Christmas Trivia for Seniors: 40 Festive Questions and Answers to Print

There’s a certain evening that comes around once a year when the house finally goes quiet. The tree is lit in the corner, the good ornaments are hung where you can see them, and somewhere a record or the television is playing the old songs you’ve known since you were small. Outside it might be snowing; inside it smells of cinnamon and a turkey that’s been in the oven since morning.

Christmas has a way of holding onto our memories better than almost any other day of the year. These 40 questions walk you back through the carols, the movies, the traditions and the stories you grew up with, and the answer sits right under each one so you can play on your own or read them aloud to a room full of people you love. Pour yourself something warm and let’s begin.

Carols and Christmas Songs

1. “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…” Whose recording of “White Christmas” became the best-selling single of all time?

Bing Crosby. His 1942 version has sold more than 50 million copies, more than any other single ever released.

2. Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas” for a 1942 film in which Crosby first sang it. Can you name the movie?

“Holiday Inn.” The song went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

3. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” opens a holiday standard best known by a much plainer title. What is that song called?

“The Christmas Song.” Mel Tormé and Bob Wells wrote it in 1945, and Nat King Cole’s warm recording became the one everybody remembers.

4. The gentle carol that begins “Silent night, holy night” was first sung on Christmas Eve in 1818, in a little village church. In which country?

Austria. Joseph Mohr wrote the words and Franz Gruber the melody, first performed in the village of Oberndorf.

5. In 1949 a singing cowboy took “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” all the way to number one on the charts. Who was he?

Gene Autry. His record topped the Billboard pop chart the week of Christmas 1949.

6. “Jingle Bells” started life in 1857 under a different title. Do you remember it?

“The One Horse Open Sleigh.” It was written by James Lord Pierpont.

7. In December 1965 the astronauts aboard Gemini 6 played “Jingle Bells” on a harmonica and sleigh bells. Why does that moment live in the record books?

It was one of the very first songs ever broadcast from space.

8. Finish the line: “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why…”

“Santa Claus is coming to town.”

Christmas at the Movies

9. In the 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” an angel shows a discouraged man how much his life truly mattered. What is that man’s name?

George Bailey, played by James Stewart and directed by Frank Capra.

10. What is the name of the snowy hometown George Bailey never quite manages to leave?

Bedford Falls.

11. In that movie, the angel Clarence is working to earn one particular reward. What is it?

His wings — “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”

12. In “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947), a kindly old gentleman insists he is the real Santa Claus. What name does he go by?

Kris Kringle. Edmund Gwenn played him and won an Academy Award for the role.

13. In that same film, Santa takes a job at a famous New York department store. Which one?

Macy’s.

14. Charles Dickens gave us a cold-hearted miser who learns the meaning of Christmas in his 1843 story “A Christmas Carol.” What is that miser’s name, and what is his famous two-word grumble?

Ebenezer Scrooge, and his grumble is “Bah! Humbug!”

15. The sickly little boy in “A Christmas Carol” offers one of the most beloved blessings in all of literature. Can you finish it — “God bless us…”?

“God bless us, every one!” said by Tiny Tim.

Christmas Traditions and Symbols

16. What bright red-and-green plant, native to Mexico, has become the flower of Christmas?

The poinsettia. It takes its name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Minister to Mexico, who brought it north in the 1820s.

17. Every holiday season, a giant Christmas tree is lit in the heart of New York City. At which famous plaza?

Rockefeller Center. Construction workers put up the very first one in 1931, and it became an annual tradition two years later.

18. What plant, hung in a doorway, invites a Christmas kiss from anyone caught standing beneath it?

Mistletoe.

19. Two colors say “Christmas” before a single word is spoken. Which two?

Red and green.

20. What striped peppermint treat is curved into the shape of a shepherd’s crook — or, if you turn it over, the letter J?

The candy cane.

21. In the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” what is the very first gift your true love sends to you?

A partridge in a pear tree.

22. In Britain, Canada and Australia, the day after Christmas has its own name. What is it, and what date does it fall on?

Boxing Day, on December 26th.

23. What do children hang by the chimney with care, hoping Santa will fill them overnight?

Their stockings.

24. What kind of calendar, often with a little door to open each day, counts down the mornings until Christmas?

An Advent calendar.

The Very First Christmas

25. According to the Christmas story, in what town was Jesus born?

Bethlehem.

26. The Three Wise Men, or Magi, brought three gifts to the newborn child. Can you name all three?

Gold, frankincense and myrrh.

27. What did the Wise Men follow across the night sky to find their way?

The Star of Bethlehem.

28. Mary laid her baby in a manger because there was no room for the family where?

At the inn.

29. Who were the first humble visitors to the stable — working men who had been watching their flocks by night?

The shepherds.

30. January 6th, the day the Wise Men are said to have reached the child, has a special name. What is it?

Epiphany, also called Three Kings’ Day.

Santa Claus and His Reindeer

31. Our modern Santa Claus grew out of a real fourth-century saint famous for secret gift-giving. Which saint?

Saint Nicholas.

32. Where is Santa’s workshop said to be found?

The North Pole.

33. The 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” — the one that begins “’Twas the night before Christmas” — first named Santa’s reindeer. Who is usually credited with writing it?

Clement Clarke Moore.

34. Can you name the eight reindeer from that poem?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (sometimes spelled Donder) and Blitzen.

35. A ninth reindeer joined the team in 1939, dreamed up by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward department store. Who was he?

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer.

36. Santa goes by a gentler old nickname borrowed from German, meaning “Christ child.” What is it?

Kris Kringle, from the German “Christkindl.”

Around the Christmas Table

37. What rich, frothy drink made of eggs, milk, sugar and spice — sometimes with a splash of something stronger — is poured all through the holidays?

Eggnog.

38. What dense, long-keeping cake, packed with candied fruit and nuts, has become the good-natured butt of every holiday joke?

Fruitcake.

39. What spiced cookie is cut into the shape of a little man or built, wall by wall, into a frosted house?

Gingerbread.

40. In Britain, what steamed dessert full of dried fruit — sometimes carried to the table in flames — traditionally finishes the Christmas dinner?

Christmas pudding, also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding.

Frequently asked questions

How can I use these questions at a holiday gathering?

Read one aloud, give everyone a moment to call out a guess, then share the answer tucked right beneath it. The carol and movie questions tend to set the whole room humming and swapping stories about Christmases gone by.

Which Christmas song has really sold the most copies?

Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” is widely recognized as the best-selling single of all time, with sales estimated at more than 50 million copies since 1942.

Where can I find more trivia like this?

Plenty more is waiting. Try our fall and autumn trivia for seniors for the season just past, or sing along with our old hymns and gospel songs trivia.

Where do these facts come from?

Every date and name above is drawn from the reputable sources listed just below, so you can double-check any answer that surprises you.

Sources

• “White Christmas” (song) — Wikipedia
• “Silent Night” — Wikipedia
• A Visit from St. Nicholas — Wikipedia

How many did you remember? Play our trivia quizzes and keep the Christmas memories glowing.