• 178 team names

Christmas Trivia Team Names Generator

Press Pick 5 new team names, then copy or print them, from Quizmas puns to an 1823 poem.

Christmas Trivia Team Names Generator

All 178
  1. Turning the YuletideTo turn the tide is to reverse a losing run. Save it for the second half.
  2. And to All a Good NightThe poem's last words. The 1844 text says Happy Christmas to all, not Merry.
  3. Breaking the IceGetting strangers talking. A quiz table of coworkers needs it.
  4. Tree ToppersThe star or figure on the highest branch. A name with an ambition in it.
  5. Eight Tiny ReindeerThe 1823 poem counts eight tiny reindeer, so this one suits a table of eight.

Next step Holiday icebreaker questionsWarm up with a trivia question

All 178 team names

Quizmas and Yule puns 20

  • A to Z, No L Say it aloud: no L is Noel, a word that comes through Old French from the Latin natalis, birth.
  • Father Quizmas Father Christmas is the old English name of the figure who stands for Christmas.
  • Glad Tidings Tidings is an old word for news, and it survives mostly in December.
  • Merry Quizmas The plain swap of Christmas for Quizmas. Any host can say it without a run-up.
  • The Night Before Quizmas Bends the popular title of the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas.
  • The Noel-It-Alls Know-it-alls, with Noel where the know goes.
  • Quizmas Bonus A Christmas bonus, paid in points.
  • Quizmas Card List The list of people who get a card from you. Being crossed off it is the threat.
  • Quizmas Crackers Christmas crackers are the pull-apart table favors that hold a paper hat and a joke.
  • Quizmas Eve For the quiz held in the last week before the day itself.
  • Quizmas Has Come Early From Christmas has come early, said when something good arrives ahead of time.
  • Quizmas Jumpers Christmas jumper is the British, Irish and Australian name for a holiday sweater.
  • Quizmas Spirit Christmas spirit with a quiz in it. It works best said with a straight face.
  • Season's Guessings Season's greetings, from a team that is mostly guessing.
  • Turning the Yuletide To turn the tide is to reverse a losing run. Save it for the second half.
  • Twelve Days of Quizmas The twelve days of Christmas run from 25 December to the evening of 5 January.
  • Xmas Marks the Spot X marks the spot on a treasure map. The X in Xmas is the Greek letter chi.
  • Yule Be Sorry Yule for you'll. Yule is an old name for the Christmas season.
  • Yule Log In A Yule log is a log burnt on the hearth at Christmas. This one wants a password.
  • Yule Never Guess You'll never guess, which is also this team's honest forecast.

Santa and the elves 23

  • Claus and Effect Cause and effect, with Santa's surname in it.
  • Claus for Concern Cause for concern. Read aloud it sounds exactly like the original, so it lands on paper.
  • Elf and Safety Health and safety, the British workplace rulebook, said quickly.
  • Elf Confidence Self-confidence, which is useful on a fifty-fifty guess.
  • Elf Employed Self-employed, with a workshop at the North Pole.
  • Elf Help Section The self-help shelf of the bookstore, staffed by elves.
  • Elf-Appointed Experts Self-appointed experts. Nobody asked, and they answered anyway.
  • Elf-Taught Self-taught, which explains the gaps.
  • Ho Ho Hold On Santa's laugh, then a request for more time.
  • Ho Ho No Idea Santa's laugh, then the truth.
  • Jolly Old Elves The 1823 poem calls St. Nicholas a right jolly old elf.
  • Milk and Cookies A plate left by the fireplace for a visitor who works nights.
  • The Naughty List The half of Santa's list nobody admits to being on.
  • Nice List Regulars A quiet boast for a well-behaved table.
  • North Pole Position Pole position is the front spot on a motor racing grid. This one is colder.
  • Polar Opposites Two teammates who never agree on an answer. Every table has them.
  • Provisionally Nice On the nice list, pending the result of the last round.
  • Santa Pause Santa Claus with a gap in it, for the silence after a hard question.
  • Santa's Little Helpers The elves, or any teammate who whispers answers.
  • Secret Santas In Secret Santa each person draws a name and gives that person a gift without saying who it is from.
  • Stuck in the Chimney Santa's one known occupational hazard.
  • Subordinate Clauses Santa's helpers, and a grammar term: a clause that cannot stand as a sentence on its own.
  • Workshop Overtime December at the North Pole. Nobody has asked the elves about their hours.

Reindeer and the sleigh 17

  • Antler Ego Alter ego, Latin for other self, with antlers.
  • Caribou Too Reindeer is the European name and caribou the North American name for the same kind of deer.
  • Deer in the Headlights Frozen in surprise, which is how this team looks during the music round.
  • Dunder and Blixem How the first printing in 1823 spelled the last two reindeer. Donder and Blitzen came later.
  • Eight Tiny Reindeer The 1823 poem counts eight tiny reindeer, so this one suits a table of eight.
  • Flight Crew Eight reindeer and one pilot.
  • Free Rein Freedom to act. It is rein as in harness, not reign as in king, which is a spelling question in itself.
  • Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! The driver's call in the poem, which goes on to Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen.
  • Oh Deer Oh dear, with antlers.
  • Prancing and Pawing From the poem: the prancing and pawing of each little hoof on the roof.
  • Rain, Dear Reindeer, split in two. It only works out loud, so it is one for the host.
  • Red-Eye Flight An overnight flight. Santa's is the longest on the calendar.
  • Rein It In To rein in is to slow an animal by pulling the reins. Advice for the teammate who shouts answers.
  • Rooftop Landing The only runway Santa uses.
  • Sleigh Bells and Whistles Bells and whistles are the extras on a product. Sleigh bells are the ones on the harness.
  • The Sleigh Team The animals that pull the sleigh, and a team by definition.
  • Sleighing It Slaying it, meaning doing very well, by sleigh.

Tree and decorations 22

  • All Spruced Up To spruce up is to make neat. A spruce is also one of the trees sold in December.
  • Back in the Attic by January Where the decorations go, along with this team's hopes of a trophy.
  • Bauble Heads Bobbleheads, with the British word for a tree ornament.
  • Branch Managers A job title from a bank that also fits whoever hangs the ornaments.
  • Evergreens Trees that keep their leaves all winter, and a team that keeps coming back.
  • Fir Goodness' Sake For goodness' sake, sighed at a teammate, with a fir tree in it.
  • Fir Real For real. Fir, spruce and pine are the usual Christmas trees.
  • Mistletoe Dodgers People who take the long way round the doorway.
  • Needle Droppers What a cut tree does to the carpet by the third week.
  • One Bulb Out On the series-wired light sets of the 1950s and 1960s, one failed bulb darkened the whole string.
  • Opened Every Door on Day One A standard Advent calendar has 24 doors, one a day from 1 December. This team has no patience.
  • Ornamental Value Ornamental means decorative. Said of a teammate, it means they came for the company.
  • Pining for a Win To pine is to long for something. Pines also end up in living rooms in December.
  • The Poinsettias Named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first minister the United States sent to Mexico. The red parts are leaves, not petals.
  • Snow Globes Shake the team and wait for the answers to settle.
  • Tinsel in a Tangle Tinsel was first made in Nuremberg around 1610, from shredded silver.
  • Top of the Tree A British way of saying the highest rank in a profession.
  • Tree Toppers The star or figure on the highest branch. A name with an ambition in it.
  • Tree-mendous Tremendous, with a tree in it. Hosts enjoy leaning on the first syllable.
  • The Twelfth Night Crew Twelfth Night, the evening of 5 January, is a traditional day for taking the decorations down.
  • Untangling the Lights The first job of every December, and the slowest.
  • Wreath Havoc To wreak havoc is to cause chaos. The wreath is the ring of greenery on the door.

Gifts and wrapping 24

  • Batteries Sold Separately The small print discovered at seven on Christmas morning.
  • Coal in Our Stockings By tradition, a child who behaves badly all year gets only a piece of coal.
  • Gift Horses Never look a gift horse in the mouth: do not inspect a present too closely. A horse's teeth are checked to judge its age.
  • Gift of the Gab The knack of talking easily. It wins no points, but it fills the pauses.
  • Gift Receipt Included The slip that lets someone swap a present without learning the price.
  • Gifted and Talented A school program name that fits a table beside a pile of presents.
  • It's the Thought That Counts What people say about a bad present, and here about a wrong answer.
  • Last-Minute Shoppers The people in the store at four on Christmas Eve, buying whatever is left.
  • No Time Like the Present The saying means do it now. At a quiz it means write something down.
  • Out of Tape It always runs out with one present to go.
  • Present and Correct From all present and correct, a British way of saying everyone is here and in order.
  • Present Company Included The polite phrase is present company excepted. This team makes no exceptions.
  • Present Tense A grammar term, and the mood at the table during a tiebreak.
  • Presents of Mind Presence of mind is staying calm under pressure. Spelled this way it is a pile of gifts, so it lands on paper.
  • The Regifters To regift is to pass on a present you were given. The skill is remembering who gave it to you.
  • Socks Again The present everyone complains about at ten and asks for at forty.
  • Some Assembly Required Three words that keep parents up past midnight on Christmas Eve.
  • Stocking Fillers The small gifts that go in a Christmas stocking, also called stocking stuffers.
  • Tag, You're It A gift tag and a playground game in one.
  • That's a Wrap What a film director says when shooting ends, and what you say at the end of the tape.
  • Under Wraps Kept secret, like the answers until the host reads them out.
  • White Elephants A white elephant is a gift that is more trouble than it is worth, and the name of a gift-stealing party game.
  • Wrap Battle A rap battle, fought with paper and tape.
  • Wrap Stars Rap stars, with neater corners.

Christmas dinner and treats 24

  • Cold Turkey Sandwiches Lunch on Boxing Day, which is 26 December.
  • Cookie Swap Champions At a cookie swap every guest brings a batch and goes home with a mixed box.
  • Cracker Jokes A Christmas cracker holds a small gift, a paper hat and a joke that makes the whole table groan.
  • Extra Marshmallows The correct way to order hot cocoa.
  • Ginger Breadwinners Gingerbread plus breadwinner, the person who earns the household's money.
  • Ginger Snap Decisions A snap decision is a fast one. A ginger snap is a crisp spiced cookie.
  • Gingerbread Architects Builders of houses held together with icing and hope.
  • Last Year's Fruitcake The running joke is that a fruitcake is never eaten, only passed on.
  • Leftovers Again Dinner from 26 December until further notice.
  • Mince Spies Mince pies are the small sweet pies of an English Christmas. Move one letter and they are undercover.
  • Mint Condition A collector's phrase for good as new, borrowed here for the candy cane.
  • Old Chestnuts An old chestnut is a joke or story that has been told too many times.
  • Paper Crowns The tissue hat from a Christmas cracker, generally worn through the meal.
  • Pigs in Blankets In Britain and Ireland, small sausages wrapped in bacon, served beside the Christmas turkey.
  • Plum Pudding, No Plums Plum was once the word for a raisin, which is why a plum pudding holds no plums.
  • Proof Is in the Pudding Short for the proof of the pudding is in the eating: you judge a thing by trying it.
  • Pudding It Out There Putting it out there, with pudding.
  • Second Helpings The reason nobody at this table can think clearly.
  • Sixpence in the Pudding Families once stirred a small silver coin into the Christmas pudding, and whoever found it kept it.
  • Sprouts' Honor Scout's honor, sworn on a Brussels sprout.
  • Stir-Up Sunday The fifth Sunday before Christmas, when British households traditionally made the pudding and everyone had a stir.
  • Sugar Plum Visions In the 1823 poem, visions of sugar-plums danced in the children's heads.
  • That's How the Cookie Crumbles Said with a shrug when things go wrong. Save it for the round you lose.
  • Tough Cookies A tough cookie is someone hard to beat.

Snow and ice 20

  • Breaking the Ice Getting strangers talking. A quiz table of coworkers needs it.
  • Chill Factor Wind chill is how cold the wind makes it feel. This team is calmer than that.
  • Cold Snap A sudden spell of cold weather, or a quick answer given without warmth.
  • Flurry of Guesses A flurry is a short, light fall of snow. The guesses come down the same way.
  • Frosty Reception A cold welcome, which is what a wrong answer gets at this table.
  • Hibernation Station Where this team would rather be by nine.
  • Ice to Meet You Nice to meet you, from a team that has just come in from the cold.
  • No Two Alike It is often said that no two snowflakes are alike. Neither are this team's answers.
  • On Thin Ice In a risky spot, such as one wrong answer from last place.
  • Sledding Downhill Fast How the scores went after round two.
  • Smitten With Mittens Smitten means charmed. Mittens are just warm.
  • Snow Angels Lie down, wave your arms, stand up carefully.
  • Snow Idea No idea, in a blizzard.
  • Snow Joke It's no joke. Except that it is.
  • Snow Way No way, said in disbelief when the answer is read out.
  • Snowball Effect Something that grows as it rolls, like a lead after one good round.
  • Snowball's Chance From the saying about a snowball's odds somewhere very hot. An honest forecast.
  • Snowed In Since Tuesday A team that has had a lot of time to study.
  • Snowed Under Buried in work, or in this case in questions.
  • Up to Snow Good Up to no good, which the host should keep an eye on.

The 1823 poem and Dickens 11

  • A Bowlful of Jelly How the poem describes St. Nicholas's belly when he laughs.
  • And to All a Good Night The poem's last words. The 1844 text says Happy Christmas to all, not Merry.
  • Bah, Humbug Scrooge's answer to a cheerful greeting in A Christmas Carol, published in London in 1843.
  • Dead as a Doornail The first page of A Christmas Carol says Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
  • Ghost of Quizmas Past After the first of the three spirits who visit Scrooge. For last year's winners.
  • Ghost of Quizmas Yet to Come After the third spirit. For the team that plans to win next year.
  • The Humbugs A humbug is a fraud or a piece of nonsense. In Britain it is also a striped peppermint candy.
  • Hung by the Chimney With Care Where the stockings go in the poem.
  • Long Winter's Nap The poem's narrator had just settled down for a long winter's nap.
  • Not a Creature Was Stirring The second line of the 1823 poem. Read out in last place, it sounds like a verdict.
  • Not Even a Mouse The rest of that line. A good name for a quiet table.

December at home and work 17

  • The Boxing Day Sales Boxing Day is 26 December, a holiday in the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth countries.
  • Cards in the Mail by the 23rd The first commercial Christmas card went on sale in London in 1843, commissioned by Sir Henry Cole.
  • Charades After Dinner The living-room game that follows the meal in a lot of homes.
  • Door-to-Door Carolers They take requests. This team takes guesses.
  • Family Newsletter The printed update tucked into a Christmas card. Tonight gets a mention only if this team wins.
  • Holiday Travel Delays A team that may be missing a member or two.
  • Matching Pajamas The family photo outfit. Wearing them to the quiz is optional.
  • Out of Office Until January The automatic reply everyone wants to switch on.
  • Post-Dinner Nap The event on the schedule between the meal and the games.
  • Resolutions Pending Promises made on 1 January. This team promises to study.
  • The Returns Line The queue at the store on 27 December.
  • School's Out Until January For a table of teachers, or a table of students.
  • The Seating Chart The most delicate document of the season.
  • Still in Pajamas at Noon The dress code from 25 December onward.
  • Too Many Cookies A diagnosis, not a team strategy.
  • Ugly Sweater Committee The louder the knitwear, the higher the rank.
  • Whose Turn to Host The question every family settles in October.

How it works

These Christmas trivia team names are for the December quiz at work, at school or after dinner. Press Pick 5 new team names to deal five of 178; to keep the ones that get a groan, take the others away with × and press again. The line under each name explains the pun.

Read the full guide

Which names travel

The All team names menu holds nine groups. Christmas dinner and treats and Gifts and wrapping are the largest, with 24 names each. Few people guess The 1823 poem and Dickens, with 11. The dinner group leans British. Cracker Jokes and Paper Crowns come from the Christmas cracker, pulled at the table in Britain, Ireland and Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada. Jumper is the British, Irish and Australian word, so an American room gets Ugly Sweater Committee faster than Quizmas Jumpers.

What an 1823 poem gives a quiz team

A Visit from St. Nicholas was first printed, unsigned, in a Troy, New York newspaper on 23 December 1823. That printing called the last two reindeer Dunder and Blixem. Donder and Blitzen came later. The 1844 text ends Happy Christmas to all, not Merry. A name that doubles as a trivia answer earns its seat. Claus for Concern sounds like the plain phrase aloud, so it needs the answer sheet.

  • At a work quiz, Out of Office Until January and Ugly Sweater Committee land at once because every coworker shares the joke.
  • Treat Quizmas as a pattern: swap it into a phrase your own table uses, and no other team will have it.
  • Playing after the 25th? Cold Turkey Sandwiches and The Twelfth Night Crew still fit, since the twelve days run to the evening of 5 January.

Questions and answers

Which Christmas team names double as a trivia answer?

Several. Xmas Marks the Spot: the X is the Greek letter chi. Tinsel in a Tangle: tinsel was first made in Nuremberg around 1610, from shredded silver. Caribou Too: reindeer is the European name and caribou the North American one for the same kind of deer.

What is Stir-Up Sunday, and why is it a team name?

The fifth Sunday before Christmas, when British households traditionally made the pudding and everybody had a stir. Families once stirred in a small silver coin, hence Sixpence in the Pudding. Plum Pudding, No Plums is the same dish: plum was once the word for a raisin.

How many players should a Christmas quiz team have?

Ask the host. Many quiz nights cap a team at between six and ten players. Eight Tiny Reindeer suits a table of eight. The name goes on every answer sheet you hand in, so by round five Oh Deer is kinder to your wrist than Opened Every Door on Day One.

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