The office Christmas quiz that works is 40 multiple-choice questions in four rounds of ten, run in 25 minutes, with everyone answering on their own phone. Keep it work-safe, and give two of the four rounds to winter, New Year and festivals from other traditions, so people who do not celebrate Christmas can win it.
Below are all 40 questions with answers, three tiebreakers, and a minute-by-minute run sheet for a room where some of the team is on a call.
Write the quiz for everyone in the office
Most lists for this search run 75 to 100 questions, mostly Christmas films and carols. That suits a family on the sofa. An office has people who celebrate Hanukkah, Lunar New Year or nothing at all, and a quiz where they cannot answer two rounds in four is a quiz they sit out politely.
The four rounds below split it this way:
- Round 1, Winter around the world: festivals and traditions from Sweden to Australia, plus some plain science.
- Round 2, Films, songs and stories: the familiar Christmas canon, kept to things that have not changed in decades.
- Round 3, Food and traditions: where festive foods and customs actually come from.
- Round 4, New Year and the calendar: the round anyone can win.
Every question has four options, so it pastes straight into a multiple-choice quiz, and on paper you read the options out.
Three kinds of question to cut
Anything about this year's news, because it is wrong by February and the people who missed it feel it. Anything about colleagues, their homes, their families or their Christmas plans. And drinking rounds, because some of the room does not drink and nobody should have to explain why at work.
40 office Christmas quiz questions, with answers
Each round opens with an easy one, so the whole room starts every round answering.
Round 1: Winter around the world
Ten questions. One point each, or the speed bonus if you run it on screens.
- 1.
Which country gives London the Christmas tree that stands in Trafalgar Square every year? Sweden, Norway, Denmark or Finland.
Answer: Norway. Oslo has sent one every year since 1947.
- 2.
How many nights does Hanukkah last? Five, seven, eight or twelve.
Answer: Eight.
- 3.
Kwanzaa begins on 26 December. How many days does it last? Three, five, seven or ten.
Answer: Seven, ending on 1 January.
- 4.
In the Netherlands, on which evening does Sinterklaas traditionally bring presents? 5 December, 24 December, 25 December or 6 January.
Answer: 5 December.
- 5.
In Sweden, a girl wearing a crown of candles leads a procession on 13 December. Whose saint's day is it? St Nicholas, St Lucia, St Stephen or St Bridget.
Answer: St Lucia.
- 6.
In Icelandic folklore, how many Yule Lads visit children in the run-up to Christmas? Three, seven, nine or thirteen.
Answer: Thirteen.
- 7.
In Italy, who brings sweets to children on the night of 5 January? Krampus, Père Noël, La Befana or Ded Moroz.
Answer: La Befana.
- 8.
Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is a territory of which country? Indonesia, Australia, the United Kingdom or New Zealand.
Answer: Australia.
- 9.
On the December solstice, which hemisphere has its longest day of the year? Northern, Southern, both equally or neither.
Answer: Southern.
- 10.
How many arms does a typical snowflake have? Four, five, six or eight.
Answer: Six.
Round 2: Films, songs and stories
Ten questions. If your team wants a music round, swap this one for the emoji round linked below.
- 1.
What is the name of Will Ferrell's character in the film Elf? Bernard, Buddy, Hermey or Jingle.
Answer: Buddy.
- 2.
In Home Alone, which city does Kevin's family fly to without him? London, New York, Paris or Rome.
Answer: Paris. New York is the sequel.
- 3.
What is the name of the kingdom in Frozen? Arendelle, Corona, Agrabah or Duloc.
Answer: Arendelle.
- 4.
In A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Scrooge's dead business partner? Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, Fred Fezziwig or Tiny Tim.
Answer: Jacob Marley.
- 5.
Who wrote the song White Christmas? Bing Crosby, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter or Frank Sinatra.
Answer: Irving Berlin. Bing Crosby sang it.
- 6.
Which song was the first ever played in space, on a harmonica, by the crew of Gemini 6 in 1965? Silent Night, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls or White Christmas.
Answer: Jingle Bells.
- 7.
How many of Santa's reindeer are named in the opening of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, not counting Rudolph? Six, eight, nine or twelve.
Answer: Eight.
- 8.
Who composed the music for The Nutcracker ballet? Mozart, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev.
Answer: Tchaikovsky.
- 9.
What is the name of the Grinch's dog? Max, Rex, Fido or Buster.
Answer: Max.
- 10.
In The Twelve Days of Christmas, what does my true love give on the fifth day? Five gold rings, five swans a-swimming, five geese a-laying or five French hens.
Answer: Five gold rings.
Round 3: Food and traditions
Ten questions. The round where the people who cook have the edge.
- 1.
In Japan, which fast-food chain's fried chicken is a popular Christmas dinner? McDonald's, KFC, Burger King or Subway.
Answer: KFC.
- 2.
Stollen, a fruit bread dusted with icing sugar, comes from which country? Austria, the Netherlands, Germany or Switzerland.
Answer: Germany.
- 3.
Panettone first came from which Italian city? Rome, Milan, Naples or Venice.
Answer: Milan.
- 4.
Latkes, eaten at Hanukkah, are pancakes made mainly from what? Potato, apple, cheese or rice.
Answer: Potato.
- 5.
What shape is a French bûche de Noël? A star, a bell, a log or a wreath.
Answer: A log.
- 6.
What did mince pies originally have in them? Minced meat, cheese, fish or nothing but nuts.
Answer: Minced meat.
- 7.
The poinsettia, the red-leaved Christmas plant, is native to which country? Brazil, Mexico, Spain or South Africa.
Answer: Mexico.
- 8.
Christmas crackers were invented in the 1840s by a sweet maker in which city? Paris, Vienna, New York or London.
Answer: London. His name was Tom Smith.
- 9.
Who is credited with popularising the Christmas tree in Britain in the 1840s? Queen Elizabeth I, Prince Albert, King George III or Charles Dickens.
Answer: Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.
- 10.
Turrón, a nougat made with almonds and honey, is a Christmas sweet from which country? Greece, Portugal, Spain or Turkey.
Answer: Spain.
Round 4: New Year and the calendar
Ten questions. Nobody needs to celebrate anything to win this round.
- 1.
Where does New York's New Year's Eve ball drop take place? Central Park, Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge or the Empire State Building.
Answer: Times Square.
- 2.
In Spain, how many grapes do people eat at midnight on New Year's Eve? Three, seven, ten or twelve.
Answer: Twelve, one for each chime.
- 3.
What do people in Scotland call New Year's Eve? Hogmanay, Burns Night, Ceilidh or Up Helly Aa.
Answer: Hogmanay.
- 4.
Whose words are sung in Auld Lang Syne? Walter Scott, Robert Burns, William Wordsworth or Lord Byron.
Answer: Robert Burns.
- 5.
Which country sees in the New Year before anywhere else? New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati or Japan.
Answer: Kiribati. Its Line Islands are in the furthest-ahead time zone, UTC+14.
- 6.
Which animal comes first in the 12-year Chinese zodiac? Dragon, Rat, Ox or Tiger.
Answer: Rat.
- 7.
Lunar New Year always falls in which two months? December or January, January or February, February or March, or any month.
Answer: January or February, between 21 January and 20 February.
- 8.
January is named after Janus, a Roman god usually shown with how many faces? One, two, three or four.
Answer: Two, one looking back and one looking forward.
- 9.
The Russian and Serbian Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on which date in the everyday calendar? 6 December, 25 December, 1 January or 7 January.
Answer: 7 January.
- 10.
Was 1900 a leap year? Yes, no, only in Europe or only in the United States.
Answer: No. Century years are only leap years when they divide by 400, so 2000 was and 1900 was not.
Want to swap a round out? The Christmas song emoji quiz replaces round 2 for a team that likes music, and round 4 works just as well as ten questions about your own company. The guide to company trivia questions for an all-hands shows where to find the answers without asking anyone personal questions.
Three tiebreakers, closest wins
Keep these out of the main quiz. Read the question, take a number from each tied player, and the closest wins.
Tiebreakers
Numbers nobody knows exactly and everybody can guess at.
- 1.
In what year was Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol first published?
Answer: 1843
- 2.
Counting every repeat, how many gifts does my true love give in total across The Twelve Days of Christmas?
Answer: 364
- 3.
The lowest natural temperature ever recorded was at Vostok Station in Antarctica. How cold was it, in degrees Celsius?
Answer: Minus 89.2
The 25-minute run sheet for a hybrid room
This timing assumes the quiz runs on screens: a 20-second answer timer, four seconds of reading time, and five seconds on each answer before it moves on. That caps a question at 29 seconds and a round of ten at five minutes, and a round finishes early whenever everyone answers before the clock runs out.
| Clock | What happens | In the room | On the call |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Join | Scan the code on the TV | Click the link in the call chat |
| 2:00 | Rules, one minute | One phone each, first names only | Cameras optional, mics off |
| 3:00 | Round 1, questions 1 to 10 | Answers on phones | Answers on phones or laptops |
| 8:00 | Round 2, questions 11 to 20 | ||
| 13:00 | Halfway: press H on question 20's answer | Refill drinks | Unmute, say hello to the room |
| 14:00 | Round 3, questions 21 to 30 | ||
| 19:00 | Round 4, questions 31 to 40 | ||
| 24:00 | Results, then a tiebreaker if needed | Podium on the TV | Host reads the top three aloud |
| 25:00 | Done |
Hybrid quizzes break in the same three places every year.
The screen share lags. If the people at home watch the question on a shared screen, they see it after the room does, and on a timed question they lose every close finish. Put the question on every device instead and the call only carries your voice.
Two laptops in one room join the call. That is the feedback howl in the first minute. One laptop in the room joins the call, the host's, and everyone else in the room stays off it.
The room forgets the call. Thirty people in a room get loud and the six at home go quiet. Read out a remote person's name whenever they get a hard one right, and give them the halfway minute to talk.
Names go on the TV, so say "first names only" in the rules. The one player called something you would not say in front of HR is the only thing anyone remembers about the quiz.
What changes when it runs on screens
On paper, the same 40 questions take closer to 45 minutes: you read every option out, wait for the slowest table, and mark 40 answers per sheet. On screens the reading, the clock and the marking happen on their own, which is what gets it into 25 minutes.
Which planet is known as the Red Planet?
PardyTime is a free trivia maker that works the way the run sheet assumes. The question and the options show on every phone and on the TV at once, and a timed question scores more for a fast correct answer, from full points down to half at the buzzer. A colleague who googles the answer at second eighteen scores far less than one who knew it at second four. You set the reading time and the pause after each answer in the lobby, and press H to hold on an answer when you want to talk.
People join with a PIN or the link you copy from the lobby, with no app or account, so the people at home click it in the call chat. One limit to know before the day: a free lobby holds 15 players. For a bigger office, pair people up on one phone, or Plus raises the cap to 100.
Paste the 40 questions above into a new quiz, or host one of the ready-made quizzes in the public library for free.