Have you been naughty or nice this year? It doesn’t really matter as long as you have had your eye on some news and culture.
The lead-up to the big day is here and we are now just days away from Christmas Day. Here are 25 questions that will test your knowledge of tradition, pop culture, film and music with a festive theme to get you through at least an hour of family time.
If you want to swot up before taking this quiz, read our Christmas traditions guide and check out what’s open on Christmas Day in London. While you’re at it, here are some options for a Christmas dinner that won’t break the bank.
Plus, it's not in the quiz but if you want to know how much Noddy Holder, Wizzard and Mariah Carey make from their songs each year, you can find out here.
And, if you think this whole exercise is a cynical ploy to divert readers’ attention to our articles, then … maybe cheer yourself up with one of these alternative Christmas songs?
If you score:
0-7: Bah Humbug
8-14: You had a nightmare before Christmas
15-20: A fairytale of new sorts
21-25: You wish it could be Christmas every day
Here’s the quiz, best of luck!
Questions
Which country had the first Christmas tree as a tradition?
And which British monarch popularised the tradition over here?
In which James Bond film is there a character called Dr Christmas Jones?
Christmas Island is the external territory of which country?
Which former president of the United States has a cameo in Home Alone 2?
Who of Mariah Carey, Shane MacGowan, Shakin’ Stevens and Jona Lewie was born on Christmas Day?
The tradition of sending Christmas cards began in: A) 1800 B) 1843 C) 1900 D) 1919
Which boxer made an unlikely cameo appearance on Robbie Williams’s 2019 album The Christmas Present?
See video above. In Love Actually (2003) Bill Nighy’s singer character, Billy Mack, performs Christmas is All Around Us. His music video is a parody of which song? (I’m looking for the name of the video he parodies, not the song he covers!)
For years, the winner of The X Factor was almost guaranteed the Christmas number one but who, in 2014, was the last singer to achieve this? Was it: A. Ben Haenow, B. Sam Bailey, C. Louis Tomlinson?
True or false: Mince pies, in their original form, contained meat?
Who most recently read Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Speech? Was it A) Stephen Fry B) Sandi Toksvig C) Boris Johnson
How many Christmas albums has Michael Bublé released?
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) begins at a Christmas party. It was the final film for which director?
A singer from which boyband caused a stir outside the gates of Downing Street in 2014, shouting: “You’ll be dancing to my number one single at Christmas.”
A bakery in Goswell Road, Clerkenwell is the origin of which tradition?
A veteran US singer last year released an album in time for the season, with a lead single called DJ Play a Christmas Song. What is the name of this singer? (Hint, Alicia Silverstone’s character in Clueless is named after her!)
US supergroup Boygenius have released a Christmas song. Can you name any of the three indie solo artists in the trio? (Just one name will get you a point.)
Jorja Smith released a cover of East 17’s Stay Another Day. The boyband are obviously from Walthamstow. But is Smith herself from A) Watford B) Wimbledon C) Walsall?
Band Aid 40 recently failed to top the charts. It is a rehashed version of the three previous songs – but who mixed the song? A) Bob Geldof B) Trevor Horn C) Ed Sheeran
In the Peep Show episode Season’s Beatings, which vegetable do Mark (David Mitchell) and his dad fall out over whether it is Christmassy or not? A) Carrot B) Cauliflower C) Parsnip
Gavin and Stacey is back for one last episode on Christmas Day. Which actors play the title characters?
Elton John has now finished touring but what is the name of his most famous Christmas song?
What is the name of the family dog in The Simpsons – adopted on Christmas Eve?
And finally… You will lose the game Whamageddon if you hear which song?
Answers
Germany,
Queen Victoria (and Albert),
The World is Not Enough (1999),
Australia,
Donald Trump (the scene was in Trump Tower),
Shane MacGowan,
B. 1843
Tyson Fury. The song was called Bad Sharon.
Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love,
A. Ben Haenow,
True!
It will be Stephen Fry,
One! Yes, only one. But he did previously release an EP,
Stanley Kubrick,
East 17,
Christmas crackers,
Cher,
Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker,
Walsall,
Trevor Horn,
Cauliflower,
Matthew Horne and Joanna Page,
Step Into Christmas,
Santa’s Little Helper,
Last Christmas.
