Christmas movie quotes quiz: 40 quotes with answers
40 lines from Christmas movies, each checked against the film, in four rounds from easy to hard. Guess the movie; the answers say who said it. Read them out or show them with the player below.
Name the Christmas movie1 of 10
“Keep the change, ya filthy animal.”
Teams write their guess down, then you reveal it.
In a Christmas movie quotes quiz, the host reads a line from a holiday film and teams name the movie, with a bonus point for naming who says it. Every quote below is 12 words or fewer, copied from the film rather than from memory, and safe to read out at an office party. Ten quotes take about 8 minutes.
Round 1: Easy Christmas movie quotes
The lines everyone half remembers. Start here so every team scores early.
1. “Keep the change, ya filthy animal.”
2. “You'll shoot your eye out, kid.”
3. “Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.”
4. “Son of a... nutcracker!”
5. “I never thought it was such a bad little tree.”
6. “Happy birthday!”
7. “And why is the carpet all wet, Todd?”
8. “God bless us, every one!”
9. “Am I eating because I'm bored?”
10. “Put that cookie down. Now.”
Show the 10 answers
- 1. Home Alone (1990). Johnny, the gangster in the black-and-white movie Kevin plays.
- 2. A Christmas Story (1983). The department store Santa. Ralphie's mother and teacher say it too.
- 3. It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Zuzu, George Bailey's youngest daughter.
- 4. Elf (2003). Buddy, catching himself just in time.
- 5. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). Linus, wrapping his blanket around the tree.
- 6. Frosty the Snowman (1969). Frosty's first words when the hat brings him to life.
- 7. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). Margo, the Griswolds' next-door neighbor. Accept Christmas Vacation.
- 8. A Christmas Carol. Tiny Tim. Accept any version, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) included.
- 9. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). The Grinch, played by Jim Carrey, talking to himself.
- 10. Jingle All the Way (1996). Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), on the phone to his neighbor Ted.
Want a host to run Christmas movie trivia?
Reading quotes works for a table of six. For the whole company, or a party split between the office and video, a live host runs the rounds, the slides and the scores, and does the voices better than any of us. Christmas Trivia Party has holiday movie, music and picture rounds. It runs on Zoom by default, or Teams, Google Meet or Webex. December fills fast, and hosted games book about 2 weeks ahead.
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Trivia with a Twist!Starting at $39 USD / person
Festive Family FeudStarting at $34 USD / person
Get a free quoteThe form opens with the game filled in. Add your email and get a full plan within 24 hours.
Round 2: Funny Christmas movie quotes
Comedies, cartoons and one creature feature. Read each line twice, in your best voice.
11. “You sit on a throne of lies.”
12. “I'm eating junk and watching rubbish!”
13. “Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.”
14. “4 o'clock: wallow in self-pity.”
15. “Did you try staples?”
16. “Fra-gee-lay. It must be Italian.”
17. “Right, the Christmas party, not my favourite night of the year.”
18. “I'm Mr. Napkin Head!”
19. “Never, never feed him after midnight.”
20. “Busy, busy, busy!”
Show the 10 answers
- 11. Elf (2003). Buddy, to the department store Santa he knows is a fake.
- 12. Home Alone (1990). Kevin, on his first night alone.
- 13. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). Cousin Eddie, about the Jelly of the Month Club.
- 14. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). The Grinch, reading out his schedule.
- 15. Scrooged (1988). Frank Cross (Bill Murray), told the crew can't glue antlers on a mouse.
- 16. A Christmas Story (1983). The Old Man, reading the FRAGILE stamp on the leg lamp crate.
- 17. Love Actually (2003). Harry (Alan Rickman), the boss at a design agency.
- 18. The Holiday (2006). Graham (Jude Law), making his daughters laugh.
- 19. Gremlins (1984). Mr. Wing's grandson, giving the rules for Gizmo.
- 20. Frosty the Snowman (1969). Professor Hinkle, the magician who wants his hat back.
Want a round where the whole room shouts answers? Put the movie fans on teams for Festive Family Feud, a hosted survey game show, or use our free Christmas Family Feud board.
Round 3: Heartfelt Christmas movie quotes
The quieter lines. One film appears twice in this round, so teams can't rule it out.
21. “Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind.”
22. “One thing about trains: it doesn't matter where they're going.”
23. “Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy.”
24. “Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives.”
25. “Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.”
26. “Whatever a dentist is, I hope, someday, that you're the greatest.”
27. “Christmas is the time to be with the people you love.”
28. “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.”
29. “A child's been missed!”
30. “Smiling's my favorite.”
Show the 10 answers
- 21. Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Kris Kringle.
- 22. The Polar Express (2004). The Conductor, played by Tom Hanks.
- 23. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). Charlie Brown, to Linus.
- 24. It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Clarence, the angel, to George Bailey.
- 25. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. The narrator, at the Grinch's change of heart. It's from Dr. Seuss's book; accept the 1966 special or the 2000 film.
- 26. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). Rudolph, to Hermey the elf.
- 27. Love Actually (2003). Billy Mack, the aging rock star.
- 28. Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Fred Gailey, the lawyer who defends Kris in court.
- 29. Arthur Christmas (2011). Arthur, Santa's younger son, when one present never arrives.
- 30. Elf (2003). Buddy. The full line starts: I just like to smile!
Round 4: Hard Christmas movie quotes
Deep cuts, trick questions and lines people pin on the wrong character. Save it for the final round.
31. “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!”
32. “Light the lamp, not the rat!”
33. “Sandy Claws, in person. What a pleasure to meet you.”
34. “Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!”
35. “No one gets an unwrapped present on my watch!”
36. “Even among misfits, you're misfits.”
37. “...and then, I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.”
38. “...their idea of Christmas, I gotta be here for New Year's.”
39. “Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me.”
40. “I triple dog-dare ya!”
Show the 10 answers
- 31. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). The trick: the first film's line is Keep the change. This is Johnny again, in the sequel's gangster movie.
- 32. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). Rizzo the Rat, not Scrooge.
- 33. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Jack Skellington, meeting Santa for the first time.
- 34. It's a Wonderful Life (1946). George Bailey, running home through Bedford Falls.
- 35. Arthur Christmas (2011). Bryony, the gift-wrapping elf.
- 36. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). Yukon Cornelius, the prospector.
- 37. Elf (2003). Buddy, describing his trip from the North Pole to New York.
- 38. Die Hard (1988). Argyle, the limo driver. Yes, it counts here.
- 39. The Polar Express (2004). The grown-up boy, narrating the closing lines.
- 40. A Christmas Story (1983). Schwartz, daring Flick to stick his tongue to the frozen flagpole.
Need more movie questions? Our Christmas movie trivia asks about plots and casts instead of lines, and the Christmas emoji quiz has a movie round in emoji.
How to run a Christmas movie quote quiz at work
A reader, a scorekeeper and teams. Four rounds fill about 35 minutes; one round makes a meeting warm-up.
- Make teams of four to six. Each team picks a writer and a team name from a Christmas movie.
- Read each quote twice. Or show it with the player above. Give 30 seconds per quote, so a round of ten takes about 8 minutes with answers.
- One point for the movie, a bonus for the speaker. Name the film for a point, and add one if the team also names who says it. The notes in each answer box have it.
- Settle ties with the hard round. Play it last. It splits teams that are level after three rounds.
- In the office: read the quotes out with a microphone or put the player on the room screen. Teams write answers on paper.
- Hybrid: share the player on the call and on the room screen at the same time, and make the remote people one team.
- On video: share your screen and have teams send answers to the host in a private chat, or use breakout rooms of four.
Hosting 50 or more people on video? A host-run virtual trivia night keeps that many teams scored and moving. If the quiz is one part of a bigger night, see our virtual holiday party ideas, with live prices on every game.
