When we hit the wintery months of December, the festive season truly begins. There’s something magical about that time of year that brings people together; crackling fires, twinkling lights, decorated trees, the exchanging of gifts and the unmistakable sound of laughter echoing through colourfully decorated living rooms throughout the country. And what better way to fuel that festive laughter than with a good old-fashioned Christmas quiz? Whether you’re gathered around the table after devouring your Christmas dinner or hosting a get-together with friends, a quiz is the perfect way to spark some friendly competition and test your seasonal smarts. At What’s Good to Read, we believe that books can bring people together and The Christmas Quiz by L. J. Sanderson does exactly that in a friendly competitive way.
The Christmas quiz is festive traditional and a special kind of social experience. Whether it’s family or friends, work colleagues or even a good old pub quiz, the seasonal quiz is perfect for low-stakes rivalry, the shared groans at obscure questions and the loud, delighted whoops when someone pulls an impossible answer from the long-forgotten depths of their memory. The Christmas Quiz by L. J. Sanderson is the perfect festive companion for anyone who likes their seasonal entertainment to come with a side of challenge and cheer. Packed with over 700 Christmas-themed trivia questions, anagrams and cryptic clues, this quiz book offers plenty of brain-teasing festive quizzing.
The Christmas Quiz book has Christmassy questions on Film & TV, Food & Drink, Music, Around the World and Trivia with 15 questions to each section – Food & Drink for example has 15 questions for each part, but there are 6 parts for the category as a whole, giving a total of 90 Food & Drink questions.
Here are some examples of the Christmassy questions you will find in the book (sorry, I won’t provide the answers):
- Film & TV: “What is the name of the boy in the Christmas TV film ‘The Snowman’?”
- Food & Drink: “In which tin of chocolates would you find ‘Hazelnut Whirls’ and ‘Golden Barrels’?”
- Music: “In the song ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ what will we have some of later?”
- Around the World: “Saint Nicholas was born in the town of Patara on the south coast of which modern-day country?”
- Trivia: “In which UK national park, the largest of its kind, can you find the only herd of free-roaming reindeer?”
And it you’re thirsty for more, try a Christmassy anagram with “Win Her Esteem”, “Obese Crone Geezer” or “Beneath Beer Louts” – can you figure them out?
And if that isn’t enough, end with some Christmassy Cryptic Clues such as: “Cockney Vision (5, 4), “Communicating through a chess piece (3, 5, 6)” or “Good day summer, hello winter (7,9)”.
Overall, L. J. Sanderson’s The Christmas Quiz is a fun and charming Christmas-themed trivia book that is perfect for that after dinner Christmas Quiz, a battle with your friends and family to find who has the best festive knowledge. I loved the fantastic mix of questions that will appeal to various age groups and families.
The book gets off to an excellent start with the fun introduction that you really shouldn’t skip past – it’s light-hearted fun that really is worth reading (it’s only 2 pages so is a very quick read).
The tone of the book is warm and friendly and the questions encourages mixed-ability and knowledge levels, ensuring that everybody can join in and gives it its own personality.
Content-wise, with over 700 Christmas-themed questions, it is a comprehensive quiz book that should last a while before becoming repetitive and split into sections so that rounds can easily be played. All the answers are supplied at the back of the book and I loved that the page number for the relevant answers are printed at the bottom of each page making it quick and easy to check the answers, it really does make it easier for the quizmaster and makes sure that the flow of play isn’t interrupted.
The questions are a combination of easy trivia to very specific cultural references that may not land for all players, but for me that’s the beauty of the book – not everybody, regardless of their knowledge, is always going to get the answers right. With the addition of Christmassy anagrams and cryptic clues it also adds that extra fun level to any quiz that breaks up the just answering questions. And everybody will learn some new fun trivia.
For anyone who loves a Christmas quiz and loves a bit of friendly competitive fun, or just simply wants a portable, well-organised collection of festive trivia, The Christmas Quiz is an excellent stocking filler that will generate conversation, laughter and maybe even a few surprising revelations about your friends and family.
Have fun this Christmas with The Christmas Quiz, you won’t be disappointed.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £7.99 (Paperback)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
