland: the Yule Lads
18. Visit Iceland: the Christmas Book Flood
19. Italia.it: pandoro and panettone
20. Denmark.dk: risalamande
21. NORAD: history of NORAD Tracks Santa
22. NASA: Gemini VI and VII
23. Smithsonian Gardens: poinsettia bracts
24. Visit Iceland: Christmas traditions
25. Tourism Australia: seasons
26. NASA: Apollo 8 mission details