Office Christmas Quiz Rounds: Questions and Answers

Office Christmas quiz rounds

A Christmas quiz is the safest office activity there is. Everybody understands the format instantly, nobody has to stand up, and it works just as well on a video call as it does around a table.

The rounds below are written, tested and come with answers. Run three of them for a half-hour quiz, or all six if you're filling the last afternoon before the break.

Mix easy and hard deliberately. A round where everyone scores well early keeps the quiet teams in it, and a hard round at the end stops it finishing in a five-way tie.

Quiz prizes

Small prizes for the winning team, designed in house and posted from the UK.

Enamel pin badge shaped like a red cowboy boot with the text What Would Dolly Do. What Would Dolly Do? Pin Badge £4.49 Small enamel pin badge with a funny "Chicken Nugget Club" design, perfect as a humorous novelty gift. Chicken Nugget Club Pin Badge (Small) £4.00 Small, cute enamel pin badge in the shape of a daisy flower. Cute Small Daisy Pin Badge £4.00 Cute Cat With Pearl Ball Pin Badge Cute Cat With Pearl Ball Pin Badge £4.00 All Panic, No Disco Pin Badge For Emos All Panic, No Disco Pin Badge For Emos £4.00 Small Heart Notification Pin Badge Small Heart Notification Pin Badge £4.00

Shop prizes

Round 1: Christmas films

  1. In Elf, what are the four main food groups according to Buddy? Candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
  2. What's the name of the hotel in Home Alone 2? The Plaza.
  3. Which Christmas film features the song "Christmas Is All Around"? Love Actually.
  4. In The Muppet Christmas Carol, who narrates? Gonzo, as Charles Dickens.
  5. What does Kevin's family forget in Home Alone? Kevin.
  6. Which film is set in Whoville? How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Round 2: Christmas number ones

  1. Which Wham! song famously never made Christmas number one? Last Christmas (1984).
  2. Who had the 1975 and 1991 Christmas number one with the same song? Queen, with Bohemian Rhapsody.
  3. Which charity single topped the chart in 1984? Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid.
  4. Which Mariah Carey song has never been Christmas number one in the UK on release? All I Want for Christmas Is You.
  5. Which band's Merry Xmas Everybody topped the chart in 1973? Slade.
  6. Which talent show dominated the Christmas number one slot through the 2000s? The X Factor.

Round 3: Christmas traditions

  1. Which country's tradition is a giant straw goat in Gävle? Sweden.
  2. What do people traditionally eat on Christmas Eve in Japan? Fried chicken - KFC, thanks to a 1970s ad campaign.
  3. Which monarch gave the first Christmas broadcast in 1932? George V.
  4. What's the name of the Icelandic Christmas Book Flood? Jólabókaflóð.
  5. Where does the tradition of the Christmas pickle supposedly come from? It's marketed as German, but it's almost entirely American.
  6. What do you traditionally find in a Christmas pudding for luck? A silver coin.

Round 4: Adverts and telly

  1. Which supermarket's Christmas advert featured Kevin the Carrot? Aldi.
  2. Which retailer's adverts made Christmas soundtracks famous with slow piano covers? John Lewis.
  3. What's the name of the Coca-Cola Christmas advert phrase? Holidays Are Coming.
  4. Which soap traditionally airs a big Christmas Day episode? EastEnders.
  5. Which Christmas special is repeated on TV almost every year in the UK? Wallace and Gromit, or the Only Fools and Horses specials - accept either.
  6. Which drink's advert features a snowman and a boy flying? Walking in the Air is from The Snowman, used by Iceland.

Round 5: The picture round

  1. Christmas films from a single frame - one still from six films.
  2. Baubles close up: guess whose desk each decoration is on.
  3. Celebrities in Christmas jumpers, cropped so only the jumper shows.
  4. Six Christmas adverts from one screenshot each.
  5. Landmarks lit up: guess the city from the Christmas lights.
  6. Team members' childhood Christmas photos, numbered.

Round 6: The tiebreaker

  • How many Brussels sprouts are in the jar? Nearest wins, no team conferring.
  • How many minutes of the Christmas number one is instrumental? Nearest without going over.
  • What was the exact date of the last white Christmas in your city? Nearest year wins.
  • How many pigs in blankets did the office order at last year's lunch? Nearest wins.

Shop prizes

How to write it so it lands

  • Three rounds is usually enough.
  • Mix one easy round with one hard one.
  • Teams of four, not eight.
  • Swap sheets to mark.

Where to shop next

Frequently asked questions

How many rounds should an office Christmas quiz have?

Three to six, at six questions each. That's twenty to forty minutes including marking, which is about as long as an office quiz can hold attention.

How do you mark it fairly?

Teams swap answer sheets and mark each other's while you read the answers out. It's faster, and it keeps everyone involved in the marking.

What makes a good tiebreaker?

A nearest-wins number question that nobody can look up: sweets in a jar, minutes of something, or a count from your own office.

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