When tis’ the season to be jolly – and 70 percent of your co-workers have already departed for the beach – concentration and commitment to your career can become elusive.
Have you been glancing at the clock every few minutes and pretending to type furiously while surreptitiously watching video footage of a crackling Christmas fire? Are you weighing up whether 11.00am is too early to crack the champers? Are you playing Michael Buble on repeat while re-organsiging your inbox folders?
Never fear friends. If you’ve spent the past three hours of work wondering how you’re going to keep yourself busy for a whole day, then we have got your backs. Here is the ultimate Christmas Quiz, which can be completed by your whole workplace, in teams or just on your lonesome.
Stop working immediately, gorge yourself on chocolate coated peanuts and get into the spirit.
Merry Christmas!
The Questions (Part 1)
1. What Christmas movie, starring Tim Allen, is this quote from: “We’re your worst nightmare… Elves, with attitude”.
2. What kind of animal has ‘gone away’ in the carol, Winter Wonderland? (Hint: Sing it… Keep singing… Aaaaand yes!)
3. According to his theme music, what not-so-traditional item did Frosty the Snowman have for a nose?
4. What was the name of Scrooge’s deceased business partner in A Christmas Carol?
5. What is Frankincense?
6. Two of Santa’s reindeer are named after weather phenomenons. Which ones are they?
7. What colour are the berries on a mistletoe plant?
8. Which multinational company is responsible for popularising the concept of Santa Claus?
9. In the Australian version of “Jingle Bells” what mode of transport is used instead of the one horse open sleigh?
10. What is the (full) name of Macaulay Culkin’s character in Home Alone?
11. Who was not born on Christmas Day? Annie Lennox, Missy Higgins, Dido or Cheryl Chase.
12. True or false. On Christmas Day 1947, the new Constitution of the Republic of China came into effect.
13. According to the Christmas song, the Grinch is as cuddly as a _________?
14. What would you be drinking if you had ‘Glühwein’?
15. What gift from Santa Claus won’t make Mariah Carey happy on Christmas Day?
16. Which Christmas carol includes the lyrics “…To save us all from Satan’s power, when we were gone astray..?”
17. Electric Christmas lights were first used in 1854, 1912 or 1942?
18. What Christmas-related item did the founders of Hallmark invent?
19. In the film, ‘Elf’ starring Will Ferrell, what are the four main food groups that elves stick with? (Half a point for each).
20. Do you eat the Gingerbread Man’s head, legs or arms first?
The Answers (Part 1):
1. The Santa Clause.
2. A bluebird.
3. A button.
4. Jacob Marley. (Half a point if you got the initials!)
5. An aromatic resin, or essential oil.
6. Donner (German for ‘thunder’) and Blitzen (German for ‘lightning’).
7. White.
8. Coca Cola.
9. A rusty Holden ute.
10. Kevin McCallister.
11. Missy Higgins.
12. True.
13. Cactus.
14. Mulled wine.
15. A toy.
16. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.
17. 1854.
18. Wrapping paper. (In 1917, the Hall brothers ran out of tissue paper at their store, so they wrapped gifts with fancy stationery instead).
19. Candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
20. Head first, so he doesn’t feel the pain. (You MONSTERS who got this wrong).
The Questions (Part 2)
1. In what decade was Meet Me In St Louis released?
2. How many points does a snowflake traditionally have?
3. Which Christmas hymn’s second verse begins with “Born a king on Bethlehem’s plain”?
4. Who directed ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’?
5. How did ‘Boxing Day’ get its name?
6. Australia’s Christmas Island has an annual migration of which creature?
7. In what popular television series did the characters celebrate ‘Festivus’?
8. True or false. In Greenland, ‘mattack’ (raw whale skin served with a side of blubber) is a traditional Christmas treat.
9. Who was the first British monarch to broadcast a Christmas message to the nation?
10. What is Mariah Carey wearing on the front of her classic album Mariah Carey, Merry Christmas? (And please friends, no criticism for the excessive number of Mariah-related questions. She is the true meaning of Christmas).
Also, watch this. Because Christmas:
11. Which Christmas movie is the following quote from: “Uh, since the United States Government declares this man to be Santa Claus, this court will not dispute it. Case dismissed.”
12. If you received all the gifts over the 12 days of Christmas, how many would you have in total?
13. True or False. According to The Bible, the three wise men were named Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
14. What was the name of South Park’s infamous Christmas character? And for a bonus point, what was he?
15. Because of Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve 1974, Santa never made it to which Australian city?
16. Who wrote ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’?
17. In his Christmas message, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggested inviting a few “strangers and orphans” to spend Christmas with you and your family, promising that they would add “variety” to your day. True or False.
18. ‘Carols in the Domain’ is broadcast by which Australian TV network?
19. The dog, Santa’s Little Helper joins the Simpson’s family during a Christmas Special episode called (a) “She of Little Faith” or (b) “The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”.
20. Can you learn the Jingle Bell Rock dance from Mean Girls?
The Answers (Part 2):
1. The 1940s (1944 to be specific).
2. Six.
3. We Three Kings.
4. Frank Capra
5. On the day following Christmas Day servants and tradesmen would traditionally receive gifts, known as a “Christmas box”, from their bosses or employers.
6. Crabs.
7. Seinfeld.
8. True.
9. George the Fifth.
10. A red jumpsuit, black buckled belt, with a white fluffy collar and cuffs.
11. Miracle on 34th Street
12. 364.
13. False. This is a popular Christmas myth but The Bible does not stipulate their names.
14. Mr Hankey, The Christmas Poo.
15. Darwin
16. Dr Seuss
17. True.
18. Seven Network.
19. (b) “The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”.
20. Yes. Yes, you can. Here’s how:
The Questions (Part 3)
1. What Australian Christmas tradition began in Melbourne in 1937?
2. In ‘How I Met Your Mother’s’ 2006 Christmas episode, who ‘stole Christmas’? Lily, Marshall or Ted?
3. What celebratory receptacle was (according to legend) modeled on the breasts of Marie Antoinette?
4. Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, and Emma Thompson all star in Christmas classic Love Actually but what other film did they appear in together, which was released in 1993?
5. Where is it a tradition to hide all brooms in the house on Christmas Eve?
6. Who asks Charlie Brown to direct the Nativity play at school?
7. What is the chemical formula of snow?
8. According to the latest available and highly accurate data, the average American woman wraps how many presents in a typical December holiday season? For a bonus point, how many presents does a man wrap? (Guesses to the nearest 2 presents are accepted).
9. True or false? December 25 was probably not Jesus’ actual birthday.
10. Which of the following is not a Christmas album that actually exists? Christmas in tha Dogghouse– Snoop Dogg, Happy Birthday Jesus – The FreakScene, Christmas with Colonel Sanders – Popular Artists, Roseanne Barr Sings all the Christmas Classics – Roseanne Barr or Breaking Baubles – Alanis Morissette.
11. Which Christmas dessert is made with molasses?
12. In “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” who plays Ebenezer Scrooge? Bonus points for who plays Bob Cratchit?
13. In the Australian version of the 12 Day of Christmas, what is the first thing my true love sends?
14. St. Nicholas was the patron saint of whom? (a) Sailors and children (b) Children and babies (c) Sailors and soldiers or (d) Sailors, children and unmarried girls.
15. What is the name of the cake traditionally eaten in Italy at Christmas?
16. What were Frosty the Snowman’s final words?
17. Which early noughties television series introduced ‘Chrismukkah’ to our vernacular?
18. Who are the two female lead actresses in the (rather awful) 2006 Christmas film ‘The Holiday’?
19. What controversy do the films “Die Hard”, “Batman Returns” and “Gremlins” cause at Christmas time?
20. Is tinsel the devil’s work?
The Answers (Part 3):
1. Carols by Candlelight
2. Lily.
3. Champagne saucer (the flat classy one, not the long thing flute).
4. Sense and Sensibility.
5. Norway.
6. Lucy.
7. H2O
8. 20.3 and 9.9 (lazy buggers).
9. True. The Roman calendar began honouring the birth of Jesus in 336 AD, several hundred years after Christ is believed to have died. The fact that shepherds were tending to their sheep outside and in the evening, suggests it is likely Jesus was born in the springtime.
10. Breaking Baubles – Alanis Morissette.
11. Gingerbread.
12. Michael Caine and Kermit the Frog.
13. A Kookaburra in a Gum Tree.
14. (d)
15. Panettone.
16. “I’ll be back again someday.”
17. The O.C.
18. Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz.
19. Debates about whether they are actually Christmas movies.
20. Hell, yes. Burn all of the tinsel.