QUESTION IDEAS
Christmas Quiz: 40 Trivia and Family Questions for Christmas Eve
40 Christmas quiz questions for Christmas Eve: traditions, eggnog and holidays around the world, family memories and a scoring system with no losers.
A Christmas quiz is the perfect way to fill the gap between dinner and dessert, or the long wait before everyone gets to open presents. Here are 40 questions in four rounds: two trivia rounds about Christmas traditions, with answers taken from Wikipedia’s article on Christmas, then two rounds about your family and guests. Everything is played out loud, with no screens, in teams that mix all ages.
Get the game ready before Christmas Eve
- A quizmaster. They hold the answers, read the questions and keep score. The role can change every round, so nobody misses dinner.
- Mixed teams. Pair a kid with an adult, a grandparent with a teenager: the trivia rounds and the family rounds don’t favor the same players.
- The right moment. One round between courses, another with dessert. Ten questions take about ten minutes.
- Something to write with. One sheet of paper and a pencil per team is plenty. The youngest players can answer out loud.
To get the conversation going as soon as guests arrive, everyone can also create their friendship quiz a few days before and send the link to the group: the scores give you an instant topic when people walk in the door, eggnog in hand.
Round 1: 10 questions about Christmas traditions
Read the question, give the teams about thirty seconds to talk it over, then reveal the answer in parentheses.
- The word “Christmas” is a shortened form of which phrase? (“Christ’s Mass.”)
- The abbreviation “Xmas” comes from which Greek letter? (Chi, written Χ, the first letter of “Christ” in Greek.)
- For the Orthodox churches that still follow the Julian calendar, which date on our calendar is Christmas? (January 7.)
- Which saint popularized nativity scenes, starting in 1223 in the Italian town of Greccio? (Francis of Assisi.)
- Which plant, native to Mexico, has been associated with Christmas since the 16th century? (The poinsettia.)
- In which colonial city was Christmas outlawed in 1659? (Boston. The ban was lifted in 1681.)
- In what year did Christmas become a US federal holiday? (1870, on June 28.)
- Which religious community had the first Christmas trees in America, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania? (The Moravians.)
- Which Dutch name for Saint Nicholas gave us “Santa Claus”? (Sinterklaas.)
- What is the real title of the 1822 poem by Clement Clarke Moore better known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”? (“A Visit From St. Nicholas.”)
Round 2: 10 questions about food, cards and Christmas around the world
- Eggnog is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar and what? (Whipped eggs, which give it its frothy texture.)
- Which spices are often sprinkled on top of a glass of eggnog? (Ground cinnamon or nutmeg.)
- Which Italian sweet bread, originally from Milan, is a Christmas classic? (Panettone.)
- Which fruit has long been tied to Christmas because it was one of the few available in northern countries in winter? (The orange.)
- In Poland and Scandinavia, what is often served as the traditional Christmas main course? (Fish.)
- In which 1843 novel does a miser named Scrooge grumble “Bah! Humbug!”? (A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.)
- Who produced the first commercial Christmas card, that same year, 1843? (Sir Henry Cole.)
- Who introduced the Christmas card to Americans in 1875, earning the nickname “father of the American Christmas card”? (Louis Prang.)
- Which German-born prince helped make the Christmas tree popular in Britain after marrying Queen Victoria? (Prince Albert.)
- Which Roman festival had been held on December 25 since AD 274? (The birthday of Sol Invictus, the “Invincible Sun.”)
To make the game harder, turn a few questions into multiple choice with four options. The rules for writing good quiz questions help you come up with wrong answers that sound right and are about the same length as the real one.
Round 3: 10 questions about family Christmases
No book has the answers here: the person being asked is the judge. Pick one person per question, ideally someone who loves telling stories. The others guess, then that person explains their answer.
- Which present they got as a kid do they still talk about today?
- Which Christmas dish should never be missing from the table, according to them?
- Do they open presents on Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning?
- Which Christmas carol do they know by heart?
- Which decoration do they always put up first?
- In which house or city did they spend their most memorable Christmas?
- Real tree, artificial tree or no tree at all?
- Which holiday movie do they happily watch every single year?
- Which Christmas cookie do they grab first from the platter?
- What’s their funniest Christmas Eve memory?
Round 4: 10 “Who at the table…?” questions
Each team secretly writes down a name, then you compare. Keep the questions positive or funny: the goal is to put someone in the spotlight, never to make them uncomfortable.
- Who wraps presents the most neatly?
- Who shakes the boxes to guess what’s inside?
- Who starts humming Christmas songs the earliest in the year?
- Who knows the family recipes best?
- Who falls asleep on the couch first?
- Who takes the most photos during the evening?
- Who would win an ugly sweater contest?
- Who tells the same Christmas story every year, to everyone’s delight?
- Who would have made the best elf in Santa’s workshop?
- Who can’t wait to open the presents?
Keep score without making anyone a loser
| Situation | Points |
|---|---|
| Right answer in a trivia round | 1 point |
| Right answer from a child under 10 | 2 points |
| Right answer about a family member | 1 point |
| Story told after a Round 3 question | 1 bonus point for the storyteller’s team |
Keep the prize symbolic: picking tomorrow’s movie, getting served dessert first or claiming the last gingerbread man. Wikipedia’s Christmas article notes that Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday about family, goodwill and compassion: the quiz is just an excuse to talk and share stories.
An American twist: the white elephant finale
If your crew loves a gift swap, end the night with a white elephant exchange, also known as a Yankee swap or Dirty Santa. As Wikipedia explains, the goal is to entertain everyone rather than to give or get something truly valuable. Each person brings one wrapped gift, usually of similar value, and players take turns in an order that is often drawn at random. On your turn, you either unwrap a new gift or steal one that someone has already opened; each gift can only be stolen a set number of times, commonly two. Quiz bonus: the winning team gets to go first.
Keep the mood merry at the table
- Nobody has to play. A guest may prefer to be the judge, the scorekeeper or just a happy spectator.
- No touchy subjects. Old arguments, money and health have no place in a holiday game.
- Some answers are up for debate. A few origins are uncertain. Most major Christian denominations don’t consider December 25 the definitive historical date of Jesus’ birth, and the famous story behind the phrase “white elephant,” about a King of Siam giving albino elephants to courtiers who displeased him, has no actual record to back it up. Accept close answers and save the debate for dessert.
- Photos and videos only with consent. Before posting a giggle fit online, ask the people on camera if they’re OK with it, kids included.
Keep the holidays going
The same idea works all year long: the family quiz for kids and grown-ups offers more questions sorted by age. If you’re hosting friends between Christmas and New Year’s, the complete quiz night game plan gives you a ready-to-use schedule. And for loved ones spending Christmas far away, the ideas for playing over text or on a video call let them join the fun.