Christmas TV Trivia
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109 free Christmas TV trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
52 free Christmas TV trivia questions with answers. Christmas television has its own canon: the Rankin/Bass stop-motion specials that have aired every December since 1964, the Grinch that Chuck Jones and Boris Karloff made in 1966, the sitcom episodes people re-watch every year, and the one-offs that became legends, like the Star Wars Holiday Special or David Bowie turning up on Bing Crosby's last show. This quiz covers all of it. You'll get questions on Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and the Miser brothers; the Office's Yankee Swap, Seinfeld's Festivus, Ross's Holiday Armadillo and the very first Simpsons episode; Doctor Who's Christmas specials, Downton Abbey, Gavin & Stacey and the EastEnders episode that still holds the UK ratings record; plus the WPIX Yule Log, the Royal Christmas message and Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and primary references before publication, so the dates, names and viewing figures here are the real ones. Play it with the family after dinner, or use it to settle who actually knows their Christmas television.
30 of 109 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who narrates the 1964 Rankin/Bass special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as Sam the Snowman?
Burl Ives
Burl Ives was hired to give the sponsor a big name; Sam was originally going to be voiced by Larry D. Mann, who ended up as Yukon Cornelius instead.
Q 02What career does Hermey the elf abandon Santa's workshop to pursue in the 1964 Rudolph special?
Dentistry
Dentistry: Hermey wants to be a dentist rather than make toys, and he proves it by pulling every tooth from the Abominable Snow Monster, who is then tamed and helps trim the tree.
Q 03Which company sponsored the first broadcasts of Rudolph in 1964 under its own Fantasy Hour title?
General Electric
General Electric sponsored the special, which premiered on NBC on December 6, 1964 as the General Electric Fantasy Hour; its production budget was about $500,000.
Q 04In which city was the 'Animagic' puppet footage for Rudolph actually filmed?
Tokyo
Tokyo: the 'Animagic' puppet footage was shot in Japan at Tadahito Mochinaga's Tokyo studio, while the voice cast recorded its dialogue in Toronto.
Q 05Roughly how much did the original 1964 Rudolph and Santa puppets fetch at auction in 2020?
$368,000
$368,000: the Rudolph and Santa puppets, rediscovered in a family attic after a Rankin/Bass secretary gave them away, sold at auction in November 2020 and were donated to Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts.
Q 06What year does the famously erroneous copyright notice on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer give?
1164
1164: the credits read MCLXIV instead of MCMLXIV, dropping one M, and the invalid copyright notice has been left on prints ever since.
Q 07Which comedian narrates the 1969 Frosty the Snowman special, in his final film role?
Jimmy Durante
He had also been one of the first to record the song back in 1950. A different narrator had to be found for the 1976 sequel after Durante retired.
Q 08In the 1969 Frosty special, what is the inept magician whose discarded hat brings the snowman to life called?
Professor Hinkle
Professor Hinkle is the washed-up magician whose discarded silk hat brings Frosty to life; his own rabbit, Hocus Pocus, sides with the children, and Santa finally warns Hinkle he gets no presents unless he reforms.
Q 09Where does Frosty melt in the 1969 special after the villain locks him in with Karen?
A greenhouse
A greenhouse: Frosty carries the shivering Karen into a greenhouse to warm her, the magician locks them in, and the heat melts him; Santa then revives Frosty with a blast of cold winter wind.
Q 10Who is the toy-hating mayor of Sombertown in the 1970 special Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town?
Burgermeister Meisterburger
Burgermeister Meisterburger bans all toys after tripping over a toy duck, which is why Kris starts slipping presents down chimneys and into stockings.
Q 11What kind of animal is Topper, the lost creature Kris Kringle befriends on his way to Sombertown?
A penguin
A penguin: Topper is a lost penguin who becomes Kris's sidekick on the journey to Sombertown; the Winter Warlock later captures the pair, then switches sides after Kris gives him a toy train.
Q 12In The Year Without a Santa Claus, who forces the feuding Snow Miser and Heat Miser to compromise?
Mother Nature
Mother Nature is the Misers' mother; she summons both sons and makes them compromise, so Southtown gets a day of snow while the North Pole gets a day of warm weather.
Q 13Which reindeer ends up in the Southtown dog pound in The Year Without a Santa Claus?
Vixen
Q 21What holiday are Chewbacca and Han trying to reach Kashyyyk to celebrate in the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special?
Life Day
Life Day: the Wookiee holiday is the special's whole premise, with Han trying to get Chewbacca home to Kashyyyk for it; the show aired on CBS on November 17, 1978.
Q 22Which bounty hunter made his onscreen debut in an animated segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special?
Boba Fett
Boba Fett first appeared in the special's cartoon segment, made by Toronto studio Nelvana, which later produced the Droids and Ewoks Saturday-morning series; his live-action debut came in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Q 23In the Star Wars Holiday Special, which Golden Girls star runs the Mos Eisley cantina?
Bea Arthur
Vixen: the elves Jingle and Jangle ride Vixen to Southtown, where a dog catcher mistakes her for a stray dog and locks her in the pound.
Q 14Which actress narrates The Year Without a Santa Claus as Mrs. Claus, in her final acting credit?
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth, an Oscar winner for Come Back, Little Sheba and a three-time Tony winner, made the 1974 special her final acting credit; the 2008 sequel recast Mrs. Claus.
Q 15In Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976), what kind of creature is the villain Eon the Terrible?
A vulture
A vulture: Eon the Terrible is a giant vulture fated to live exactly one eon and then turn to ice and snow, so he kidnaps Happy the Baby New Year to stop the year ending.
Q 16Rankin/Bass's 1968 special The Little Drummer Boy centres on an orphaned drummer whose name is what?
Aaron
Aaron is the orphaned drummer; Samson and Joshua are his donkey and camel, and the third animal, a lamb named Baba, is hurt by a chariot, which brings Aaron to the manger.
Q 17Who voices the Grinch and narrates the 1966 animated TV special based on Dr. Seuss's book?
Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff's voice had its high frequencies stripped out to create the Grinch's gravelly growl, and on the LP he read every part, including Cindy Lou Who.
Q 18The song 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' is often misattributed to the narrator. Who actually sang it?
Thurl Ravenscroft
The singer, also the voice of Tony the Tiger, was left out of the credits by mistake. Dr. Seuss apologised and wrote to columnists nationwide to set the record straight.
Q 19Which legendary Looney Tunes director made the 1966 Grinch special?
Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones directed the special; he and Dr. Seuss had already worked together on the Private Snafu army training cartoons during World War II.
Q 20CBS gave the 1966 Grinch special a then-record cartoon budget of about how much?
$315,000
$315,000: CBS gave the 1966 special a record budget for a half-hour cartoon, several times what Bill Melendez had to make A Charlie Brown Christmas the year before.
Bea Arthur plays Ackmena, the cantina's bartender, who sings 'Goodnight, But Not Goodbye' to clear the bar at the Imperial curfew, set to the tune of the 1977 film's cantina band number.
Q 24In Friends, what costume does Ross improvise to teach Ben about Hanukkah when he can't rent a Santa suit?
The Holiday Armadillo
The Holiday Armadillo episode, from 2000, ends with Ross, Chandler in a Santa suit and Joey as Superman all crammed into the apartment.
Q 25In The Office episode "Christmas Party", how much did the boss spend on the video iPod for the $20 Secret Santa?
$400
$400: Michael admits he spent $400 on the video iPod, twenty times the $20 limit, and his disappointment with Phyllis's homemade oven mitt is what triggers the Yankee Swap.
Q 26What Secret Santa gift, with a private letter inside, does Jim give Pam in The Office's 'Christmas Party'?
A teapot
A teapot: Jim's gift is a teal teapot stuffed with inside-joke mementos and a private letter; Pam only reads the letter in the final season, when Jim gives it to her during 'A.A.R.M.'.
Q 27Which Seinfeld episode, named for Kramer's H&H Bagels labour dispute, introduced Festivus?
The Strike
'The Strike' (1997): Kramer's 12-year strike against H&H Bagels ends when the minimum wage rises to meet his demand, but he walks out again when refused time off for Festivus.
Q 28What fake charity does George invent on Seinfeld to avoid buying Christmas gifts for his co-workers?
The Human Fund
The Human Fund ('Money for People') is George's invented charity; he gives co-workers cards claiming donations in their names, then his boss Kruger's $20,000 company donation exposes the scam.
Q 29At what odds does Homer bet it all on Santa's Little Helper in the first Simpsons episode?
99-1
99-1: Homer bets his last $13 on the long shot Santa's Little Helper at 99-1; the greyhound finishes last and is abandoned by his owner, so Homer and Bart take him home.
Q 30Community's 'Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas' pays homage to Rankin/Bass by rendering the episode in what style?
Stop motion
Stop motion: the episode was animated frame by frame with puppets, Rankin/Bass style, and won Community a Primetime Emmy for animation; John Oliver's Professor Duncan poses as a 'Christmas wizard'.