Christmas trivia gets competitive fast because everyone thinks they know the movies, songs, Santa lore, and traditions until one tiny detail sends the whole room into an argument.
These 150 Christmas trivia questions mix festive movies, traditions, music, history, and Santa facts without leaning on the holiday myths that get copied from one trivia list to the next.
Christmas Movie Trivia
Put your holiday film expertise to the test with these questions about beloved Christmas movies!
- What is the name of the guardian angel in It’s a Wonderful Life?
- Answer: Clarence Odbody
- In Home Alone, where is the McCallister family traveling for Christmas?
- Answer: Paris
- What song does Buddy the Elf sing to raise Christmas spirit?
- Answer: “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
- In The Polar Express, what is the first gift of Christmas?
- Answer: A silver bell
- What is the Grinch’s dog’s name in How the Grinch Stole Christmas?
- Answer: Max
- Who stars as Santa in The Santa Clause?
- Answer: Tim Allen
- What is the main character's name in Elf?
- Answer: Buddy
- In A Christmas Story, what gift does Ralphie want for Christmas?
- Answer: A Red Ryder BB gun
- What is the name of the train in The Polar Express?
- Answer: The Polar Express
- What actor played Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol?
- Answer: Michael Caine
- What gift does Clark Griswold receive in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation?
- Answer: A one-year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club
- What holiday is celebrated in The Nightmare Before Christmas?
- Answer: Both Halloween and Christmas
- What does the conductor punch into the tickets in The Polar Express?
- Answer: BELIEVE
- In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, what hotel does Kevin stay at?
- Answer: The Plaza Hotel
- What does George Bailey wish for in It’s a Wonderful Life?
- Answer: That he had never been born
- In Die Hard, what is the name of the building where the story takes place?
- Answer: Nakatomi Plaza
- Who directed How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)?
- Answer: Ron Howard
- What department store features in Miracle on 34th Street?
- Answer: Macy’s
- Who provided the voice of the Grinch in the animated 1966 version?
- Answer: Boris Karloff
- What famous actor voices the conductor in The Polar Express?
- Answer: Tom Hanks
- What year was It’s a Wonderful Life released?
- Answer: 1946
- What Christmas movie is about a boy who stows away on a magical train?
- Answer: The Polar Express
- What iconic line does Ralphie’s dad say about the lamp in A Christmas Story?
- Answer: “It’s a major award!”
- What is the Grinch’s signature color?
- Answer: Green
- Who stars alongside Will Ferrell in Elf as Jovie?
- Answer: Zooey Deschanel
- What does Kevin use to scare away burglars in Home Alone?
- Answer: A series of booby traps
- Who is Jack Skellington’s love interest in The Nightmare Before Christmas?
- Answer: Sally
- What’s the name of the snowman in Frozen?
- Answer: Olaf
- What is the real name of Tim Allen’s character in The Santa Clause?
- Answer: Scott Calvin
- What Christmas carol does the Grinch hear at the end of the story?
- Answer: “Welcome Christmas” (Fahoo Fores)
- In The Holiday, what does Amanda trade with Iris?
- Answer: Houses
- What city does Miracle on 34th Street take place in?
- Answer: New York City
- What toy does Howard Langston search for in Jingle All the Way?
- Answer: Turbo Man
- What does Cindy Lou Who ask the Grinch?
- Answer: Why he’s stealing Christmas
- Who plays Santa in Fred Claus?
- Answer: Paul Giamatti
- What song does Bing Crosby sing in White Christmas?
- Answer: “White Christmas”
- In Scrooged, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present?
- Answer: Carol Kane
Christmas Traditions Around the World
Test your knowledge of festive customs celebrated across the globe!
- Which country celebrates St. Lucia’s Day on December 13th?
- Answer: Sweden
- In what country is KFC a popular Christmas dinner?
- Answer: Japan
- What is the traditional Christmas dessert in England?
- Answer: Christmas pudding
- What plant is commonly associated with kissing during Christmas?
- Answer: Mistletoe
- In which country does the tradition of Krampus originate?
- Answer: Austria
- What is the name of the log-shaped cake served at Christmas in France?
- Answer: Bûche de Noël
- What is the name of the witch who delivers presents in Italy?
- Answer: Befana
- Which country is most closely associated with the development of the modern decorated Christmas-tree tradition?
- Answer: Germany
- In Iceland, what is the name of the mischievous holiday figures?
- Answer: Yule Lads
- According to a Ukrainian Christmas folk legend, what creature inspires spider-web ornaments on some trees?
- Answer: A spider
- What do Finnish families often do on Christmas Eve?
- Answer: Visit a sauna
- What is the name of the figure that delivers presents in Russia?
- Answer: Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost)
- In what country are Christmas crackers a popular tradition?
- Answer: United Kingdom
- What do Australians typically eat for Christmas dinner?
- Answer: Seafood
- What is a piñata used for during Las Posadas in Mexico?
- Answer: Breaking for candy and treats
- Which country celebrates Día de los Reyes on January 6th?
- Answer: Spain
- What straw-goat Christmas symbol is especially associated with Scandinavian tradition?
- Answer: The Yule Goat
- In Poland, what is placed under the tablecloth during Christmas dinner?
- Answer: Straw
- What Italian American Christmas Eve meal tradition features multiple seafood dishes?
- Answer: The Feast of the Seven Fishes
- What is the Icelandic tradition where books are exchanged on Christmas Eve?
- Answer: Jólabókaflóð (Yule Book Flood)
- In Germany, what is the Advent calendar called?
- Answer: Adventskalender
- What Norwegian Christmas dish is made from dried and salted lamb ribs?
- Answer: Pinnekjøtt
- What is Santa Claus called in France?
- Answer: Père Noël
- Which older calendar is used by some Orthodox churches whose Christmas observance falls on January 7 on the modern civil calendar?
- Answer: The Julian calendar
- What type of bread is traditionally eaten during Christmas in Italy?
- Answer: Panettone
- What ring-shaped sweet bread is traditionally eaten in Mexico for Three Kings Day?
- Answer: Rosca de Reyes
- What is the name of the clay figurines displayed in nativity scenes in Provence, France?
- Answer: Santons
- What do Germans light on their Advent wreath?
- Answer: Four candles
- In the Philippines, what is the giant lantern festival called?
- Answer: Ligligan Parul
- What Scandinavian country celebrates Santa Lucia with a procession of candles?
- Answer: Sweden
- What is the traditional Christmas beverage in Puerto Rico?
- Answer: Coquito
- What country celebrates a Giant Lantern Festival every Christmas?
- Answer: Philippines
- What traditional Christmas log also inspired the French bûche de Noël dessert?
- Answer: The Yule log
- What do some children in Brazil leave out instead of stockings?
- Answer: Shoes
- In the Czech Republic, what do women throw to determine if they will marry?
- Answer: A shoe
Holiday Music Trivia
Test your festive tune knowledge with these music-themed Christmas questions!
- What is the best-selling Christmas song of all time?
- Answer: “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
- What was “Jingle Bells” originally published as in 1857?
- Answer: “The One Horse Open Sleigh”
- Who sang “All I Want for Christmas Is You”?
- Answer: Mariah Carey
- Which holiday standard is commonly nicknamed “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”?
- Answer: “The Christmas Song”
- Who wrote “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”?
- Answer: Johnny Marks
- What is the highest-charting Christmas song of all time on the Billboard charts?
- Answer: “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
- Which holiday standard includes a snowman named Parson Brown?
- Answer: “Winter Wonderland”
- Who performed “Last Christmas”?
- Answer: Wham!
- What Christmas carol mentions “figgy pudding”?
- Answer: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
- What song was first performed by Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis?
- Answer: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
- Which holiday song was written by Felix Bernard and Richard Bernhard Smith?
- Answer: “Winter Wonderland”
- Who sang “Feliz Navidad”?
- Answer: José Feliciano
- In what year was “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” released?
- Answer: 1984
- What does the singer wish for in the song “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”?
- Answer: Toys and presents for boys and girls
- Who popularized the song “Santa Baby”?
- Answer: Eartha Kitt
- Which traditional carol closes A Charlie Brown Christmas as the Peanuts gang sings around the tree?
- Answer: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
- Which famous reindeer is introduced after Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen in the song?
- Answer: Rudolph
- Which song has the lyric “I don’t want a lot for Christmas”?
- Answer: “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
- Who originally recorded “Blue Christmas”?
- Answer: Doye O’Dell
- What year was “Jingle Bell Rock” released?
- Answer: 1957
Christmas History Trivia
This is where the folklore gets sorted from the history, with cards, trees, carols, the White House, and traditions that changed over time.
- Which ancient Roman festival began on December 17 and eventually stretched through December 23?
- Answer: Saturnalia
- Which royal couple helped popularize the Christmas tree in Victorian Britain?
- Answer: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
- In what year was Christmas declared a federal holiday in the United States?
- Answer: 1870
- Who wrote the story A Christmas Carol?
- Answer: Charles Dickens
- In which country did Henry Cole commission the first commercial Christmas card in 1843?
- Answer: England
- During whose presidency was the first known White House Christmas tree displayed in 1889?
- Answer: Benjamin Harrison
- What was the original purpose of candy canes?
- Answer: To keep children quiet during church services
- In what year was Silent Night written?
- Answer: 1818
- Which illustrator created Coca-Cola’s influential Santa advertisements beginning in 1931?
- Answer: Haddon Sundblom
- On which World War I front did the famous informal Christmas Truce occur in 1914?
- Answer: The Western Front
- Which political-religious movement pushed Parliament to suppress Christmas celebrations in 17th-century England?
- Answer: The Puritans
- What did the Puritans in Massachusetts ban in the 1600s?
- Answer: Christmas
- What is the origin of the Yule log tradition?
- Answer: Norse pagan rituals
- What 20th-century war saw soldiers singing Christmas carols across trenches?
- Answer: World War I
- What year was Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol published?
- Answer: 1843
- Which country is believed to have first used glass ornaments on Christmas trees?
- Answer: Germany
- What pope declared December 25th as the official date of Jesus’ birth?
- Answer: Pope Julius I
- What is the name of the Italian Christmas figure who delivers gifts on Epiphany?
- Answer: La Befana
- Who wrote the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”?
- Answer: Clement Clarke Moore
- What is the original meaning of the word “Christmas”?
- Answer: Christ’s Mass
- In what country did the modern Christmas wreath originate?
- Answer: Germany
- What does the X in “Xmas” stand for?
- Answer: The Greek letter Chi, representing Christ
- When was the first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree displayed?
- Answer: 1931
- What Christian bishop is the inspiration for Santa Claus?
- Answer: Saint Nicholas
- What Christmas tradition originated in medieval Europe as “wassailing”?
- Answer: Caroling
- What ancient Roman god was celebrated during Saturnalia?
- Answer: Saturn
- What city is the birthplace of the first recorded Christmas celebration?
- Answer: Rome
- What does the German word “Weihnachtsmarkt” mean in English?
- Answer: Christmas market
- What Scandinavian word inspired the term “Yule”?
- Answer: “Jol”
- Which country created the poinsettia plant tradition?
- Answer: Mexico
- Which U.S.-Canadian air-defense command began the Santa-tracking tradition in 1955 before NORAD inherited it in 1958?
- Answer: CONAD, the Continental Air Defense Command
- What is the origin of the 12 Days of Christmas?
- Answer: The period between Christmas Day and Epiphany
Santa Claus Trivia
Finish at the North Pole with Saint Nicholas, reindeer, regional gift-bringers, and the pieces of Santa lore that shaped the modern character.
- What German word is commonly used for Santa Claus?
- Answer: Weihnachtsmann
- What are the names of Santa’s reindeer as listed in the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”?
- Answer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen
- Which reindeer has a famous red nose?
- Answer: Rudolph
- What is Santa’s traditional home according to legend?
- Answer: The North Pole
- Who invented the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
- Answer: Robert L. May
- What does Santa traditionally say when he laughs?
- Answer: Ho, ho, ho
- What is Santa Claus called in the Netherlands?
- Answer: Sinterklaas
- What is Santa’s wife’s name?
- Answer: Mrs. Claus
- What drink is often left out for Santa on Christmas Eve?
- Answer: Milk
- What do Santa’s elves traditionally make in his workshop?
- Answer: Toys
- What does Santa check to decide if a child is naughty or nice?
- Answer: His list
- In what year was the song “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” written?
- Answer: 1934
- What is Santa’s primary mode of transportation?
- Answer: A sleigh
- What powers Santa’s sleigh?
- Answer: Flying reindeer
- What Norwegian Christmas figure is known as Julenissen?
- Answer: A traditional Christmas gift-bringer often compared with Santa Claus
- What does Santa give to naughty children?
- Answer: Coal
- How does Santa enter homes on Christmas Eve?
- Answer: Through the chimney
- What famous department store claims to have hired the first department store Santa?
- Answer: Macy’s
- What language does the name “Santa Claus” come from?
- Answer: Dutch
- Which figures traditionally bring many Spanish children gifts around January 6?
- Answer: The Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos)
- Which 4th-century Christian bishop helped inspire the modern Santa Claus tradition?
- Answer: Saint Nicholas of Myra
- What is the name of Santa’s workshop foreman in Elf?
- Answer: Ming Ming
- In Finnish tradition, where does Santa live?
- Answer: Korvatunturi
- What Slavic winter gift-bringer is commonly translated as “Grandfather Frost” or “Father Frost”?
- Answer: Ded Moroz
- How many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh?
- Answer: Nine
- Who played Santa in The Santa Clause movies?
- Answer: Tim Allen
How I Checked the Christmas History
Holiday trivia is full of stories that become “facts” through repetition, so I rebuilt this page in September 2026 with extra attention to historical claims. The White House Historical Association confirms the first known White House Christmas tree was displayed during Benjamin Harrison’s presidency in 1889, while the Library of Congress records “Jingle Bells” under its 1857 title, “The One Horse Open Sleigh.”
I also used the NORAD history of the Santa-tracking tradition, the Smithsonian account of Haddon Sundblom’s Coca-Cola Santa illustrations, and the Royal Collection for the history of Christmas trees in Britain.
More Holiday Trivia
Keep the festive round going with Christmas song trivia, The Nightmare Before Christmas trivia, or jump back into the 700-question trivia challenge.
Ellie Simons creates and edits Random Trivia. She researches trivia using primary and authoritative sources whenever possible and is currently reviewing the site's older trivia library for accuracy, clarity, and playability. Read more on the About page.
About this quiz
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