Hey there, families!
Ready to dive into a winter wonderland of trivia? Whether you’re cozying up by the fire or enjoying a snowy day inside, we’ve got a flurry of winter trivia questions that are perfect for everyone in the family.
These frosty fun facts and questions are designed to sprinkle a little extra joy into your winter days.
So grab a hot cocoa, gather everyone around, and get ready to test your winter knowledge.
Good luck!
Snow
Snow is one of the defining parts of winter weather. Here is some snow trivia your kids will love:
How many snowflakes fall from the sky each year?
- Answer: About 1 septillion.
What unique structure uses only body heat to stay warm, and can be over 100 degrees warmer inside than outside?
- Answer: An igloo.
How many words for snow do the Inuit have?
- Answer: The Inuit have around 50 words for snow, each describing different conditions and characteristics.
How many ice crystals can join together to make some snowflakes?
- Answer: Up to 200 ice crystals can join together to make some snowflakes.
At what temperature does snow form?
- Answer: 28 degrees Fahrenheit.
What US state sees the most snowfall each year?
Answer: Alaska. Several locations in Alaska receive over 600 inches of snow annually, far exceeding snowfall levels seen in the continental United States. Towns like Valdez and areas around the Thompson Pass are among the snowiest, with Valdez averaging about 300 inches of snow each year.
Want more? Here are 50 Mind-Blowing Facts About Snow For Kids!
Emperor Penguins
Where do emperor penguins live?
- Answer: Emperor penguins are native to Antarctica.
How tall can an emperor penguin get?
- Answer: Emperor penguins can grow up to about 48 inches tall, making them the largest of the penguin species.
How do emperor penguins keep warm in the harsh Antarctic climate?
- Answer: Emperor penguins have several adaptations to keep warm, including a layer of dense feathers, a thick layer of blubber, and a behavior called huddling, where they gather in large groups to conserve heat.
What do emperor penguins eat?
- Answer: Emperor penguins primarily feed on fish, krill, and squid, which they catch on dives that can be deeper than 500 meters (1,640 feet) and last up to 20 minutes.
What is the main threat to the survival of emperor penguins?
- Answer: The main threat to emperor penguins is climate change, which affects their icy habitat and the availability of their food sources.
Want more? Here are 50 surprising Emperor Penguin Facts Your Kids Will Love!
Winter Solstice
On what day does winter usually begin in the Northern Hemisphere?
- Answer: December 21st or 22nd.
What is the winter solstice?
Answer: The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
When does the winter solstice typically occur in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer: The winter solstice typically occurs on December 21st or 22nd.
What ancient monument is aligned with the sunrise on the winter solstice?
Answer: Stonehenge in England is aligned with the sunrise on the winter solstice.
Which natural phenomenon is more likely to be seen during the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer: The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are more likely to be seen during the winter solstice due to longer, darker nights.
In some cultures, what special food is eaten to celebrate the winter solstice?
Answer: In some cultures, people will eat yule log, a special cake made to look like a log as part of winter solstice celebrations.
When does winter start in the Southern Hemisphere?
Answer: Winter in the Southern Hemisphere begins on June 21st, which is the winter solstice for this hemisphere.
North Pole
What is the northernmost point on Earth?
Answer: The North Pole is the northernmost point on Earth, lying directly above the axis of rotation.
In what Ocean is the North Pole located?
Answer: The Arctic Ocean, which is covered with constantly shifting sea ice.
What kind of animals can you find at the North Pole?
Answer: The North Pole is home to a variety of Arctic animals, including polar bears, Arctic foxes, and seals.
Is there a time zone at the North Pole?
Answer: No, there is no official time zone at the North Pole.
What temperature can the North Pole reach during winter?
Answer: Temperatures at the North Pole can drop below -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) during winter.
Does anyone live at the North Pole?
Answer: No one permanently lives at the North Pole due to the extreme conditions, but scientists may stay temporarily for research.
How do you get to the North Pole?
Answer: People can reach the North Pole by icebreaker ships, specially equipped planes, or through guided expeditions.
True or False: The North Pole is located on a permanent piece of land.
False: It is located on the Arctic Ocean, which is covered in ice.
Northern Lights
What scientific name is given to the Northern Lights?
- Answer: The scientific name for the Northern Lights is “Aurora Borealis.”
In which part of the world are you most likely to see the Northern Lights?
- Answer: The Northern Lights are most commonly seen in high-latitude regions around the Arctic, such as Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Alaska, and northern Canada.
During which months are the Northern Lights most visible?
- Answer: The Northern Lights are most visible during the winter months, from late September to early March, when the nights are longer and darker.
What colors are typically seen in the Northern Lights?
- Answer: The Northern Lights most commonly appear in shades of green, but they can also display red, yellow, blue, and violet.
More info: The Northern Lights occur when charged particles from the sun collide with atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, causing bursts of light. The Northern Lights can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere where they are known as the “Aurora Australis” or the Southern Lights.
Many indigenous cultures have myths associated with the Northern Lights. For example, the Sami people of Northern Europe believed that the lights were the spirits of the dead and that they should be respected and avoided disturbing.
Winter Holidays
What holiday do people celebrate by lighting a menorah for eight days?
- Answer: Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights.
What is celebrated on the third Monday of January, honoring an American civil rights leader?
- Answer: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Which holiday involves leaving stockings out at night to be filled with gifts?
- Answer: Christmas.
What is the name of the famous ballet performed during the winter holiday season?
- Answer: The Nutcracker.
On which day do people traditionally kiss under a sprig of mistletoe?
- Answer: During the Christmas season, though it’s often associated with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Which winter holiday marks the beginning of a new year?
- Answer: New Year’s Day.
What festival involves a parade, dragons, and fireworks to celebrate the lunar new year?
- Answer: Chinese New Year.
During Kwanzaa, what is the name of the holder used to display the seven candles?
- Answer: The Kinara.
What are the traditional colors of Christmas decorations?
- Answer: Red and green.
In which country is it traditional to eat KFC for Christmas dinner?
- Answer: Japan, due to a very successful marketing campaign in the 1970s.
Which animal is known for pulling Santa’s sleigh?
- Answer: Reindeer.
What fruit is traditionally put into stockings as a Christmas treat?
- Answer: Oranges. This tradition dates back to St. Nicholas’s life, when he gave needy children gold coins which were represented by oranges in stockings.
What plant, which blooms in winter, is often associated with Christmas?
- Answer: The poinsettia.
Which day is celebrated on February 2nd and involves a groundhog predicting the weather?
- Answer: Groundhog Day.
What traditional New Year’s Eve song, sung at the stroke of midnight, was originally a Scottish folk song?
- Answer: “Auld Lang Syne.”
What winter holiday is known as the “Festival of Colours” in India and is celebrated by throwing colored powder?
- Answer: Holi, although primarily observed in spring, it is closely associated with the end of winter in India.
What type of tree is traditionally used as a Christmas tree?
- Answer: Traditionally, evergreen coniferous trees are used as Christmas trees, such as fir, pine, spruce, and sometimes cedar.
Which U.S. state is known for growing the most Christmas trees?
- Answer: Oregon is known for growing the most Christmas trees in the United States, followed by North Carolina.
What country is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we know it today?
- Answer: Germany is credited with starting the modern Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.
What flavor are traditional candy canes?
- Answer: Traditional candy canes are peppermint flavored.
What two colors are most candy canes?
- Answer: The most common colors for candy canes are red and white.
Which Christmas carol includes the lyrics “Silent Night, Holy Night”?
- Answer: The lyrics “Silent Night, Holy Night” are from the Christmas carol “Silent Night.”
What is the best-selling Christmas song of all time?
- Answer: The best-selling Christmas song of all time is “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.
What song includes the lyrics “Jingle all the way”?
- Answer: Jingle Bells
What are the traditional Christmas colors?
- Answer: Red and green
In the song, how many days of Christmas are there?
- Answer: Twelve
Which European country is known for a large, festive Christmas market in its capital city of Vienna?
- Answer: Austria (related to Austrian folklore)
Which historical figure famously started using Christmas lights to decorate trees?
- Answer: Thomas Edison
Christmas Movie Trivia
Who doesn’t love holiday movies? The following Christmas trivia questions focus on everyone’s favorite films:
What is the name of the main character in “Home Alone”?
- Answer: Kevin McCallister.
Which Christmas movie features a train that takes kids to the North Pole on Christmas Eve?
- Answer: “The Polar Express.”
In “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” what does the Grinch use as a disguise when he visits Whoville?
- Answer: He dresses up as Santa Claus.
What is the name of the elf played by Will Ferrell in the movie “Elf”?
- Answer: Buddy.
In the movie “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” what is Rudolph’s dad’s name?
- Answer: Donner.
Which Christmas movie is about a boy who sees a department store Santa who claims to be the real Santa Claus?
- Answer: “Miracle on 34th Street.”
In “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” what does Charlie Brown use for his Christmas tree?
- Answer: A small, sparse pine tree.
What does the main character in “The Santa Clause” have to become after accidentally making Santa fall off his roof?
- Answer: The new Santa Claus.
In the movie “Frozen,” which is often watched around Christmas, what is the name of the snowman who loves warm hugs?
- Answer: Olaf.
What gift does Ralphie want more than anything in “A Christmas Story”?
- Answer: A Red Ryder BB gun.
Which winter holiday film features a character named Ebenezer Scrooge?
- Answer: A Christmas Carol
Which famous Christmas movie says, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings”?
- Answer: It’s a Wonderful Life
Winter Olympics
Here are some interesting facts bout the Olympic Winter Games!
In what year were the first Winter Olympics held?
- Answer: The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924.
Which country hosted the first Winter Olympics?
- Answer: France hosted the first Winter Olympics in the town of Chamonix.
What was the original name of the first Winter Olympics in 1924?
- Answer: The first Winter Olympics were originally known as the “International Winter Sports Week.”
How many sports were included in the first Winter Olympics?
- Answer: The 1924 Winter Olympics featured six sports competitions.
Which event did the United States win its first gold medal in during the 1924 Winter Olympics?
- Answer: The United States won its first gold medal in the men’s 500 meters speed skating event.
Which Olympic sport involves sliding at high speeds down an icy track on a sled?
- Answer: Luge or Bobsleigh
Polar Bears
Where do most polar bears live?
- Answer: Most polar bears live in the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas, and surrounding land masses.
What do polar bears mainly eat?
- Answer: Polar bears primarily eat seals.
How do polar bears hunt their prey?
- Answer: Polar bears often hunt by waiting at holes in the ice, where seals come up to breathe, and then catching them as they surface.
Are polar bears solitary or social animals?
- Answer: Polar bears are generally solitary animals, especially outside of the breeding season.
Miscellaneous
Which bird is known for sometimes staying on the North American continent during the winter instead of migrating?
- Answer: The Cardinal.
What is the term for when water vapor turns directly into ice without becoming liquid first?
- Answer: Sublimation.
Which vegetable is often used as the nose for a traditional snowman?
- Answer: A carrot.
What do we call a large block of ice that floats in the ocean and is created when chunks of ice break off from glaciers or ice shelves?
- Answer: An iceberg.
What activity involves lying on your back in the snow and moving your arms and legs back and forth to create a shape?
- Answer: Making snow angels.
What is the name of the author who wrote the famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”?
- Answer: Robert Frost.
What is the term for a young seal, which is often seen on icy platforms in polar regions?
- Answer: Pup.
What is the name given to a year-round frozen ground in polar regions?
- Answer: Permafrost.
What is the name of the clear, spiky ice that hangs from roofs and other overhangs?
- Answer: Icicles.
What term describes the movement of a group of animals from one region to another, often to escape cold temperatures?
- Answer: Migration.
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As we wrap up our exploration of winter trivia, we hope you found these questions and answers fun and informative.
Whether you were learning about the frosty facts of snow or the historical snippets of the Winter Olympics, these trivia questions are an engaging way to spark curiosity and joy in learning.
Keep these trivia tidbits handy for your next family gathering or school project—they’re a great way to connect and share knowledge during the chilly season.
Stay warm!
Calie Herbst, Editor-in-Chief of Milwaukee With Kids, has spent over a decade combining her experiences as a parent of three to create a hub for Milwaukee’s family adventures.
Her decade-long teaching career in Milwaukee Public Schools and academic background, including a Master’s in Teaching from Marquette University and dual B.A.s in Sociology and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, fuel her passion for inclusive and engaging family content.
Calie is also a recognized voice in local media, contributing to WISN Channel 12 News, WTMJ Wisconsin Morning News, Fox 6’s Real Milwaukee, and B93.3.
Discover more about Calie’s journey and editorial approach on her About Page and Editorial Policy Page.
