Christmas trivia for kids

Christmas trivia questions for kids

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

1. In The Elf on the Shelf tradition, what happens if a child touches the scout elf?

   1. It loses its magic
   2. It flies away for good
   3. It falls asleep for a year
   4. It turns into snow
   Show answer

   A. It loses its magic Official rules say scout elves fly back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to help Santa get ready for next year.

2. Which of Santa's reindeer is famous for his glowing red nose?

   1. Blitzen
   2. Dasher
   3. Rudolph
   4. Comet
   Show answer

   C. Rudolph Rudolph was dreamed up in 1939 by Robert L. May, an ad writer for the Montgomery Ward department store, for a booklet given to holiday shoppers.

3. Night after night in the Elf on the Shelf tradition, the scout elf has one job to do. What is it?

   1. Wraps Santa's presents
   2. Feeds Santa's reindeer
   3. Reports back to Santa
   4. Makes toys for Santa
   Show answer

   C. Reports back to Santa The idea grew from Fisbee, the Aebersold family's own elf, who turned up in a new hiding spot after each nightly report to Santa.

4. At the end of the story, when the Grinch finally understands Christmas, how many sizes does his heart grow?

   1. Five
   2. Four
   3. Two
   4. Three
   Show answer

   D. Three At the start of the book, the Grinch's heart is described as two sizes too small.

5. In 1933, which New York City landmark held its first Christmas tree lighting ceremony?

   1. Times Square
   2. Central Park
   3. Rockefeller Center
   4. Grand Central Terminal
   Show answer

   C. Rockefeller Center Two years earlier, workers at the Rockefeller Center construction site had pooled their money to buy a 20-foot balsam fir.

6. What is the name of the Grinch's dog?

   1. Rex
   2. Duke
   3. Spot
   4. Max
   Show answer

   D. Max In the story, the Grinch disguises himself as Santa Claus and has his dog Max pull the sleigh.

7. In Home Alone (1990), Kevin is left behind when his family flies off on a Christmas trip to which country?

   1. France
   2. England
   3. Switzerland
   4. Italy
   Show answer

   A. France Eight-year-old Kevin is accidentally left behind in suburban Chicago while the rest of the family heads overseas.

8. In Italian folklore, who flies over Italy on a broomstick the night of January 5 to fill children's stockings?

   1. Babbo Natale
   2. La Fata Turchina
   3. La Befana
   4. Santa Lucia
   Show answer

   C. La Befana Her visit comes on the eve of Epiphany, celebrated on January 6, twelve days after Christmas Day.

9. Which of these is one of the reindeer named in the poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'?

   1. Flash
   2. Rocket
   3. Comet
   4. Blaze
   Show answer

   C. Comet Comet is called out alongside Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen as St. Nicholas urges his team on.

10. In the animated film Klaus (2019), what job sends Jesper to the remote town of Smeerensburg?

    1. Schoolteacher
    2. Postman
    3. Toymaker
    4. Fisherman
    Show answer

    B. Postman Jesper must handle 6,000 letters in a year or be cut off from his family fortune; J.K. Simmons voices Klaus.

11. In Iceland's Christmas folklore, how many Yule Lads take turns visiting children in the run-up to Christmas?

    1. 13
    2. 12
    3. 7
    4. 9
    Show answer

    A. 13 Iceland's tourism site calls them trolls, yet harmless mischief-makers who bring gifts to well-behaved kids.

12. Which instrument accompanied the very first performance of 'Silent Night' on Christmas Eve 1818?

    1. Guitar
    2. Organ
    3. Piano
    4. Violin
    Show answer

    A. Guitar Joseph Mohr, who wrote the words, played the guitar himself and sang the tenor part at the premiere.

13. The first printed Advent calendars sold commercially were published in which country?

    1. Switzerland
    2. Germany
    3. Denmark
    4. Austria
    Show answer

    B. Germany Publisher Gerhard Lang's mother once fixed 24 cookies to a piece of cardboard for him; his printed calendars had 24 pictures to stick onto cardboard.

14. In Elf (2003), Buddy leaves the North Pole to find his biological father in which city?

    1. Chicago
    2. New York City
    3. Boston
    4. Philadelphia
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    B. New York City Will Ferrell's Buddy was adopted by Santa's chief toymaker and grew up at the North Pole believing he was an elf.

15. In the 1969 TV special Frosty the Snowman, what brings Frosty to life?

    1. An enchanted scarf
    2. A pair of magic mittens
    3. A magic snowflake
    4. A magic silk top hat
    Show answer

    D. A magic silk top hat Comedian Jimmy Durante narrated the 25-minute special, first broadcast on CBS on December 7, 1969.

16. The tradition of building decorated gingerbread houses began in which country?

    1. Sweden
    2. Germany
    3. England
    4. France
    Show answer

    B. Germany The Brothers Grimm's tale of Hansel and Gretel features a house of sweets in the forest, though it is unclear whether the tale or the houses came first.

17. Tiny Tim in 'A Christmas Carol' has a well-known blessing that starts 'God bless us.' How does it finish?

    1. Great and small
    2. One and all
    3. Every one
    4. Each and all
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    C. Every one Tiny Tim speaks the line in Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol,' written in 1843.

18. During the nights before Christmas, Icelandic children set what on the windowsill for the visiting Yule Lads to fill?

    1. A basket
    2. A mitten
    3. A stocking
    4. A shoe
    Show answer

    D. A shoe Good children find small gifts; disobedient ones find a rotten potato in the shoe instead.

19. In 'The Christmas Song,' what is roasting on an open fire?

    1. Marshmallows
    2. Chestnuts
    3. Apples
    4. Walnuts
    Show answer

    B. Chestnuts The song's original subtitle was actually 'Merry Christmas to You.'

20. The Grinch hauls his sleigh piled with the Whos' stolen Christmas things to the peak of which mountain?

    1. Mount Crumpit
    2. Mount Thistle
    3. Mount Frost
    4. Mount Grumble
    Show answer

    A. Mount Crumpit In the book, he plans to dump everything he stole from the Whos into an abyss from the mountain's peak.

21. In the classic folk tale, which animal finally catches the runaway Gingerbread Man?

    1. A fox
    2. A hound dog
    3. A bear
    4. A wolf
    Show answer

    A. A fox The story first appeared in print in 1875, in a children's magazine called St. Nicholas.

22. Mexico's Las Posadas processions in late December reenact whose search for a place to stay?

    1. The shepherds
    2. The three wise men
    3. Mary and Joseph
    4. The apostles
    Show answer

    C. Mary and Joseph Singers go door to door asking for shelter and are turned away until a host finally welcomes them in for a party.

23. Santa Claus Village, a tourist attraction about five miles north of Rovaniemi's city center in Lapland, is in which country?

    1. Sweden
    2. Finland
    3. Canada
    4. Norway
    Show answer

    B. Finland The village's first building, a cottage constructed in 1950, honored a trip to Rovaniemi by Eleanor Roosevelt.

24. In The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), what title does Jack Skellington hold in Halloween Town?

    1. The Pumpkin King
    2. The Ghost King
    3. The Shadow King
    4. The Skeleton King
    Show answer

    A. The Pumpkin King Catherine O'Hara voices Sally, a lonely ragdoll who fears Jack's new obsession with Christmas will bring him trouble.

25. In American Christmas tradition, where do Santa and Mrs. Claus make their home?

    1. The North Pole
    2. Alaska
    3. The South Pole
    4. Greenland
    Show answer

    A. The North Pole Cartoonist Thomas Nast's drawings helped give Santa his North Pole workshop.

26. In Santa's workshop, what kind of helpers are said to build the toys?

    1. Gnomes
    2. Fairies
    3. Trolls
    4. Elves
    Show answer

    D. Elves Thomas Nast's cartoons helped make elves part of the Santa Claus story.

27. What does 'my true love' give on the fifth day of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'?

    1. Five swans a-swimming
    2. Five gold rings
    3. Five calling birds
    4. Five French hens
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    B. Five gold rings In North America the line is often sung as 'five golden rings' instead of the older 'five gold rings.'

28. The first gift in 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is a bird perched in a pear tree. What bird is it?

    1. A partridge
    2. A turtle dove
    3. A swan
    4. A goose
    Show answer

    A. A partridge The song's words first appeared in print around 1780, in a London children's book called 'Mirth Without Mischief.'

29. The sleigh in 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' is pulled by a team of tiny reindeer. How many are there?

    1. Twelve
    2. Eight
    3. Nine
    4. Six
    Show answer

    B. Eight The poem shrinks everything: the sleigh is 'miniature,' the reindeer are 'tiny,' and St. Nicholas himself is 'a right jolly old elf.'

30. Much of Sweden gathers around the TV every Christmas Eve for a Disney special starring which cartoon character?

    1. Goofy
    2. Donald Duck
    3. Mickey Mouse
    4. Pluto
    Show answer

    B. Donald Duck Known in Sweden as Kalle Anka, the broadcast is the 1958 Disney special 'From All of Us to All of You.'

31. In Home Alone (1990), what are the first names of the two bumbling burglars Kevin fends off?

    1. Hank and Mel
    2. Carl and Lou
    3. Harry and Marv
    4. Eddie and Ray
    Show answer

    C. Harry and Marv The burglars plan to hit every home on Kevin's block while the neighbors are away for the holidays.

32. Which Peanuts character recites Scripture in the 1965 special A Charlie Brown Christmas?

    1. Linus
    2. Schroeder
    3. Pigpen
    4. Lucy
    Show answer

    A. Linus Linus's reading inspires Charlie Brown to keep trying with his sad little tree.

33. In 'A Visit from St. Nicholas,' the family's stockings are hung up with care. Where are they hanging?

    1. By the front door
    2. On the bedposts
    3. By the chimney
    4. Under the tree
    Show answer

    C. By the chimney Just after that line, the children lie 'nestled all snug in their beds' as visions of sugar-plums dance in their heads.

34. In the carol 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas,' what treat do the singers keep demanding?

    1. Roast turkey
    2. Figgy pudding
    3. Fruitcake
    4. Gingerbread
    Show answer

    B. Figgy pudding Figgy pudding is another name for Christmas pudding, and the song spends two whole verses demanding it.

35. Since Australia lies in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas Day there falls in which season?

    1. Winter
    2. Spring
    3. Fall
    4. Summer
    Show answer

    D. Summer Tourism Australia's guide puts summer at December to February, the opposite of Northern Hemisphere seasons.

36. In which country do millions of families celebrate Christmas with a bucket of KFC fried chicken?

    1. Thailand
    2. South Korea
    3. China
    4. Japan
    Show answer

    D. Japan Fortune reported in 2016 that about 3.6 million Japanese families celebrate Christmas with KFC.

37. Children in Catalonia, Spain, spend December caring for the Tió de Nadal, a Christmas character made from what object?

    1. A clay jug
    2. A straw goat
    3. A broom
    4. A log
    Show answer

    D. A log Slate describes it as a hollow log with stick legs, a smiley face, and a floppy red hat, kept cozy under a blanket.

38. In the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, what does Hermey the elf want to be?

    1. A schoolteacher
    2. A barber
    3. A doctor
    4. A dentist
    Show answer

    D. A dentist Rudolph and Hermey run off together and reach the Island of Misfit Toys, a colony of oddball toys.

39. In 'A Christmas Carol,' the ghost of Scrooge's dead business partner visits him first. What is the partner's name?

    1. Mr. Topper
    2. Jacob Marley
    3. Bob Cratchit
    4. Mr. Fezziwig
    Show answer

    B. Jacob Marley Dickens's narrator says of Marley that 'Scrooge and he were partners for I don't know how many years.'

40. In A Christmas Story (1983), what present does Ralphie Parker want more than anything?

    1. A Schwinn bicycle
    2. A Flexible Flyer sled
    3. A Red Ryder BB gun
    4. A Lionel train set
    Show answer

    C. A Red Ryder BB gun A screen-used Red Ryder BB gun from the film went on display in 2015 at the A Christmas Story house museum in Cleveland.

41. On Christmas Eve, Catalan children sing to the 'Tió de Nadal' and do what so it releases its stash of candies and gifts?

    1. Roll it downhill
    2. Hit it with sticks
    3. Splash it with water
    4. Spin it in circles
    Show answer

    B. Hit it with sticks From December 8, children 'feed' the log nuts and dried fruit nightly, then find it has 'pooped out' treats on Christmas Eve.

42. Who wrote the children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!?

    1. Roald Dahl
    2. Shel Silverstein
    3. Dr. Seuss
    4. Maurice Sendak
    Show answer

    C. Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Geisel, who published the book in 1957.