Movies
In this 1990s comedy, a clever youngster uses sticky notes, microcassette messages, and booby traps after being accidentally left behind during a family trip.
Home Alone
This cumulative song lists gifts that increase each verse and ends with a final set of thirteen or more offerings
The Twelve Days of Christmas
In which country is it traditional to eat KFC for Christmas dinner, a popular modern holiday custom?
Japan
A peppermint-flavored confection with a distinctive hooked shape used as tree decoration and a treat.
Candy cane
This decorative strip of fabric (or pre-made shape) is often tied on top of a wrapped gift for decoration
Ribbon / Bow
What magical object brings Frosty to life?
A top hat
What is the name of the angel that brought "good tidings of great joy" to the shepherds?
Gabriel
In this story adapted from a picture book, a magical locomotive arrives at a train station bearing a special ticket to visit Santa
The Polar Express
Written for a sleigh ride, this upbeat tune repeats a chorus about bells on a certain vehicle.
Jingle Bells
In which country is Saint Lucia Day (a celebration with a girl wearing a crown of candles) traditionally celebrated on December 13th?
Sweden (also observed in Norway and parts of Finland)
Simple buttery baked shapes that families cut out with cookie cutters and decorate with icing and sprinkles.
Sugar cookies (cut‑outs)
This paper product was sold as a wallpaper substitute and is now a staple in holiday traditions.
Wrapping paper
In this tale, a girl named Clara dreams of a magical battle and a visit to the Land of Sweets after receiving a mysterious toy who comes to life to defeat a rat king
The Nutcracker
Who was the King who ordered all children under 2 years of age to be killed in order to try to get rid of the promised Messiah
Herod
This character’s heart is described as “two sizes too small” before he learns the true meaning of the holiday.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
A translated hymn first performed in 1818 in Austria that praises the calm and holiness of a midnight birth.
Silent Night
In which country is the tradition of leaving shoes out on December 5th or 6th for gifts from Sinterklaas recognized?
The Netherlands (also recognized in Belgium)
Traditional holiday fruit-based cakes often include this warm spice for flavor — think of the smell of spiced apples or pumpkin pie
Cinnamon
An anonymous gift exchange where participants draw names and keep the identity secret is commonly called what?
Secret Santa
This reindeer is initially excluded because of a unique physical feature that later helps guide Santa’s sleigh through bad weather. Name the feature and describe how it becomes important
A glowing red nose
The angels told the shepherds not to do this when they appeared?
To be afraid
In the movie Elf, what topping did Buddy put on his spaghetti?
maple syrup, chocolate sauce, mini marshmallows, mini chocolate M&M's, chocolate syrup, and even some chocolate fudge pop-tarts
This tune paints a picture of city life at Christmastime with images of street lights and a busy downtown—one line references “silver” and “bells.”
Silver Bells
In what country were religious holidays banned, so they came up with a secular celebration to be celebrated on New Years with a replacement Santa called Grandfather Frost?
Soviet Union (Russia)
A dense, steamed or boiled dessert from Britain traditionally served at Christmas, sometimes called plum pudding.
Christmas pudding (plum pudding)
I hang by the fire all through the night,
Awaiting morning's sparkling light.
Filled with treats, small gifts, or cheer—
Sometimes a secret helper leaves them here.
What am I?
A Christmas stocking
DOUBLE POINTS: IF you name the Victorian author who wrote the famous transformation tale about Ebenezer Scrooge and provide the title of that work
Charles Dickens — A Christmas Carol
One of the two Gospel writers that gives an account of Jesus’ birth, also credited with a genealogy of Jesus
Matthew (or Luke)
A skeptical clerk working in a Macy’s-style store is sued when a man claiming to be Saint Nicholas insists he is who he says he is.
Miracle on 34th Stree
Which carol asks listeners to "repeat the sounding joy" and includes the line "peace on earth, goodwill to men"?
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
In which country is the tradition of hiding a pickle ornament inside the Christmas tree and rewarding the finder with a small gift or good luck recognized?
Germany
I’m dense and dotted with candied light,
Packed with nuts and spices bright.
Wrapped and sliced at holiday feast,
Some love me most — some love me least.
What am I?
Fruitcake
I’m wrapped in dark and tucked away,
Found on a cold and festive day.
Not a toy, not sweet, not jolly —
A tiny prize if you've been folly.
What am I?
coal
In this short story, a young wife sells her hair to buy her husband a chain for his watch while he sells his watch to buy her a comb — name the story.
The Gift of the Magi
That was the name of the Prophet who foretold of the coming of the Messiah to Bethlehem?
Isaiah
This film’s protagonist sees an alternate version of his town when an angel shows him what would have happened if he had never existed.
It's a Wonderful Life
Famously sung by Bing Crosby and written by Irving Berlin, this wartime-era song dreams of snow and simpler holidays
White Christmas
In which country is it traditional for children to receive gifts on January 6th from the Three Kings (Epiphany) rather than—or in addition to—December 25th?
Spain (also celebrated in many Latin American countries)
A chocolate-and-cream roll dessert whose name references a winter firewood shape and is common in French-inspired cuisine
Yule log (Bûche de Noël)
A household or family may set a fixed spending limit to keep gift-giving fair; this one-word term fills the blank: spending ___.
Budget
This poem, long attributed to Clement Clarke Moore (or in some accounts to Henry Livingston Jr.), opens with “’Twas the night before Christmas….”
"A Visit from St. Nicholas" (The Night Before Christmas)
The holiday celebrates the nativity, the birth of this central Christian figure, often called the Messiah.
Jesus (Jesus Christ)