A picture round is the part of a Christmas quiz that gets everyone leaning in. Below are 60 Christmas picture quiz questions with answers, in six rounds: zoomed-in photos, Christmas food, markets and lights, films in emojis, traditions around the world and a real or made up round.
Every picture is numbered, with its options and answer on the same card, so nobody has to match a photo to an answer sheet. Want questions without pictures? Try our family Christmas quiz for kids.
Quick facts
At a glance4 quick answers
How many questions are there?
Answer60, in six rounds, all with answers
What are the rounds?
AnswerZoomed-in pictures, Christmas food, markets and lights, films in emojis, traditions around the world, and real or made up
Do I need a screen?
AnswerNo. Read the questions out and pass a phone or laptop round for the 39 photos, or put them on the TV
Can I host it live?
AnswerYes, on AhaSlides with a join code and a live leaderboard. The Free plan covers a short round; the whole quiz in one deck needs a paid plan
Round 1: Zoomed-in Christmas pictures
Ten everyday Christmas things, photographed far too close. Give one point for each, and half a point for a near miss.
Zoomed in: what is it?10 questions
1Which Christmas sweet has these twisted red and white stripes?
AnswerA candy cane. Candy stick counts too.
2Which bird, a favourite on Christmas cards, is this?
AnswerA robin.
3Who is this smiling in his icing scarf?
AnswerA gingerbread man.
4Which Christmas plant is this?
AnswerHolly.
5You pull this at the dinner table. What is it?
AnswerA Christmas cracker.
6What is this, hanging on the tree?
AnswerA bauble.
7What is this, often sprayed gold or silver for a wreath?
AnswerA pine cone.
8What are these branching things called?
AnswerAntlers. Deer, reindeer included, shed them and grow a new pair every year.
9What is this decoration?
AnswerA bell.
10Which wooden Christmas figure, the star of a ballet, is this?
AnswerA nutcracker.
Round 2: Christmas food around the world
Twelve festive dishes. Players name the dish and the country, with four options each. Sources for the less familiar ones: risalamande (Denmark.dk), melomakarona (Visit Greece), roscón de Reyes (Good Morning America), rabanadas (Correio Braziliense), pavlova (Atlas Obscura) and hallacas (NPR).
Name the dish and the country12 questions
11Name this dessert and where it is served at Christmas.
Answerb) Christmas pudding, UK. A steamed fruit pudding, often set alight with brandy.
12Name this cake and its country.
Answerd) Bûche de Noël, France, known in English as a Yule log.
13Name this sweet bread and its country.
Answera) Panettone, Italy. It comes from Milan.
14Name this bake and its country.
Answerc) Stollen, Germany. The best known is Dresden's Christstollen.
15Name this dessert and its country.
Answerb) Risalamande, Denmark. Rice pudding with whipped cream and almonds, served with cherry sauce.
16Name this sweet and its country.
Answerd) Turrón, Spain. A honey and almond nougat eaten around Christmas.
17Name these biscuits and their country.
Answera) Melomakarona, Greece. Honey-soaked biscuits made mainly for the Christmas season.
18Name this cake and its country.
Answerc) Roscón de Reyes, Spain. It is eaten at Epiphany, on 6 January, to end the Christmas season.
19Name this dessert and where it is a Christmas tradition.
Answerb) Rabanadas, Portugal. Also a Christmas dessert in Brazil (Correio Braziliense): slices of bread soaked in milk, dipped in egg, fried and dusted with cinnamon sugar.
20Name this dessert and a country where it is a Christmas staple.
Answerd) Pavlova, Australia. It is a Christmas favourite in Australia and New Zealand, where Christmas falls in summer, and both countries claim to have invented it.
21Name this dish and the country most linked with it.
Answerc) Tamales, Mexico. Corn dough steamed in a husk, a Christmas dish across Mexico and Central America.
22Name this dish and its country.
Answera) Hallacas, Venezuela. Corn dough with a meat stew, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled.
Round 3: Christmas markets and lights
Eleven famous festive places. The landmark behind the stalls is the clue.
Name the city11 questions
23Which city puts up this tree every year?
Answerb) New York. It is the Rockefeller Center tree.
24Which city hangs these angels over its shopping streets?
Answerc) London. They hang over Regent Street.
25Which city holds a Christmas market in front of this city hall?
Answerd) Vienna. The market is on Rathausplatz.
26Which city is this market in?
Answera) Prague. It is the Old Town Square, below the Church of Our Lady before Týn.
27Which city is this market in?
Answerb) Cologne. The market sits beside Cologne Cathedral.
28Which city is this market in?
Answerc) Edinburgh. The market runs through Princes Street Gardens, beside the Scott Monument.
29Which French city calls itself the Capital of Christmas?
Answerd) Strasbourg. The great tree stands in Place Kléber.
30Which capital city is this market in?
Answera) Berlin. It is the Gendarmenmarkt.
31Which capital city is this market in?
Answerb) Budapest. The market is in front of St Stephen's Basilica.
32Which city is this market in?
Answerc) Tallinn. It is the Town Hall Square.
33This is Santa Claus Village, on the Arctic Circle. Which country is it in?
Answerd) Finland. It is in Rovaniemi, in Lapland.
Round 4: Christmas films in emojis
Each row of emojis spells out a Christmas film, with the year as a hint. For film trivia in words, see our Christmas movie quiz.
Name the film13 questions
🏠 🧒 😱 🪤
34Which Christmas film is this? (1990)
AnswerHome Alone.
🧝 🗽 🍝 🍁
35Which Christmas film is this? (2003)
AnswerElf.
🚂 ❄️ 🔔 🎫
36Which Christmas film is this? (2004)
AnswerThe Polar Express.
💚 😠 🎁 🏔️
37Which Christmas film is this? (2000)
AnswerHow the Grinch Stole Christmas.
🎃 💀 🎅 🎄
38Which Christmas film is this? (1993)
AnswerThe Nightmare Before Christmas.
🐸 🐷 👻 🎩
39Which Christmas film is this? (1992)
AnswerThe Muppet Christmas Carol.
⛄ 👦 🌌 🧣
40Which Christmas film is this? (1982)
AnswerThe Snowman.
👼 🔔 🌉 💵
41Which Christmas film is this? (1946)
AnswerIt's a Wonderful Life.
🎅 3️⃣4️⃣ 🛣️ ⚖️
42Which Christmas film is this? (1947)
AnswerMiracle on 34th Street.
❤️ 🛬 🪧 🎶
43Which Christmas film is this? (2003)
AnswerLove Actually.
🏢 💥 🦶 🎄
44Which Christmas film is this? (1988)
AnswerDie Hard. Yes, it counts.
🏡 🔄 🏡 💕
45Which Christmas film is this? (2006)
AnswerThe Holiday.
🎅 📜 ⚖️ 🛷
46Which Christmas film is this? (1994)
AnswerThe Santa Clause.
Round 5: Christmas around the world
Six traditions, six countries. Sources: Sinterklaas (DutchReview), Krampus (Austria.info), saffron buns (Sweden.se), pōhutukawa (Department of Conservation) and poinsettia (National Geographic).
Which country?6 questions
47In which of these countries does Christmas fall in summer, so a day at the beach is a Christmas tradition?
Answerb) Australia. Christmas falls in the Southern Hemisphere's summer.
48Children in which country leave out a shoe with a carrot for a horse before 5 December?
Answera) The Netherlands. The carrot is for Sinterklaas's horse; presents arrive on St Nicholas' Eve.
49Which country is best known for these horned figures, who walk the streets on 5 December?
Answerc) Austria. This is Krampus, who goes with St Nicholas on the night of 5 December across the Alpine region.
50These saffron buns are baked for St Lucia's Day, 13 December. In which country?
Answerd) Sweden. They are called lussekatter.
51Which country calls this red-flowering tree its Christmas tree?
Answerb) New Zealand. The pōhutukawa flowers in December.
52This plant fills the shops every December. Which country is it native to?
Answera) Mexico. The poinsettia is native to Mexico and Central America.
Round 6: Real Christmas tradition or made up?
No pictures needed for the last round: read each statement out and ask for true or false. Each answer links to its source.
True or false8 questions
53In Icelandic folklore, a giant cat eats people who did not get new clothes for Christmas.
More detailThis is the Yule Cat (Jólakötturinn).
54In Catalonia, children beat a smiling log with sticks until it poos out presents.
More detailIt is the Tió de Nadal, also called Caga Tió.
55Hiding a pickle ornament in the tree is an old tradition that most German families keep.
More detailMost Germans have never heard of the Christmas pickle, and where the custom began is unclear, so calling it an old German tradition is a stretch.
56A giant straw goat goes up every Advent in Gävle, Sweden, and most of them have been burnt down or damaged.
More detailOf the 60 years the Gävle goat has been built, it has stayed up more or less unharmed only 20 times, so most goats have been burnt or damaged.
57In South Wales, a horse's skull on a pole, draped in a sheet, is carried from house to house at Christmas.
More detailIt is the Mari Lwyd, a wassailing custom.
58La Befana, a witch on a broomstick, brings Italian children their presents on Christmas Eve.
More detailLa Befana comes on Epiphany Eve, the night of 5 January.
59Oaxaca in Mexico holds a festival of carved radishes every 23 December.
More detailIt is the Night of the Radishes (Noche de Rábanos).
60Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented for a Coca-Cola advert.
More detailRobert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 for a booklet given away by the Montgomery Ward department store.
For a round where players hear the songs, see our Christmas music quiz with audio.
Free Christmas quiz template
To run the quiz on phones, start from the free "What do you know about Christmas symbols?" template. Its picture-answer rounds ask about the meaning behind the tree, the wreath, candy canes and bells, with a leaderboard after each question. Copy it, then add the pictures and questions you like best from this page.
AhaSlides is free to try: the Free plan hosts up to 50 participants with up to 5 quiz questions per presentation. For all 60 questions in one deck, see the pricing page.
How to host a Christmas picture quiz
Reading the questions out works round the dinner table. For an office party or a video call, run it live: everyone joins with a code or QR code on their phone, no app needed, and the scores add themselves up.
- Put one picture on each question. Add the photo to the Pick Answer slide itself so one slide is one picture question.
- Match the slide type to the round. True or False suits the real or made up round, Match Pairs links dishes to countries, and Pin on Image lets players pin a market on a map.
- Add a round where players make the pictures. Draw Answer turns the emoji round into a drawing game, and Photo Share collects everyone's worst Christmas jumper.
- Settle a tie. Spin a Spinner Wheel or run a Duck Race for the last prize.
Hosting on a video call? Our guide to running a Zoom quiz covers screen sharing and timing. For picture rounds that work all year, see these picture round ideas and our guess the movie quiz.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should a Christmas picture quiz have?
As one round in a longer quiz, 10 pictures is plenty and takes about ten minutes. For a whole picture quiz, 30 to 40 questions in four rounds takes about 45 minutes.
What makes a good Christmas picture round?
Clear photos with one right answer, a mix of easy and hard, and a number on every picture so the answer sheet is easy to mark. Zoomed-in objects, food and famous places work for all ages.
Can I use any photo from the internet in a quiz?
For a quiz at home, nobody will mind. For anything you publish or run at work, use photos you took yourself or licensed stock, and avoid film stills and press photos of celebrities. The photos on this page are licensed stock photographs from Freepik.
Answers last checked: October 2026. Photos: Freepik.
