A Christmas quiz for the whole family
A Christmas tradition that might…or might not… feature in this Christmas quiz. You’ll have to do it to find out!
Whether your Christmas is going to be spent in the company of all your loved ones, or ends up being somehow curtailed (I’m writing this as new restrictions have been introduced here in the UK, sigh….), a family quiz is something that everyone can enjoy, together or (courtesy of technology) apart.
I’ve compiled this Heyday 2021 festive family quiz with a range of questions that everyone of every age will be able to enjoy - which doesn’t mean you’ll all know the answers to all of them. I mean, I think a quiz should stretch your your brain cells a bit. Even at Christmas.
Hope you have fun doing it. Which you can either on-screen or by printing out the questions on sheets of paper.
The answers are at the end, but no cheating now!
Christmas Carols and Songs
1 Which Christmas carol includes the lines: “The stars in the sky/Look down where He lay/The little Lord Jesus/Asleep in the hay?”
2 Which Christmas song was originally written by Noel Regney and his wife Gloria Shayne Baker as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
a) Do You Hear What I Hear? b) Ding Dong Merrily on High c) Little Drummer Boy
3 German-based disco group Boney M had a number one hit in 1978 with which Christmas song?
4 Where did the three ships sail into on Christmas Day in the morning?
5 Which was the first song to be broadcast from space when the Gemini 6 crew played a practical joke on Mission Control, suggesting they had spotted a low flying object?
6 The line "Let earth receive her King / Let every heart / Prepare Him room / And heaven and nature sing" is taken from which carol?
7 Which Christmas carol describing Mary's journey to Bethlehem has been recorded by Gracie Fields, The Beverley Sisters, Vera Lynn and Aled Jones, amongst others?
8 How many gifts were given in total in 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' song?
9 In the movie Love Actually, which character sang ‘Christmas Is All Around’? (An extra point if you can name the actor who played him)
10 What is the best-selling Christmas single of all time? Bonus point for the name of the singer
11 What is the opening line to Shakin' Stevens' 'Merry Christmas Everyone’?
12 What is the UK’s number 1 selling Christmas song?
Christmas traditions
13 Which country started the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree?
14 In which country did eggnog originate?
15 Traditionally when should you start making Christmas pudding?
16 In which year was the first Christmas card sent - 1743, 1843, 1943?
17 What is the name of the period leading up to Christmas?
18 Which relatively new Christmas tradition was created by Carol Abersold for her twin daughters
19 What must-have item for the Christmas table did Tom Smith invent in the early 1850s?
20 What is traditionally hidden in a Christmas pudding?
21 What year was tinsel invented - 1610, 1710 or 1810?
22 What colour suit did Santa wear until Coca Cola rebranded him in red?
23 What time is the Queen’s speech broadcast on Christmas Day?
24 What type of tree is most commonly used for Christmas Trees?
25 According to tradition, when should you have your Christmas decorations down by?
26 In which country did Christmas carolling originate?
27 What type of food did Christmas crackers originally contain?
28 Which traditional Christmas plant supposedly wards off demons?
Christmas trivia
29 Which famous scientist was born on Christmas Day in 1642?
30 How do you say Happy Christmas in Spanish?
31 Which of Santa’s reindeer has the same name as the god of love?
32 In Japan, which takeaway food is traditionally eaten at Christmas?
33 In Home Alone, where are the McCallisters going on holiday when they leave Kevin behind?
34 Miracle On 34th Street centres on what real-life department store?
35 What is a female turkey called?
36 What is a male turkey called?
37 How many of Santa’s reindeer’s names start with the letter D? Extra points for each correct name.
38 How many ghosts show up in A Christmas Carol?
39 What gift did Harry Potter receive from the Dursleys during his first Christmas at Hogwarts?
40 Finish this iconic line from It’s a Wonderful Life: “Every time a bell rings,
an angel gets his _.”
Answers below
Answers
1 Away in a Manger
2 Do You Hear What I Hear
3 Mary’s Boy Child
4 Bethlehem
5 Jingle Bells
6 Joy to the World
7 Little Donkey
8 364
9 Billy Mac - Bill Nighy
10 Bing Crosby - 'White Christmas’
11 Snow is falling, all around me”
12 Do They Know It’s Christmas
13 Germany
14 Britain
15 On a Sunday, five weeks before Christmas
16 1843
17 Advent
18 Elf on a Shelf
19 Crackers
20 A coin
21 1610
22 Green
23 3pm
24 Normann Fir
25 January 5th
26 Austria
27 Sugar-coated almonds
28 Mistletoe
29 Issac Newton
30 Feliz Navidad
31 Cupid
32 KFC
33 Paris
34 Macy’s
35 A hen
36 A tom or a gobbler
37 Three - Dasher, Dancer, Donner
38 Four - former business partner Jacob Marley, and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future
39 A 50-pence piece
40 Wings
Other posts you’ll enjoy
Games your family will enjoy playing at Christmas (which includes another, very different, quiz)
