Christmas Movie Trivia: 100 Questions & Answers
Christmas movies are the backbone of any holiday trivia night. From animated classics to action movies that happen to take place on Christmas Eve, these 100 questions cover the films people actually watch (and rewatch) every December.
Questions are organized by movie so you can pick your favorites, or mix and match for a full trivia night. Each question has a difficulty rating: 🟢 Easy, 🟡 Medium, 🔴 Hard.
Home Alone (Questions 1-12)
- 🟢 Where are the McCallisters going on vacation when they leave Kevin behind?
Answer
Paris, France
- 🟢 What are the names of the two burglars Kevin outsmarts?
Answer
Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) — they call themselves the "Wet Bandits"
- 🟡 What pizza does Kevin order when he's home alone?
Answer
A plain cheese pizza from Little Nero's Pizza
- 🟡 What fictional black-and-white gangster movie does Kevin watch on TV?
Answer
"Angels with Filthy Souls" — it was created specifically for the film and doesn't actually exist
- 🟢 What does Kevin use as aftershave that makes him scream?
Answer
His dad's aftershave (the iconic scream scene)
- 🟡 How much did Home Alone gross at the worldwide box office?
Answer
$476 million — making it the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time
- 🔴 What year was Home Alone released?
Answer
1990
- 🟡 Who directed Home Alone?
Answer
Chris Columbus (who also directed the first two Harry Potter films)
- 🔴 Who wrote the screenplay for Home Alone?
Answer
John Hughes
- 🟡 What do the Wet Bandits rename themselves in Home Alone 2?
Answer
The Sticky Bandits
- 🔴 How many kids are in the McCallister family (including Kevin)?
Answer
5 — Buzz, Megan, Linnie, Jeff, and Kevin
- 🟡 What city does Kevin end up in in Home Alone 2?
Answer
New York City
Elf (Questions 13-24)
- 🟢 What is Will Ferrell's character's name in Elf?
Answer
Buddy
- 🟢 What are the four main food groups according to Buddy the Elf?
Answer
Candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup
- 🟡 What is Buddy's job at the North Pole before he leaves?
Answer
Toy maker (specifically in Santa's workshop, where he doesn't fit in because of his size)
- 🟡 What city does Buddy travel to in order to find his real father?
Answer
New York City
- 🟡 What department store does Buddy work at?
Answer
Gimbels
- 🟢 What does Buddy say when he answers the phone at the North Pole?
Answer
"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"
- 🔴 Who plays Buddy's biological father, Walter Hobbs?
Answer
James Caan
- 🟡 What animal does Buddy hug in Central Park?
Answer
A raccoon (which attacks him)
- 🔴 What year was Elf released?
Answer
2003
- 🟡 Who directed Elf?
Answer
Jon Favreau (who later directed Iron Man)
- 🔴 What book does Walter Hobbs publish that becomes a bestseller at the end?
Answer
Buddy's story — he publishes it as a children's book
- 🟢 What does Buddy put on his spaghetti?
Answer
Maple syrup, chocolate sauce, M&Ms, marshmallows, chocolate fudge Pop-Tarts, and more candy
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Questions 25-34)
- 🟢 Who wrote "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"?
Answer
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), published in 1957
- 🟢 What is the name of the Grinch's dog?
Answer
Max
- 🟢 Where does the Grinch live?
Answer
Mount Crumpit (overlooking Whoville)
- 🟡 According to the song, the Grinch's heart was how many sizes too small?
Answer
Two sizes too small
- 🟡 Who voiced the Grinch in the original 1966 animated TV special?
Answer
Boris Karloff (famous for playing Frankenstein's monster)
- 🟡 Who played the Grinch in the 2000 live-action film?
Answer
Jim Carrey
- 🔴 Who played the Grinch in the 2018 animated film?
Answer
Benedict Cumberbatch
- 🟡 What does the Grinch carve the roast beast with at the end?
Answer
He carves it himself — the Whos invite him to their Christmas feast after his heart grows three sizes
- 🔴 Why did Dr. Seuss say he wrote the Grinch story?
Answer
He was looking at himself in the mirror, feeling grumpy about the commercialization of Christmas
- 🔴 What little girl from Whoville befriends the Grinch in the 2000 film?
Answer
Cindy Lou Who (played by Taylor Momsen, who later became the lead singer of The Pretty Reckless)
It's a Wonderful Life (Questions 35-44)
- 🟢 Who plays the lead role of George Bailey?
Answer
Jimmy Stewart
- 🟢 What is the name of George Bailey's guardian angel?
Answer
Clarence Odbody (Angel Second Class)
- 🟡 What does Clarence earn at the end of the film?
Answer
His wings (every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings)
- 🟡 What fictional town is the movie set in?
Answer
Bedford Falls
- 🟡 Who is the villain of It's a Wonderful Life?
Answer
Mr. Potter (Henry F. Potter), the greedy banker played by Lionel Barrymore
- 🔴 Was It's a Wonderful Life a success when it was first released in 1946?
Answer
No — it was a box office failure and nearly bankrupted the studio. It only became a classic after its copyright lapsed in 1974, allowing TV stations to air it for free.
- 🟡 What is George Bailey's wife's name?
Answer
Mary (played by Donna Reed)
- 🔴 Who directed It's a Wonderful Life?
Answer
Frank Capra
- 🔴 What business does George Bailey run?
Answer
The Bailey Building and Loan Association
- 🟡 What happens to Bedford Falls in the alternate reality where George was never born?
Answer
It becomes "Pottersville" — a seedy, corrupt town dominated by Mr. Potter
A Christmas Story (Questions 45-54)
- 🟢 What gift does Ralphie desperately want for Christmas?
Answer
A Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle (BB gun)
- 🟢 What warning does every adult give Ralphie about the BB gun?
Answer
"You'll shoot your eye out!"
- 🟡 What does Ralphie's dad (the Old Man) win as a "major award"?
Answer
A leg lamp (a lamp shaped like a woman's leg in a fishnet stocking)
- 🟡 What happens to Flick on the playground?
Answer
His tongue gets stuck to a frozen flagpole after being "triple dog dared" to lick it
- 🟡 What does Ralphie's mom make him put on over his snowsuit?
Answer
A pink bunny suit (a gift from his Aunt Clara)
- 🔴 What word does Ralphie say that gets his mouth washed out with soap?
Answer
The "F-dash-dash-dash" word (the narrator says "fudge" but notes that's not really what he said)
- 🔴 What breed of dogs attack the Parkers' turkey?
Answer
Bumpus hounds (the neighbors' dogs)
- 🟡 Where does the family eat Christmas dinner after the turkey is destroyed?
Answer
A Chinese restaurant (they have Peking duck — "It's a Chinese turkey")
- 🔴 Who narrates A Christmas Story?
Answer
Jean Shepherd (who also wrote the semi-autobiographical book it's based on)
- 🔴 What city and state is A Christmas Story set in?
Answer
Hohman, Indiana (based on author Jean Shepherd's hometown of Hammond, Indiana)
Die Hard (Questions 55-62)
- 🟢 Who plays John McClane in Die Hard?
Answer
Bruce Willis
- 🟢 What building does most of Die Hard take place in?
Answer
Nakatomi Plaza
- 🟡 What event is happening at Nakatomi Plaza when the terrorists attack?
Answer
The Nakatomi Corporation's Christmas party
- 🟡 Who plays the villain Hans Gruber?
Answer
Alan Rickman (it was his first film role)
- 🟡 What famous line does John McClane say throughout the movie?
Answer
"Yippee-ki-yay" (often censored in TV broadcasts)
- 🔴 What is John McClane's wife's name in Die Hard?
Answer
Holly (played by Bonnie Bedelia)
- 🔴 What year was Die Hard released?
Answer
1988
- 🟡 Is Die Hard officially a Christmas movie?
Answer
This is debated endlessly, but director John McTiernan has said he considers it a Christmas movie. It's set at Christmas, features Christmas music, and ends with a family reunion on Christmas Eve.
The Polar Express (Questions 63-70)
- 🟢 Who stars as (and provides motion capture for) multiple characters in The Polar Express?
Answer
Tom Hanks (he plays the boy, the father, the conductor, the hobo, and Santa)
- 🟡 Where is the train headed?
Answer
The North Pole
- 🟡 What does Santa give the boy as the first gift of Christmas?
Answer
A silver bell from Santa's sleigh
- 🟡 What is special about the bell at the end of the movie?
Answer
Only those who truly believe in Christmas can hear it ring
- 🔴 Who wrote the children's book The Polar Express is based on?
Answer
Chris Van Allsburg (published in 1985)
- 🟡 What hot beverage is served on the train?
Answer
Hot chocolate (in one of the film's most memorable musical sequences)
- 🔴 What groundbreaking technology was The Polar Express one of the first films to use extensively?
Answer
Performance capture (motion capture with facial expression tracking) — it was one of the first fully performance-captured animated films
- 🔴 What year was The Polar Express movie released?
Answer
2004
Classic & Animated Films (Questions 71-85)
- 🟢 In "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1964), what does the elf Hermey want to be instead of making toys?
Answer
A dentist
- 🟡 What is the Island of Misfit Toys?
Answer
A place where defective or unwanted toys live, waiting for children to love them (from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
- 🟡 In "A Charlie Brown Christmas," what kind of tree does Charlie Brown pick?
Answer
A small, sparse, pathetic-looking tree that everyone mocks — but it becomes beautiful when the gang decorates it together
- 🔴 What Bible passage does Linus recite in "A Charlie Brown Christmas"?
Answer
Luke 2:8-14 (the story of the shepherds and the angel announcing Christ's birth)
- 🟡 In "The Nightmare Before Christmas," what is Jack Skellington's title?
Answer
The Pumpkin King (of Halloween Town)
- 🔴 Who directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas"?
Answer
Henry Selick (Tim Burton produced and conceived it, but Selick directed)
- 🟡 In "Frosty the Snowman," what brings Frosty to life?
Answer
A magic silk hat (an old top hat)
- 🟡 What 1947 movie features a department store Santa who claims to be the real Kris Kringle?
Answer
Miracle on 34th Street
- 🔴 In "White Christmas" (1954), what ski lodge do the characters visit?
Answer
The Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont
- 🟡 What does Scrooge see when the Ghost of Christmas Future shows him a gravestone?
Answer
His own name — revealing that the lonely death they've been witnessing is his own
- 🟢 How many ghosts visit Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol"?
Answer
Four — Jacob Marley's ghost, plus the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future
- 🟡 In "The Santa Clause" (1994), how does Tim Allen's character become Santa?
Answer
He accidentally causes the original Santa to fall off his roof, then puts on the suit — activating "The Santa Clause" (a contractual obligation to become the new Santa)
- 🔴 In "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," how many lights does Clark Griswold put on his house?
Answer
25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights
- 🟡 What is Clark Griswold's Christmas bonus that he's been counting on?
Answer
He was expecting a cash bonus but receives a one-year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club instead
- 🔴 In "Love Actually," how many interconnected storylines does the film follow?
Answer
10 (though some are more interconnected than others)
Modern Christmas Movies (Questions 86-100)
- 🟡 In "The Holiday" (2006), which two countries do the main characters swap homes between?
Answer
England and the United States (specifically a cottage in Surrey and a mansion in Los Angeles)
- 🟡 What Netflix Christmas franchise stars Vanessa Hudgens playing multiple lookalike characters?
Answer
The Princess Switch series
- 🟢 In "Frozen," what is the name of the snowman who dreams of summer?
Answer
Olaf
- 🟡 What animated film features a boy who receives a magical snow globe that takes him to the North Pole?
Answer
The Polar Express
- 🔴 Which Christmas movie stars Kurt Russell as a cool, hipster version of Santa Claus?
Answer
The Christmas Chronicles (2018, Netflix)
- 🟡 In "Jingle All the Way" (1996), what toy is Arnold Schwarzenegger desperately trying to buy?
Answer
Turbo-Man (the hottest toy of the season)
- 🔴 What 2019 film featured Emilia Clarke working in a Christmas shop year-round?
Answer
Last Christmas (featuring the music of George Michael)
- 🟡 Which animated film features a mailman who delivers letters to a reclusive toymaker named Klaus?
Answer
Klaus (2019, Netflix — an animated origin story of Santa Claus)
- 🟡 In "The Muppet Christmas Carol," who plays Scrooge?
Answer
Michael Caine
- 🔴 What was the first Hallmark Christmas movie ever made?
Answer
Hallmark has been making holiday movies since 2000, but their dedicated Christmas movie formula exploded around 2009-2010. Their most-watched Christmas movie is typically "A Christmas Detour" or varies by year.
- 🟡 In "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000), who plays little Cindy Lou Who?
Answer
Taylor Momsen (who later became the lead singer of rock band The Pretty Reckless)
- 🔴 What Christmas horror movie features a killer Santa Claus and was so controversial it was pulled from theaters?
Answer
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) — parents protested outside theaters, and TriStar pulled the film after just two weeks
- 🟡 In "Arthur Christmas" (2011), how does Santa deliver presents?
Answer
Using a massive high-tech spaceship called the S-1, operated by a military-style elf operation
- 🔴 Which country has produced the most Christmas movies per capita?
Answer
The United States dominates in total numbers, but Hallmark alone produces more Christmas movies annually (40+) than most countries' entire film industries
- 🟡 What 2003 animated film features a train conductor who punches tickets in elaborate patterns?
Answer
The Polar Express (the conductor punches the word "BELIEVE" across multiple tickets throughout the film)
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