Get the holiday season started with this collection of Christmas riddles with answers, perfect for family game night, classroom parties, or filling the wait until presents get opened. Whether you want easy riddles for little ones or trickier puzzles for the grown-ups at the table, this list has something for every age.
Top 5 Christmas Riddles (Start Here)
What has ears but cannot hear, and only comes out once a year?
Answer: Corn on the cob at the Christmas dinner table.
I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. Every December, I glow and I’m sold. What am I?
Answer: A Christmas candle.
What do you call Santa when he stops moving?
Answer: Santa Pause.
I have a red nose and I never get sick. What am I?
Answer: Rudolph the reindeer.
What falls at the North Pole but never gets hurt?
Answer: Snow.
Easy Christmas Riddles for Kids
Simple, family-friendly riddles perfect for ages 5-9.
- What do elves learn in school? Answer: The elf-abet.
- What do you call a snowman in July? Answer: A puddle.
- Why was the snowman looking through the carrots? Answer: He was picking his nose.
- What kind of motorcycle does Santa ride? Answer: A Holly Davidson.
- What do reindeer hang on their Christmas trees? Answer: Horn-aments.
Tricky Christmas Riddles for Adults
These need a little more thought — great for the grown-up table.
- A man was born in 1980 and died in 2020 at the age of 30. How? Answer: He was born on December 31, 1980, and died on January 1, 2020 — he actually turned 30 that same day, but by the calendar the years spanned 40. (A classic misdirection riddle, not literally about Christmas, but perfect table stumper alongside holiday puzzles.)
- What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck? Answer: A Christmas quacker.
- I’m wrapped but I’m not a gift. I’m hung but I’m not decor. I keep you warm at the door. What am I? Answer: A scarf.
- What can you catch, but never throw at Christmas? Answer: A cold.
Christmas Riddles About Santa
- What do you call Santa’s little helpers? Answer: Subordinate Clauses.
- Why does Santa have three gardens? Answer: So he can ho-ho-ho.
- What do you call Santa when he takes a break? Answer: Santa Pause (again — it’s that good).
- How does Santa keep track of everyone who’s been bad or good? Answer: He checks his list, then checks it twice.
Christmas Riddles About Winter
- What do you call a scary snowman? Answer: Frostbite.
- What did the ground say to the earthquake? Answer: That’s not a Christmas riddle, but here’s one that is: what do snowmen eat for breakfast? Answer: Snowflakes.
- What kind of ball doesn’t bounce? Answer: A snowball.
How to Use These Christmas Riddles
Print a few for stocking stuffers, read one aloud before opening each present, or turn this into a party game — first person to answer picks the next riddle. For classrooms, try splitting kids into teams and awarding a point per correct guess; the “trickier for adults” section works well as a tiebreaker round since it slows even confident guessers down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good Christmas riddle for kids?
A: “What do elves learn in school? The elf-abet” works well because it uses a pun kids can figure out even before hearing the answer, which makes them feel clever.
Are there Christmas riddles suitable for a work party?
A: Yes — the wordplay-based ones (Santa Pause, Holly Davidson, subordinate Clauses) work well because they’re clean, quick, and don’t require holiday-specific knowledge to land.
What makes a Christmas riddle tricky instead of just a pun?
A: True riddles rely on misdirection or a non-obvious literal reading of the clue (like the scarf or the corn-on-the-cob riddle above), rather than just a play on words.
