Sample pickWhich carol do these emoji spell out? 🏠🌿🎶
Christmas Carol Game With Four Rounds to Play or Print: how it works
This Christmas carol game asks 160 questions about 40 carols that are old enough to quote, from Jingle Bells to the Coventry Carol. Name the carol from a row of emoji, from its first line with the title hidden, from a lyric with one word missing, or from a long-winded disguise. Play on one phone, or print a 20-question sheet with its answer key.
Four rounds from the same 40 carols
Open the Topic menu and pick a round. Each holds 40 questions, one for every carol. Round 1 is emoji: three crowns and a star, and you name the carol. Round 2 is a guess the Christmas song game played with opening lines, and the title is blanked out wherever it sits in the line. Round 3 asks you to finish the lyric with one of four words. Round 4 is the old Christmas carol puzzle, a title rewritten in stiff synonyms such as Quiet Evening. Tap a choice and press Check answer: the card says Correct or Not quite and adds a line about the carol.
Print a 20-question sheet for the room
To run a Christmas carol guessing game for a table or a class, leave the menu on All topics and press Print question sheet. You get 20 questions from all four rounds, with lines for a name, a date and a score. Print answer key prints the answers on a page of their own, and the same sheet number sits on both. Pick one round first and the sheet holds only that round. On a phone, Exam mode hides every answer until you press Finish the exam, then shows the score by round and the ones you missed.
Hum it and act it with the answer key
Two more rounds need no screen. Print the answer key of a Round 1 or Round 4 set and cut the 20 answers apart, so each strip names one carol. For a hum-it round, a player draws a strip and hums the tune with lips closed. For a Christmas carol charades game, the player acts the title in silence instead, word by word. Give each turn a minute and a point for each carol guessed. This site plays no audio, so every tune comes from the players.
Tips
Start with Round 1. A child who cannot read a lyric yet can still spot three ships.
For a full evening, play Rounds 1 and 4 on paper, call Rounds 2 and 3 from the phone, and finish with the hum-it bowl.
Of all Christmas song games, first lines are the hardest. Read each Round 2 question aloud twice.
Questions you get wrong wait in the Missed pile. Run it at the end as a second-chance round.
Read the explanation out after each answer. That is how the room learns that the words of Jingle Bells never mention Christmas.
Questions and answers
Which carols are in the game?
Forty carols and traditional songs, each first published in 1930 or earlier, so the words are in the public domain in the United States and can be quoted. They run from Jingle Bells, Silent Night and Deck the Halls to harder picks such as the Sussex Carol and the Coventry Carol. Auld Lang Syne is in as a seasonal extra.
Why is my favorite Christmas song missing?
Most likely because the version you know was published after 1930, and this page quotes only words that nobody owns. That leaves out the radio and film songs of the 1940s and 1950s, and two songs that sound older than they are: the familiar arrangement of We Wish You a Merry Christmas dates from 1935, and the English words of Carol of the Bells from 1936.
Where are the Christmas song quiz answers?
In practice mode the answer appears when you press Check answer, with an explanation and a link to the source. For paper play, Print answer key gives the right letter and answer for every question on the sheet. The list of questions lower on this page leaves the answers off on purpose, so nobody can scroll down and peek.
How do I run a guess that Christmas carol game with teams?
Split the room into two or three teams and hand each a printed sheet, or read questions from one phone and take answers in turn. Give a point for a right answer. The tool marks one player's answers and keeps no team totals, so write those on a trivia score sheet.
Were the facts in the explanations checked?
Yes. On 19 September 2026 the year, the authors and the quoted lines of every carol were checked against its Wikipedia article, which is linked from each question, and 29 of the 40 were checked again on hymnary.org. Where sources disagree about a date, the explanation leaves the date out.
Christmas Party Games for Kids and Teens52 Christmas games for ages 4 to 17: a kindergarten set, 35 classroom games, 28 for teens and 17 winter games with no Santa.
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 1️⃣👑🏙️Wikipedia: Once in Royal David's City
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ❓👶Wikipedia: What Child Is This?
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ❤️⬇️🎄Wikipedia: Love Came Down at Christmas
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ⬆️🏠🦌🎅Wikipedia: Up on the Housetop
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ⭕🎄Wikipedia: O Tannenbaum
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ⭕👋⭕👋🕯️Wikipedia: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ⭕👋👥🙏Wikipedia: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ⭕😇🌃Wikipedia: O Holy Night
Which carol do these emoji spell out? ⭕🤏🏘️⭐Wikipedia: O Little Town of Bethlehem
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🌅🦌👑🌳Wikipedia: The Holly and the Ivy
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🌹🌱❄️Wikipedia: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🎄🌙👥🎶Wikipedia: Sussex Carol
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🎄🔜🎩Wikipedia: Christmas Is Coming
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🏞️🌲🐴🛷Wikipedia: Over the River and Through the Wood
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🏠🌿🎶Wikipedia: Deck the Halls
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🐦🍐🌳5️⃣💍Wikipedia: The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👀⛵⛵⛵Wikipedia: I Saw Three Ships
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👀🌨️☃️Wikipedia: See, amid the Winter's Snow
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👀🐑🐑🌙Wikipedia: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👂📯👼🎶Wikipedia: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👂🔔🎄📅Wikipedia: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👍⛪👨👨🎉Wikipedia: In dulci jubilo
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👍👑👀❄️Wikipedia: Good King Wenceslas
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👑👑👑⭐Wikipedia: We Three Kings
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👶🌾🐄⭐Wikipedia: Away in a Manger
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👶😴🎶Wikipedia: Coventry Carol
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👼🏰✨Wikipedia: Angels from the Realms of Glory
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 👼👂⬆️Wikipedia: Angels We Have Heard on High
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🔔🔔🐴🛷Wikipedia: Jingle Bells
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🔔🔔😄⬆️Wikipedia: Ding Dong Merrily on High
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🕛🌌👼Wikipedia: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🕛🎆🤝Wikipedia: Auld Lang Syne
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🗣️⛰️Wikipedia: Go Tell It on the Mountain (song)
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 😄🌍Wikipedia: Joy to the World
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 😄👴🎅Wikipedia: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 😴😄🎩🎩Wikipedia: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🤫🌙Wikipedia: Silent Night
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🥇🎄Wikipedia: The First Noel
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🥶🌬️❄️Wikipedia: In the Bleak Midwinter
Which carol do these emoji spell out? 🧸🗺️Wikipedia: Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Round 2: first lines 40
Which carol began life in German with this line? "O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum"Wikipedia: O Tannenbaum
Which carol is the English version of an old carol that begins with this line? "In dulci jubilo"Wikipedia: In dulci jubilo
Which carol opens with this line? "______ by night, all seated on the ground"Wikipedia: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Which carol opens with this line? "______ come sailing in, on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day"Wikipedia: I Saw Three Ships
Which carol opens with this line? "______ from tender stem hath sprung"Wikipedia: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Which carol opens with this line? "______ looked out on the Feast of Stephen"Wikipedia: Good King Wenceslas
Which carol opens with this line? "______ of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar"Wikipedia: We Three Kings
Which carol opens with this line? "______ stood a lowly cattle shed"Wikipedia: Once in Royal David's City
Which carol opens with this line? "______ the angel did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay"Wikipedia: The First Noel
Which carol opens with this line? "______ with boughs of holly"Wikipedia: Deck the Halls
Which carol opens with this line? "______, ______, little girl and boy land"Wikipedia: Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Which carol opens with this line? "______, and ransom captive Israel"Wikipedia: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Which carol opens with this line? "______, born for us on earth below"Wikipedia: See, amid the Winter's Snow
Which carol opens with this line? "______, frosty wind made moan"Wikipedia: In the Bleak Midwinter
Which carol opens with this line? "______, Glory to the newborn King"Wikipedia: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Which carol opens with this line? "______, holy night, all is calm, all is bright"Wikipedia: Silent Night
Which carol opens with this line? "______, how still we see thee lie"Wikipedia: O Little Town of Bethlehem
Which carol opens with this line? "______, in heav'n the bells are ringing"Wikipedia: Ding Dong Merrily on High
Which carol opens with this line? "______, joyful and triumphant"Wikipedia: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Which carol opens with this line? "______, lean your ear this way"Wikipedia: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Which carol opens with this line? "______, let nothing you dismay"Wikipedia: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
Which carol opens with this line? "______, Love all lovely, Love Divine"Wikipedia: Love Came Down at Christmas
Which carol opens with this line? "______, no crib for a bed"Wikipedia: Away in a Manger
Which carol opens with this line? "______, over the hills and everywhere"Wikipedia: Go Tell It on the Mountain (song)
Which carol opens with this line? "______, reindeer pause, out jumps good old Santa Claus"Wikipedia: Up on the Housetop
Which carol opens with this line? "______, sweetly singing o'er the plains"Wikipedia: Angels We Have Heard on High
Which carol opens with this line? "______, that glorious song of old"Wikipedia: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Which carol opens with this line? "______, the goose is getting fat"Wikipedia: Christmas Is Coming
Which carol opens with this line? "______, the Lord is come"Wikipedia: Joy to the World
Which carol opens with this line? "______, the stars are brightly shining"Wikipedia: O Holy Night
Which carol opens with this line? "______, their old familiar carols play"Wikipedia: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Which carol opens with this line? "______, to grandfather's house we go"Wikipedia: Over the River and Through the Wood
Which carol opens with this line? "______, when they are both full grown"Wikipedia: The Holly and the Ivy
Which carol opens with this line? "______, who, laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping"Wikipedia: What Child Is This?
Which carol opens with this line? "______, wing your flight o'er all the earth"Wikipedia: Angels from the Realms of Glory
Which carol opens with this line? "Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh"Wikipedia: Jingle Bells
Which carol opens with this line? "Lully, lullah, thou little tiny child"Wikipedia: Coventry Carol
Which carol opens with this line? "On Christmas night all Christians sing"Wikipedia: Sussex Carol
Which carol opens with this line? "On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me"Wikipedia: The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
Which carol opens with this line? "Should ______ acquaintance be forgot"Wikipedia: Auld Lang Syne
Round 3: finish the lyric 40
Finish the lyric from Angels from the Realms of Glory: "Worship Christ, the newborn ____"Wikipedia: Angels from the Realms of Glory
Finish the lyric from Angels We Have Heard on High: "Gloria in excelsis ____"Wikipedia: Angels We Have Heard on High
Finish the lyric from Auld Lang Syne: "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to ____"Wikipedia: Auld Lang Syne
Finish the lyric from Away in a Manger: "The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet ____"Wikipedia: Away in a Manger
Finish the lyric from Christmas Is Coming: "Please put a penny in the old man's ____"Wikipedia: Christmas Is Coming
Finish the lyric from Coventry Carol: "Bye bye, lully, ____"Wikipedia: Coventry Carol
Finish the lyric from Deck the Halls: "'Tis the season to be ____"Wikipedia: Deck the Halls
Finish the lyric from Ding Dong Merrily on High: "Gloria, Hosanna in ____"Wikipedia: Ding Dong Merrily on High
Finish the lyric from Go Tell It on the Mountain: "Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is ____"Wikipedia: Go Tell It on the Mountain (song)
Finish the lyric from God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen: "O tidings of comfort and ____"Wikipedia: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
Finish the lyric from Good Christian Men, Rejoice: "Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and ____"Wikipedia: In dulci jubilo
Finish the lyric from Good King Wenceslas: "When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and ____"Wikipedia: Good King Wenceslas
Finish the lyric from Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: "Peace on earth, and mercy ____"Wikipedia: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Finish the lyric from I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day: "Of peace on earth, good-will to ____"Wikipedia: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Finish the lyric from I Saw Three Ships: "On Christmas Day in the ____"Wikipedia: I Saw Three Ships
Finish the lyric from In the Bleak Midwinter: "Earth stood hard as iron, water like a ____"Wikipedia: In the Bleak Midwinter
Finish the lyric from It Came Upon the Midnight Clear: "From angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of ____"Wikipedia: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Finish the lyric from Jingle Bells: "Bells on bobtail ring, making spirits ____"Wikipedia: Jingle Bells
Finish the lyric from Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: "Don't you tell a single ____ what I'm going to say"Wikipedia: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Finish the lyric from Joy to the World: "And heaven and nature ____"Wikipedia: Joy to the World
Finish the lyric from Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming: "Amid the cold of winter, when half spent was the ____"Wikipedia: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Finish the lyric from Love Came Down at Christmas: "Star and Angels gave the ____"Wikipedia: Love Came Down at Christmas
Finish the lyric from O Come, All Ye Faithful: "O come ye, O come ye to ____"Wikipedia: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Finish the lyric from O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O ____"Wikipedia: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Finish the lyric from O Holy Night: "Fall on your ____"Wikipedia: O Holy Night
Finish the lyric from O Little Town of Bethlehem: "The hopes and fears of all the ____ are met in thee tonight"Wikipedia: O Little Town of Bethlehem
Finish the lyric from Once in Royal David's City: "Where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his ____"Wikipedia: Once in Royal David's City
Finish the lyric from Over the River and Through the Wood: "The horse knows the way to carry the ____"Wikipedia: Over the River and Through the Wood
Finish the lyric from See Amid the Winter's Snow: "Hail, thou ever blessed ____"Wikipedia: See, amid the Winter's Snow
Finish the lyric from Silent Night: "Sleep in heavenly ____"Wikipedia: Silent Night
Finish the lyric from Sussex Carol: "On Christmas night all Christians sing, to hear the news the angels ____"Wikipedia: Sussex Carol
Finish the lyric from The First Noel: "Born is the King of ____"Wikipedia: The First Noel
Finish the lyric from The Holly and the Ivy: "Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the ____"Wikipedia: The Holly and the Ivy
Finish the lyric from The Twelve Days of Christmas: "Seven swans a-____"Wikipedia: The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
Finish the lyric from Toyland: "Once you pass its borders, you can never ____ again"Wikipedia: Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Finish the lyric from Up on the Housetop: "Who wouldn't ____"Wikipedia: Up on the Housetop
Finish the lyric from We Three Kings: "Field and fountain, moor and ____"Wikipedia: We Three Kings
Finish the lyric from What Child Is This?: "Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds ____ are keeping"Wikipedia: What Child Is This?
Finish the lyric from While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks: "And glory shone ____"Wikipedia: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Finish the translation of the German first verse of O Christmas Tree: "O fir tree, how ____ are your leaves"Wikipedia: O Tannenbaum
Round 4: disguised titles 40
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "A Song Named for a City in the English Midlands"Wikipedia: Coventry Carol
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "A Song Named for a County in Southern England"Wikipedia: Sussex Carol
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Across the Stream and Between the Trees"Wikipedia: Over the River and Through the Wood
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Affection Descended in Late December"Wikipedia: Love Came Down at Christmas
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Announce It From the Summit"Wikipedia: Go Tell It on the Mountain (song)
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Approach, Everyone Who Is Loyal"Wikipedia: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "As Sheep Herders Guarded Their Woolly Charges"Wikipedia: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Atop the Roof of the Dwelling"Wikipedia: Up on the Housetop
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Chime, Chime, Cheerfully Overhead"Wikipedia: Ding Dong Merrily on High
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "December 25 Is Approaching"Wikipedia: Christmas Is Coming
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Decent Believing Fellows, Celebrate"Wikipedia: In dulci jubilo
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Decorate the Corridors"Wikipedia: Deck the Halls
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Delight to the Planet"Wikipedia: Joy to the World
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "During the Dreary Middle of the Cold Season"Wikipedia: In the Bleak Midwinter
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Far Off in a Feeding Trough"Wikipedia: Away in a Manger
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "For the Sake of Bygone Times"Wikipedia: Auld Lang Syne
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "I Spotted a Trio of Sailing Vessels"Wikipedia: I Saw Three Ships
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "It Arrived at Twelve on a Cloudless Night"Wikipedia: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Listen! The Messenger Seraphs Are Vocalizing"Wikipedia: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Look, a Flower Forever Opening"Wikipedia: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Look, Among the Cold Season's Flakes"Wikipedia: See, amid the Winter's Snow
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "May Heaven Keep You Cheerful, Sirs"Wikipedia: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Merry Elderly Holy Nick"Wikipedia: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "My Ears Caught the Chimes on December 25"Wikipedia: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Oh Arrive, Oh Arrive, God With Us"Wikipedia: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Oh, Festive Conifer"Wikipedia: O Tannenbaum
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Oh, Sacred Evening"Wikipedia: O Holy Night
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Oh, Tiny Village in Judea"Wikipedia: O Little Town of Bethlehem
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "One Time in Regal David's Metropolis"Wikipedia: Once in Royal David's City
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Our Trio of Monarchs"Wikipedia: We Three Kings
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Quiet Evening"Wikipedia: Silent Night
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Seraphs From the Kingdoms of Splendor"Wikipedia: Angels from the Realms of Glory
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Seraphs Whose Voices Reached Us From Above"Wikipedia: Angels We Have Heard on High
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "The Country of Playthings"Wikipedia: Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "The Dozen Dates of Yuletide"Wikipedia: The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "The Initial Yuletide"Wikipedia: The First Noel
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "The Prickly Evergreen and the Climbing Vine"Wikipedia: The Holly and the Ivy
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "The Virtuous Bohemian Monarch"Wikipedia: Good King Wenceslas
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Tinkling Metal Chimes"Wikipedia: Jingle Bells
Which carol is hiding behind this title? "Which Infant Might This Be?"Wikipedia: What Child Is This?
How this list was compiled: Own work. The Game Night Generator editors chose 40 carols and traditional songs whose words and music were first published in 1930 or earlier, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and wrote four questions about each: an emoji clue, the opening line with the title hidden, a lyric with one word missing, and a disguised title. On 2026-09-19 the publication year, the authors and the quoted lines of every carol were checked on its English Wikipedia article (the link on each question; Toyland on the article for the operetta Babes in Toyland, Good Christian Men, Rejoice on In dulci jubilo, and Lo, How a Rose on Es ist ein Ros entsprungen). On the same day the text and date of 29 of the 40 were checked again on hymnary.org: Jingle Bells, Silent Night, Deck the Halls, Joy to the World, Up on the Housetop, Away in a Manger, O Come All Ye Faithful, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, The First Noel, O Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, Angels We Have Heard on High, Good King Wenceslas, We Three Kings, What Child Is This, I Saw Three Ships, The Holly and the Ivy, Ding Dong Merrily on High, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Angels from the Realms of Glory, While Shepherds Watched, Once in Royal David's City, In the Bleak Midwinter, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Lo How a Rose, Sussex Carol, Love Came Down at Christmas and See Amid the Winter's Snow. The other 11 have no hymnary.org page we could open and rest on Wikipedia alone; the Toyland lines were checked on hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com. Up on the Housetop: the song was printed in 1866, but the opening line sung today is a later editor's rewording of unknown date, and the question says so. O Christmas Tree: no English lyric is quoted because the English versions differ and their dates could not be confirmed; its questions use the German of 1824. Left out because the familiar version is later than 1930 or its date could not be confirmed: We Wish You a Merry Christmas (the well-known arrangement is from 1935), Carol of the Bells (English words 1936), Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella (translation date not found) and every mid-century radio standard. Every emoji clue was checked by script against the Unicode emoji-test file for Emoji 12.0 (https://unicode.org/Public/emoji/12.0/emoji-test.txt): all are fully-qualified standard emoji, with no flags. Licence: own work