105 Christmas Trivia Questions for Kids (With Answers)

A calf

Reindeer mothers usually have one calf, born in May or June.

Within about an hour

Baby reindeer are up on their feet fast! A calf also doubles its birth weight in about two weeks.

Comet

Comet flies with the rest of Santa's team. Real comets can have tails that stretch for millions of miles!

Lichen

Lichen (say LIKE-en) looks a bit like moss growing on rocks and the ground, and it's a reindeer's main winter food. One kind is even nicknamed reindeer moss. No carrots or lettuce for them!

Their hooves (their feet)

Each hoof has a hollow underneath, like a scoop for digging snow. The sharp edges help reindeer grip ice and rock too.

Red (accept bright red)

Red, just like Rudolph! On their heat camera the warmest spots showed up red, and a reindeer's nose is packed with tiny blood vessels that keep it warm. The scientists called their report Why Rudolph's Nose Is Red.

Chew it again (accept chew their cud or swallow it after chewing again)

It's called chewing cud, and cows do it too. Here's the funny part: scientists found that a reindeer's brain rests a lot like it's sleeping while it chews. A snack and a nap at the same time!

Caribou

You're getting two names for the same kind of animal! In Europe, both wild and tame ones are called reindeer.

The one that still has its antlers

Grown-up boy reindeer usually lose their antlers in late fall or early winter. Girls keep theirs all winter, until their babies are born in late spring. So Santa's reindeer with antlers are probably girls (or young boys), unless Santa's magic helps the boys keep their antlers!

Air (the hairs are hollow; accept hollow or tiny tubes of air)

The hairs are hollow, like tiny straws full of air. It's like wearing a fuzzy life jacket!

Up to about 48 miles an hour (a guess between 40 and 50 is right on)

That's almost as fast as a car on the highway! They can only go that fast in a short dash, though, not all day.

A mouse

The poem starts: "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." It was first printed in a New York newspaper in 1823.

Eight

Can you name all eight? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen (many people say Donner now). If you said nine, nice try: Rudolph isn't in this poem, because his story came along later.

Ice floating on the ocean (accept sea ice, ice or the Arctic Ocean; there's no land)

There's no land at the North Pole at all. It's thick sea ice floating on the Arctic Ocean, and the water underneath is more than two miles deep. The ice sheets are thick so don't worry about Santa's workshop.

Fog (a foggy Christmas Eve)

Rudolph's bright red nose lights the way. One scientist even says red light shines through fog better than blue light, so Rudolph's nose is the perfect color for the job!

A dentist

Making toys isn't what Hermey wants to do. He has his own plans in the 1964 TV special.

The Island of Misfit Toys

It's a whole island of toys nobody wanted. On Christmas Eve, Santa makes it his very first stop, so the toys can go to new homes!

H0H 0H0 (H-zero-H, zero-H-zero)

Read it out loud: "Ho ho ho!" Kids who mail Santa a letter with this code get a reply, with help from Canada Post's postal elves.

Jelly (accept a bowlful of jelly or Jell-O)

It wobbles when he laughs. Try a big ho ho ho and see if your belly joins in.

Touching it (accept picking it up or handling it)

Oops, did someone touch it by accident? The Elf on the Shelf website says to sprinkle a little cinnamon nearby, like vitamins for elves, to help its magic come back.

Toys (accept playing with toys or having toys)

His name is Burgermeister Meisterburger. Try saying that three times fast! Kris Kringle keeps bringing toys to the children anyway.

Twice (accept two times)

He's finding out who's naughty or nice! The song became a radio hit in 1934, so Santa has been double-checking that list for more than 90 years.

Tracking Santa's sleigh (NORAD Tracks Santa)

A little kid asked Colonel Harry Shoup if he was one of Santa's helpers. He decided to be a good sport, and his staff gave kids updates on where Santa was. That's how NORAD Tracks Santa began, and every Christmas Eve it still follows Santa's trip around the world!

Gold (bags of gold; accept money or gold coins)

St. Nicholas was a kind man from long ago who helped people in need, a lot like Santa. Some tellings say the gold landed in stockings that were drying by the fire, and that's why kids hang up stockings today! St. Nicholas wanted his gifts to stay secret. In most tellings the family's father finally caught him on the third night, and Nicholas asked him not to tell anyone.

Elf (accept a right jolly old elf)

The poem uses that word for Santa himself, not just his helpers. With a little sleigh and tiny reindeer too, fitting down a chimney starts to sound easier.

Mother Nature

When the brothers won't stop arguing, Mrs. Claus goes to their mom for help. Even the weather has to listen to its mother.

A lion (accept a winged lion)

He rules the Island of Misfit Toys. He asks Rudolph and his friends to tell Santa about the toys so they can find homes.

Jessica

Jessica was the town schoolteacher. She marries Kris Kringle and moves with him to the North Pole. So Mrs. Claus has a first name after all!

Australia

Christmas comes in summer there, so lots of families spend the day at the beach!

8,962 (almost 9,000)

That set the Guinness World Record. Imagine a whole field of people flapping their arms and legs in the snow! One of them was celebrating her 99th birthday.

A really cold day (accept freezing or very cold)

When the snow is colder than about 14°F, the tiny ice crystals don't slide past each other. They break and crash together under your boots, and that's the squeak!

The Arctic Circle

The line is marked right in the village square, so you can hop, step, jump or even do a cartwheel across it!

The number of arms. Star-shaped snowflakes have six.

Snowflakes that grow as stars are six-sided, so count the arms on a real one and you'll get six. Snow can also fall as little columns, triangles or fluffy clumps.

Their bellies (accept stomachs, tummies or their fronts)

They lie on their fronts and push with their feet and flippers. It saves a lot of waddling, and they don't have to carry a sled back.

Roll in it (accept rolling, rubbing or sliding in the snow)

Polar bears roll around in the snow after a swim to dry off and clean their coats. It looks a lot like a very messy snow angel.

Its tail

The fox curls into a ball and tucks its nose under its bushy tail to save warmth. No searching the house for a blanket.

None (zero; the Sun doesn't rise at all)

The Sun sets there in late September and doesn't rise again until March. Christmas falls in the middle of that very long night.

Just one!

One flake spotted by an official weather observer or weather station is enough there. American weather experts are pickier: they want at least an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning.

January (early January)

Surprise! Earth is closest to the Sun in January, in the middle of winter for the top half of the world. Winter is cold because our part of Earth tips away from the Sun, not because we're far away.

Poop (accept droppings, guano or penguin poo)

Their poop leaves big brown patches on the white ice. Scientists look for those patches in satellite pictures to find penguin colonies. That's quite a mess to leave behind.

Black (accept very dark or black skin)

Its fur isn't really white either. Each hair is clear, and the way light bounces off it makes the bear look white.

No color at all: it's clear (accept clear, transparent or see-through)

Pile up all those tiny crystals and light bounces around between them. Together they look white, even though the ice itself isn't painted white.

Ice (accept frozen water, or that they freeze)

They turn into frog popsicles! Natural sugars protect the insides of their cells, and when spring warms them up, they thaw out and hop away.

Milk and cookies

Don't forget the reindeer! Lots of kids leave out carrots and water for them, too.

Plain white

Old Christmas cards give you a clue! Cards from the late 1800s seem to show plain white canes, and red stripes show up more on cards from the early 1900s.

A fox

The fox gobbles him up bit by bit, and the Gingerbread Man cries, "I'm quarter gone!" then "I'm half gone!" until he's all gone. That version of the story was printed in a kids' magazine back in 1875.

Hansel and Gretel

The house belongs to a witch, so that's one candy house you shouldn't nibble! Germans started making decorated gingerbread houses in the early 1800s, and some researchers say the Brothers Grimm story helped inspire them.

Marshes

The marsh mallow plant grows in wet, marshy places, so "marsh" plus "mallow" makes marshmallow. Candy makers once used its roots; today they use gelatin instead.

A log (accept a tree log or piece of firewood)

Bakers scratch the frosting to look like bark. Some add little mushrooms made of meringue, a sweet mix of whipped egg whites and sugar. You can eat the decorations too.

Peppermint (accept mint or menthol)

Peppermint contains menthol, which switches on nerves that sense cold. Your mouth gets a chilly message even though the candy didn't come from the freezer.

Leaves (they're called bracts)

Next time you see a poinsettia, look for those colored leaves, called bracts. They come in white and pink too, and there are over 100 varieties.

Birds

Birds eat the sticky white berries, and the seeds get left on branches when birds wipe their beaks or poop. Keep mistletoe out of your mouth, though: it can make people and pets sick.

His mom

When Gerhard grew up, he remembered his mom's calendar and started printing Advent calendars in 1908. Now kids everywhere count down to Christmas with one!

A praying mantis (accept mantis or mantid)

That lump is an egg case. Warmth indoors can make the eggs hatch, leaving a crowd of tiny mantises on your tree. Surprise, extra decorations!

Bounce (accept bouncing or bounce back up)

Fresh cranberries have little air pockets inside and can bounce. Growers have used bouncing to help sort good berries from bad ones. Imagine your dinner having to pass a bounce test.

An owl (accept a saw-whet owl or northern saw-whet owl)

She rode all the way to New York City hidden in the branches, a three-day trip, until a worker found her. Her rescuers named her Rocky, and after a short rest she flew back into the wild.

Upside down (accept with its top pointing down)

Hanging it upside down keeps the soft, airy middle from collapsing. This bread cools down while doing a headstand.

Bark (accept inner bark or tree bark)

The inner bark curls into rolls as it dries. Those are cinnamon sticks. So a cinnamon cookie really does have a little tree bark in it.

They close (accept fold inward, pull together or the cone closes up)

Wet scales change shape and pull inward. Let the cone dry and it can open again, even after it has fallen off the tree. Try it before adding paint or glitter.

He knocks on the front door (accept the door)

He visits on Christmas Eve and asks, "Are there any well-behaved children here?" His Finnish name means "Christmas goat"!

His horse

Some children leave hay or a saucer of water for the horse instead. The shoe goes by the fireplace or the door, and good children find treats in it, like chocolate coins and candy.

Radishes

It's called the Night of the Radishes! The radishes grow huge, some up to 20 inches long, and carvers turn them into fancy sculptures in the main square.

A little bell ringing

After Christmas Eve dinner, kids listen hard. When the bell rings, they rush from the table to find their presents under the tree!

Coal

The coal is often black sugar candy that only looks like coal, so even naughty kids get something sweet! Befana makes her trip on the night between January 5th and 6th, filling the stockings hanging by the fireplace.

A crown of candles (a candle wreath)

Lucia is the Swedish name for Saint Lucy, a kind woman from Italy long ago whose name means light. One legend says she brought food to people hiding in dark tunnels, wearing candles on her head to light the way. Today kids sing songs and share saffron buns shaped like curled-up sleeping cats. Many crowns use battery candles now!

Sweets and small presents

The log is called Tió de Nadal (tee-OH duh nuh-DAHL), and the story says it poops out the treats! Kids feed it every night from December 8th and sing a special song while they tap it. Many logs even wear a little red hat.

A star (with seven points)

Every night from December 16th to Christmas Eve, people walk from house to house singing, like Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay. Then the party starts! The star's seven points stick out like party hats, just waiting to be whacked.

Alligators (accept gators)

Santa is called Papa Noël, pronounced pah-pah noh-EL. He travels the bayous in a little boat, and a team of alligators does the pulling. Eight of them!

Candy canes (accept candy-cane poles)

In North Pole, it's Christmas on every street corner.

Tumbleweeds (accept tumbleweed bushes)

Workers fit the tumbleweeds onto a tree-shaped frame, then add white paint, glitter and lights. A rolling desert plant gets a very fancy December outfit.

Surf (accept ride surfboards or ride the waves)

The event is called Surfing Santas, and it happens on Christmas Eve morning. Hundreds of surfers in holiday gear catch waves while thousands of people watch from the beach.

Paper bags (accept brown paper bags, lunch bags or paper sacks)

A scoop of sand holds each bag in place, with a light inside. Line them up and a plain sidewalk becomes a glowing Christmas path.

Grass (accept hay)

Three Kings Day, on January 6th, celebrates the Wise Men's visit to baby Jesus. Kids pull fresh grass to fill the box for the camels, and in the morning they find small presents.

Hockey (field hockey)

Christmas in Ethiopia is called Genna too, so the game and the holiday share a name!

In the bathtub

The fish is a carp, and fried carp with potato salad is the big Christmas Eve dinner there. Some families with little kids even let their bathtub carp go in a river instead!

Père Noël

More than a million children a year get replies through Père Noël's special mail service. It's been running every year since 1962.

Smash it (accept break it or throw it onto the ground so it breaks)

The sweet is a buñuelo (boon-YWAY-loh), served in a clay dish. Breaking the dish is part of this local custom. Your family's dinner plates should probably sit this one out.

Spiders (accept a spider)

In the story, the morning sun turns their webs into shining silver and gold. Some people say that's where the idea for tinsel came from, and many Ukrainian families hang little spider ornaments for good luck.

Your pinky (accept little finger)

Curl in your middle three fingers and you've got it. Honolulu's 21-foot Shaka Santa sits on an outdoor fountain every Christmas season.

Lobsters

The traps are stacked into a tall tree shape and decorated with lights. Rockland gives its fishing gear a holiday job on dry land.

Three

It happens at the end of the book. Quite a change of heart!

A magic hat

The hat belongs to a magician. It brings Frosty to life when it lands on his head.

Five gold rings

If you sang "golden rings," you get the point too! Some versions use "gold" and others use "golden."

His doghouse

Snoopy covers his doghouse in lights and wins first prize! The show first came on TV in 1965, and families still watch it every year.

Tiny Tim

When you reach the very end of the book, you'll find Tiny Tim's blessing waiting there.

His dog, Max

Poor Max! In the 1966 TV special he gets tied to the sleigh and has a wild, bumpy ride down the mountain.

A sleigh bell

It comes from Santa's sleigh. In the film, the boy can only hear it ring once he believes.

A turkey

A boy in the street says the prize turkey is as big as he is! Scrooge sends him off to fetch it, and then has it sent to the Cratchit family.

Mariah Carey

It took 25 years for the song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. It finally got there in December 2019!

Kermit the Frog (accept Kermit)

Miss Piggy plays his wife. Scrooge himself isn't a Muppet at all: he's played by a real actor, Michael Caine.

Aftershave (accept his dad's aftershave or shaving lotion)

He's trying out his dad's aftershave. Then he presses both hands to his cheeks and lets out the scream that so many people copy.

His tongue

Flick takes a triple-dog-dare at school. Then the bell rings and everybody runs inside, except Flick, who's still stuck. It takes the fire department to get him loose!

A bunny (accept a rabbit)

His mom makes him put on the whole pink bunny footed sleeper. Ralphie's face says it all.

One (accept one antler, one horn or a single antler)

Just one! The Grinch ties one big horn onto his dog Max's head with a piece of thread. Not the most convincing reindeer costume, but Max does his best.

Scrooge McDuck (accept Uncle Scrooge)

Scrooge McDuck plays Ebenezer Scrooge, so he hardly needs a new name. Donald appears too, as his cheerful nephew.

He gets sick (accept he throws up)

Buddy treats the door like a carnival ride, and his stomach objects. Going around one more time turns out to be a bad idea.

Two front teeth (accept front teeth or teeth)

A music teacher wrote it after asking his second graders what they wanted for Christmas. So many had missing front teeth that their answers gave him a song idea.

Hot chocolate (accept hot cocoa or cocoa)

The song is called Hot Chocolate, and the waiters sing and dance up and down the train car while they pour it. That's a lot of fuss for one cup of cocoa!

Figgy pudding (accept fig pudding)

Think of a rich, fruity cake rather than a pudding cup. The singers insist they won't leave until they get some. That's quite a dessert order.

Frankincense and myrrh

Frankincense (say FRANK-in-sense) and myrrh (say MURR) each get their own verse in the song. The three gifts come from the Christmas story in the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew.

The Mouse King (and his army of mice)

The battle happens on Christmas Eve, after a party. In many versions, the girl who owns the Nutcracker helps win by throwing her slipper at the Mouse King! Then the Nutcracker takes her to the Land of Sweets.

Candy, candy canes, candy corn (accept candy corns; part credit for one or two)

Buddy's whole list is sugary. His idea of a balanced diet would make a dentist very busy.

A button

His eyes are lumps of coal, too. Try drawing him from the song and see how many people give him a carrot anyway.

Cheese pizza (accept plain cheese pizza or a whole cheese pizza)

"A lovely cheese pizza, just for me!" For once, Kevin doesn't have to fight his big family for a slice.

It tips over (accept overturns or falls over)

The old words say they got "upsot," which means tipped over. Another verse has the singer fall flat on his back. This ride has more mishaps than the chorus lets on.