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Office Christmas Quiz 2026: 40 Questions and Answers for Work

Forty office Christmas quiz questions with not a partridge in sight. You'll meet a Jelly of the Month Club, a $100-note Secret Santa, a carol written in a heatwave and a prawn marathon that runs for 36 hours. It's built for the work Christmas party, and works just as well read out over Teams or Zoom. Every answer has been fact-checked, so nobody can contest the result.

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In National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), what does Clark Griswold get from his boss instead of the Christmas bonus he was counting on?A year's membership of the Jelly of the Month ClubClark had already put down a deposit on a new swimming pool, on the strength of a bonus that never arrived.
How much does Bob Cratchit earn a week working for Scrooge in A Christmas Carol?Fifteen shillings ('fifteen bob')Dickens makes the joke himself: Bob 'had but fifteen Bob a-week himself'.
Which of Scrooge's former bosses throws the best office Christmas party in A Christmas Carol?Old FezziwigScrooge's old workmate at the warehouse, Dick Wilkins, is there too, which is the closest the miser gets to fond memories of work.
Which 1960 Best Picture winner features a rowdy Christmas Eve party at a New York insurance company?The ApartmentBilly Wilder's film won five Oscars, which makes it probably the most decorated office party in cinema history.
In the 2016 film Office Christmas Party, which company's branch throws the party to try to save itself?ZenotekThe branch was trying to land a $14 million contract and dodge a 40% cut in staff. Jennifer Aniston plays the interim CEO trying to shut the party down.
In Trading Places, the Duke brothers' commodity firm is ruined by bad trades in which product?Frozen concentrated orange juicePart of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform in the US is nicknamed the 'Eddie Murphy rule' after the film's plot.
Which UK law first made Boxing Day an official bank holiday in England and Wales?The Bank Holidays Act 1871It was pushed through by banker and MP Sir John Lubbock, and grateful workers nicknamed the new days off 'St Lubbock's Days'.
In Italy, what is the extra month's pay that most employees get around Christmas called?La tredicesima (the 'thirteenth')It started as a voluntary 'Christmas bonus' from employers and became a contractual right for factory workers in 1937.
By law, what is the latest date that employers in the Philippines must pay staff their 13th-month pay?24 DecemberFirms can instead pay it in two instalments, in May and November.
In Australia, Secret Santa is often called by what other name?Kris KringleThe name is a corruption of Christkindl, the 'Christ Child' gift-bringer of Austria and southern Germany.
What do Germans call a Secret Santa gift swap?WichtelnThe name comes from the Wichtel, a helpful household sprite. In Spain it's called amigo invisible, the 'invisible friend'.
For 26 years, what did Kansas City's anonymous 'Secret Santa' hand out to strangers every Christmas?$100 notesLarry Stewart gave away over US$1 million in total. He had started after a diner owner gave him $20 when he was broke and hungry in 1971.
Which charity's Christmas Jumper Day, now a fixture in offices, began in 2012?Save the ChildrenThe first one was held on Friday 14 December 2012.
In Home Alone, where is the McCallister family flying when they leave Kevin behind?ParisThe family home is in suburban Chicago. Its exterior scenes were filmed in Winnetka, Illinois.
In Elf, which New York department store does Buddy end up working in?GimbelsBuddy's dad, meanwhile, is a children's book publisher with an office in the Empire State Building.
In Love Actually, which album does Emma Thompson's character unwrap, instead of the necklace she expected?Joni Mitchell's Both Sides NowHer husband had given the necklace to his secretary, which makes this the most uncomfortable office Christmas gift in film.
Which festive favourite was written in a Hollywood heatwave in July 1945 and never actually mentions Christmas?Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne wrote it while daydreaming about cooler weather.
About how long did Mel Tormé and Bob Wells take to write 'The Christmas Song' ('Chestnuts roasting on an open fire')?About 40 minutesIt was a scorching summer, and Tormé said they were trying to 'stay cool by thinking cool'.
José Feliciano wrote 'Feliz Navidad' in 1970 while feeling what?HomesickHe was in a Los Angeles studio, missing his family in New York. His producer asked him for a new Christmas song, and he made it up on the spot.
The Polar Express (2004) holds a world record for being the first film made entirely with which technique?Performance capture (motion capture)Tom Hanks played five different characters in it.

According to Dutch tradition, which country does Sinterklaas sail from?SpainHe arrives by steamboat in mid-November. The main present-giving happens on the evening of 5 December, not Christmas Day.
In Italy, who flies on a broomstick on the night of 5 January to leave sweets, or coal, for children?La BefanaThe 'coal' given to naughty children is usually rock candy dyed black.
In the Philippines, which month does the Christmas season traditionally start?SeptemberThe 'ber months' kick off a season that runs into the first week of January, often called the longest in the world.
Which German city is home to the Striezelmarkt, said to be the country's oldest Christmas market, dating from 1434?DresdenIt's named after the Striezel, a braided sweet bread. Dresden's stollen is sold there too.
Which country issued a stamp printed with 'XMAS 1898', often called the world's first Christmas stamp?CanadaIt showed a world map with the British Empire in red. Collectors still argue over whether it counts, because it was really issued to mark a new postage rate.
Apart from fruit and spices, what did medieval mince pies contain?Meat, such as beef, mutton or ox tongueA mince pie recipe for Queen Victoria in 1854 still called for 300 pounds of beef and 72 bottles of brandy.
Why are freshly baked panettone hung upside down to cool?So they don't collapse under their own weightSince 2003, Milan bakeries have needed accreditation to label theirs as traditional artisan Milanese panettone.
Some people find Brussels sprouts extra bitter because of variations in which gene?TAS2R38, a bitter-taste receptor genePeople with two 'taster' copies of the gene are known as supertasters.
Why are reindeer noses reddish, according to a 2012 BMJ study?They're packed with blood vessels, about 25% denser than in human nosesThe extra blood flow stops the nose freezing and helps control brain temperature. Dutch and Norwegian researchers published it in the BMJ's Christmas issue.
Who took the first photograph of a single snowflake, in 1885?Wilson Bentley, a Vermont farmerHe rigged a camera to a microscope and needed about two years of trial and error to get a clear shot.
The name 'mistletoe' comes from Anglo-Saxon words meaning what?'Dung' and 'twig'Birds spread the sticky seeds, often in their droppings, and mistletoe then steals water and nutrients from its host tree.
Christmas tinsel was invented in Nuremberg around 1610. What was it first made of?Real silverLead tinsel came later, and US makers stopped producing it in 1972 because of poisoning fears.
About how long does it take to grow a typical Christmas tree to full selling height?7 to 12 yearsOnly about a fifth to a third of trees pass inspection for sale each year.
Coca-Cola's famous red-suited Santa ads were painted from the 1930s by which artist?Haddon SundblomCoke didn't invent the red suit. Thomas Nast drew a red-suited Santa in 1881.
Which Melbourne radio announcer started Carols by Candlelight in 1938?Norman BanksOn Christmas Eve 1937 he saw an elderly woman singing alone by candlelight to a carol on the radio, and wanted to bring lonely people together.
The red 'flowers' of the NSW Christmas bush are actually what?Sepals, which turn red after the small white flowers fadeThe red display peaks around Christmas, just in time for Australian table decorations.
What do Australia's Christmas beetles mostly eat?Eucalyptus leavesThere are about 35 species in the genus Anoplognathus. Numbers around Sydney have dropped as grassy woodland has been cleared.
The first Sydney to Hobart yacht race, on Boxing Day 1945, was originally planned as what?A relaxed cruiseBritish yachtsman John Illingworth suggested turning it into a race. Nine yachts entered and his boat Rani won, taking more than six days.
How long does Sydney Fish Market's Christmas seafood marathon run without closing?36 hoursIn 2018 it expected to sell about 700 tonnes of seafood, including up to 130 tonnes of prawns.
In which year did Australia issue its first Christmas stamp?1957It started a yearly tradition. The UK didn't issue its first Christmas stamps until 1966.

Sources

Fact-checked 31 Oct 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it in public.

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