Christmas quiz for kids

Christmas quiz questions for kids

47 questions. Tap a question’s answer line to see it.

1. What do children hang up at Christmas, hoping Father Christmas will fill it?

   1. A mitten
   2. A scarf
   3. A stocking
   4. A bobble hat
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   C. A stocking Stockings are traditionally filled with sweet treats or small toys.

2. In the Nativity story, Mary and Joseph travel to which town for a census, where Jesus is born?

   1. Nazareth
   2. Bethlehem
   3. Jerusalem
   4. Jericho
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   B. Bethlehem Luke's Gospel says Mary laid the baby in a manger because there was no guest room available.

3. The Welsh Mari Lwyd, carried from door to door at Christmas by singing groups, is built around the skull of which animal?

   1. A horse
   2. A sheep
   3. A cow
   4. A goat
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   A. A horse The jaw was fixed on a spring so the mouth shut with a loud snap, and a long white cloth hid the person carrying it.

4. At a pantomime, what does the audience shout when the villain creeps up behind the hero?

   1. He's behind you
   2. Get off the stage
   3. Run for your life
   4. Look over there
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   A. He's behind you The hero of a panto is called the Principal Boy, and that part is traditionally played by a girl.

5. In The Twelve Days of Christmas, which gift does 'my true love' send five of?

   1. Calling birds
   2. Gold rings
   3. French hens
   4. Swans a-swimming
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   B. Gold rings The rings arrive on the fifth day, after four calling birds and before six geese a-laying.

6. In 1947, which country began sending London a Christmas tree to stand in Trafalgar Square each December?

   1. Norway
   2. Sweden
   3. Finland
   4. Denmark
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   A. Norway The tree is usually a Norwegian spruce more than 20 metres tall, decorated in traditional Norwegian style with vertical strings of lights.

7. Which children's TV character reached Christmas number one in 2000 with 'Can We Fix It?'

   1. Fireman Sam
   2. Thomas the Tank Engine
   3. Postman Pat
   4. Bob the Builder
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   D. Bob the Builder Can We Fix It? was the first UK Christmas number one of the 2000s.

8. In the Nativity story, which three gifts did the wise men bring for Jesus?

   1. Silk, spices and silver
   2. Bread, honey and wine
   3. Gold, frankincense and myrrh
   4. Gold, silver and bronze
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   C. Gold, frankincense and myrrh Matthew's Gospel says the wise men opened their treasures when they found the child with his mother Mary.

9. Which children's author created the Grinch?

   1. David Walliams
   2. Dr. Seuss
   3. Julia Donaldson
   4. Roald Dahl
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   B. Dr. Seuss The Grinch lives alone on a cliff overlooking the town of Whoville, whose Christmas he plots to stop.

10. Unusually for deer, which reindeer grow antlers?

    1. Males only
    2. Both males and females
    3. Females only
    4. Calves only
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    B. Both males and females Bulls grow large, massive antlers while cows' antlers are shorter, more slender and irregular.

11. In the Nativity story, what did the wise men follow to find their way to Jesus?

    1. A comet
    2. The moon
    3. A star
    4. The northern lights
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    C. A star Matthew's Gospel says the star went ahead of the wise men and stopped over the place where the child was.

12. Tom Smith's Christmas crackers grew out of a French sweet he came across in Paris. What was it called?

    1. The bon-bon
    2. The praline
    3. The macaron
    4. The nougat
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    A. The bon-bon Bon-bons sold well at Christmas, so Smith slipped small love mottoes inside the wrappers to lift sales through the year.

13. When two people pull a Christmas cracker apart, what sound does it make?

    1. A whistle
    2. A squeak
    3. A jingle
    4. A loud bang
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    D. A loud bang The bang comes from a strip of friction-sensitive paper hidden inside the cracker.

14. In a traditional British pantomime, the dame is played by whom?

    1. A woman
    2. A child
    3. A man
    4. A puppet
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    C. A man Samuel Simmons played Mother Goose as early as 1806, and in the 19th century the dame's obvious masculinity was part of the gag.

15. In The Snowman, who do the boy and the Snowman meet after flying to the North Pole?

    1. Father Christmas
    2. Jack Frost
    3. The Easter Bunny
    4. The Snow Queen
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    A. Father Christmas Father Christmas gives the boy a scarf with a snowman pattern, and the boy finds it again the next morning.

16. Brussels sprouts take their name from the capital city of which country?

    1. Germany
    2. France
    3. Belgium
    4. The Netherlands
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    C. Belgium The little cabbages were grown in what is now Belgium possibly as early as the 13th century, and reached Britain by the 17th century.

17. As well as a joke and a little gift, what do you find inside a Christmas cracker?

    1. A paper snowflake
    2. A paper plane
    3. A paper boat
    4. A paper crown
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    D. A paper crown Crackers were created in Victorian times by Tom Smith, a London sweet maker who began by putting mottoes inside his wrapped sweets; the bang and the hat came later.

18. London's Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is a yearly thank-you for Britain's support during which conflict?

    1. The First World War
    2. The Second World War
    3. The Napoleonic Wars
    4. The Crimean War
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    B. The Second World War The switching-on of the tree's lights signals the countdown to Christmas in London.

19. In the Christmas stories, how does Father Christmas get inside the house to leave his presents?

    1. Down the chimney
    2. Through the back door
    3. Through the letterbox
    4. Through a window
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    A. Down the chimney The story goes that he comes down the chimney, which is why children hang up empty stockings ready to be filled.

20. What is traditionally stirred into the Christmas pudding mix to bring luck to whoever finds it?

    1. A silver coin
    2. A seashell
    3. A glass bead
    4. An acorn
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    A. A silver coin Everyone takes a turn at stirring the pudding and makes a wish for the year ahead.

21. Reindeer are the same species as which North American animal?

    1. Caribou
    2. Musk ox
    3. Moose
    4. Elk
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    A. Caribou Alaska's Fish and Game department notes that domesticated and semi-domesticated caribou are called reindeer.

22. In the Rudolph story, what special job does Rudolph do on Christmas Eve?

    1. Guiding the sleigh
    2. Feeding the elves
    3. Checking the naughty list
    4. Wrapping the presents
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    A. Guiding the sleigh Rudolph is usually shown as the ninth and youngest of Father Christmas's reindeer.

23. What is the name of the villainous penguin in Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers?

    1. Preston
    2. Piella Bakewell
    3. Feathers McGraw
    4. Wendolene Ramsbottom
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    C. Feathers McGraw Feathers McGraw plots to put Wallace's inventions to criminal use.

24. During the unofficial Christmas truce of 1914, what game did some British and German soldiers play together in no man's land?

    1. Football
    2. Rugby
    3. Tug of war
    4. Cricket
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    A. Football Soldiers also swapped food, tobacco, badges, buttons and caps, and the one recorded football score was a 3-2 win for the Germans.

25. Millions of which creatures march from forest to sea each year on Christmas Island?

    1. Green turtles
    2. Fruit bats
    3. Red crabs
    4. Land iguanas
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    C. Red crabs The march begins with the first rainfall of the wet season, usually in October or November.

26. Which of Father Christmas's reindeer is famous for having a glowing red nose?

    1. Rudolph
    2. Dasher
    3. Blitzen
    4. Prancer
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    A. Rudolph Rudolph was dreamed up in 1939 by Robert L. May, who wrote a Christmas booklet for a big American store.

27. In the Nativity story, where was baby Jesus laid after he was born?

    1. In a manger
    2. In a basket
    3. On a sheepskin rug
    4. In a wooden cot
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    A. In a manger Luke's Gospel says he was wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger because there was no guest room for the family.

28. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, who keeps Narnia in winter for a hundred years?

    1. The Snow Queen
    2. The Frost Giant
    3. The White Witch
    4. The Winter King
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    C. The White Witch C. S. Lewis published the book in 1950, and the Witch's magic even keeps Father Christmas out of Narnia.

29. Which carol has the line 'The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head'?

    1. Once in Royal David's City
    2. Silent Night
    3. Away in a Manger
    4. O Little Town of Bethlehem
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    C. Away in a Manger The words were long credited to Martin Luther, but the writer of the carol's first two verses is in fact unknown.

30. The film The Snowman has no talking at all. What is the name of its one famous song?

    1. Walking in the Air
    2. Floating on the Breeze
    3. Flying Through the Night
    4. Dancing in the Snow
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    A. Walking in the Air In the film the song was sung by Peter Auty, a choirboy at St Paul's Cathedral.

31. On Stir-up Sunday, each member of the family traditionally takes a turn stirring the Christmas pudding mixture while doing what?

    1. Lighting a candle
    2. Ringing a bell
    3. Singing a carol
    4. Making a wish
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    D. Making a wish Stir-up Sunday falls on the last Sunday before Advent, named after a prayer that begins 'Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord'.

32. What do Scots call their New Year's Eve celebration on 31 December?

    1. Hogmanay
    2. Burns Night
    3. Samhain
    4. Beltane
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    A. Hogmanay The celebration's origins reach back to ancient winter solstice festivities and Viking midwinter festivals.

33. Tradition says the Christmas pudding should be stirred from east to west in honour of which group?

    1. The apostles
    2. The angels
    3. The Wise Men
    4. The shepherds
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    C. The Wise Men Silver coins were sometimes stirred into the mixture, said to bring the finder health, wealth and happiness.

34. In The Muppet Christmas Carol, which Muppet narrates the story as author Charles Dickens?

    1. The Great Gonzo
    2. Fozzie Bear
    3. Rizzo the Rat
    4. Kermit the Frog
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    A. The Great Gonzo Gonzo is helped by a hungry rat named Rizzo, while Kermit the Frog plays Bob Cratchit and Miss Piggy plays his wife.

35. In Arthur Christmas, what present does Arthur race to deliver to a girl called Gwen?

    1. A bicycle
    2. A teddy bear
    3. A dolls' house
    4. A scooter
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    A. A bicycle Gwen lives in Trelew in Cornwall, and Arthur wants her present delivered before Christmas morning.

36. Which little bird with a bright red breast is a familiar sight in Britain at Christmas?

    1. The blackbird
    2. The robin
    3. The blue tit
    4. The wren
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    B. The robin Robins are not just winter visitors: they live in the UK all year round.

37. In The Snowman, what does the boy use to make the Snowman's nose?

    1. A carrot
    2. A plum
    3. A tangerine
    4. A parsnip
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    C. A tangerine The Snowman was made for Channel 4 and was first shown on 26 December 1982.

38. Which character in A Christmas Carol says 'God bless us every one!'?

    1. Ebenezer Scrooge
    2. Bob Cratchit
    3. Tiny Tim
    4. Jacob Marley
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    C. Tiny Tim Tim speaks the line 'the last of all', just after his father Bob Cratchit's Christmas toast.

39. Which charity launched Christmas Jumper Day, the December fundraiser where schools and offices wear their daftest knitwear?

    1. Barnardo's
    2. Oxfam
    3. Save the Children
    4. Comic Relief
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    C. Save the Children The first Christmas Jumper Day was held on 14 December 2012.

40. In the film Arthur Christmas, how is Arthur related to Santa?

    1. He is his nephew
    2. He is his grandson
    3. He is his brother
    4. He is his son
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    D. He is his son Arthur Christmas came out in 2011 and was made by Aardman together with Sony Pictures Animation.

41. Which pet dog helps the Grinch with his plan to steal Christmas from the Whos?

    1. Duke
    2. Max
    3. Rex
    4. Buster
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    B. Max In the story, the Grinch makes himself a red suit so he can dress up as Father Christmas.

42. In the TV cartoon and the films, what colour is the Grinch?

    1. Purple
    2. Blue
    3. Green
    4. Orange
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    C. Green The Grinch's green colour debuted in the 1966 TV special, a choice Dr. Seuss and animator Chuck Jones agreed on.

43. Wassailers visited orchards on Twelfth Night, singing to the trees and banging pots and pans. What was this meant to secure?

    1. Rain in the spring
    2. Good health for livestock
    3. A good harvest
    4. A mild winter
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    C. A good harvest Revellers shared a warm, spiced drink from a communal wassail bowl, sometimes with an apple topping known as lamb's wool.

44. In the song Jingle Bells, how many horses pull the open sleigh?

    1. Two
    2. Eight
    3. One
    4. Four
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    C. One Jingle Bells was first published in 1857 under the title The One Horse Open Sleigh.

45. In the stories, where do Father Christmas and Mrs Claus live?

    1. The Alps
    2. The Scottish Highlands
    3. The North Pole
    4. The South Pole
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    C. The North Pole The same story has children sending letters to Santa and following his Christmas Eve journey.

46. In the stories, which animals pull Father Christmas's flying sleigh?

    1. Horses
    2. Huskies
    3. Polar bears
    4. Reindeer
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    D. Reindeer The legend says Father Christmas flies through the sky on a magic sleigh led by his reindeer.

47. A classic snow crystal always keeps a shape with how many sides?

    1. Five
    2. Six
    3. Eight
    4. Four
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    B. Six NOAA says a snowflake's six arms match because each meets the same temperature and humidity as it falls.