Here are 45 Christmas riddles with answers, sorted by age. Every riddle has two hints and a hidden answer, so a stuck child gets help without spoiling the fun. They are all about Santa, reindeer, elves, stockings, trees, presents and cookies, so they suit any family table or classroom.
Short riddles about Santa, trees and treats, written to be read aloud by a grown-up.
I wear a red suit and a long white beard. I say 'Ho, ho, ho!' and bring gifts in a big sack. Who am I?
I visit houses on Christmas Eve.
Children leave cookies out for me.
Santa Claus
Why it works: A red suit, white beard, sack of gifts and a ho ho ho laugh all describe Santa.
Did you guess it?
I stay green all winter. In December you bring me indoors and dress me in lights. What am I?
My leaves are thin and pointy.
A star often sits at my very top.
A Christmas tree
Why it works: Evergreen trees keep their needles, and families decorate one for Christmas.
Did you guess it?
I have big antlers and I live in the snowy north. In stories I pull a sleigh through the sky. What am I?
I am an animal with four legs and a pair of antlers.
Santa's sleigh team is made of my friends.
A reindeer
Why it works: Antlers plus pulling a sleigh in the stories points to Santa's reindeer.
Did you guess it?
I look like a giant sock, but I hang on the wall. On Christmas morning I am full of little surprises. What am I?
People hang me by the fireplace on Christmas Eve.
In the morning, small treats and toys are tucked inside me.
A stocking
Why it works: A Christmas stocking is a big sock that gets filled with small gifts.
Did you guess it?
I am wrapped in shiny paper. You shake me and wonder what is inside. I sit under the tree until Christmas morning. What am I?
Someone chose me just for you.
You tear off my paper to find what is inside.
A present
Why it works: Wrapped, mysterious and waiting under the tree: a present.
Did you guess it?
I am striped red and white and shaped like a hook. I taste of mint and I am very sweet. What am I?
I am a sweet treat and you can hang me on a tree.
Hold me upside down and I look like the letter J.
A candy cane
Why it works: A candy cane is a striped, hook-shaped mint sweet, and flipped over it looks like a J.
Did you guess it?
I am small and wear a pointy hat and pointy shoes. I work in a toy workshop all year long. What am I?
I help Santa in his workshop.
I have pointy ears and I make toys.
An elf
Why it works: In Christmas stories, elves are the small helpers who make toys in the workshop.
Did you guess it?
I have no wheels, but I carry a big sack of gifts across the sky on Christmas Eve. I slide on two long runners. What am I?
I am pulled by reindeer.
Santa sits inside me.
A sleigh
Why it works: A sleigh slides on runners instead of wheels, and Santa's carries gifts.
Did you guess it?
Children leave me on a plate with a glass of milk for a special visitor on Christmas Eve. I am sweet, round and baked in the oven. What am I?
I am a baked treat, and I go crunch.
Santa loves me with a cold glass of milk.
Cookies
Why it works: Children traditionally leave cookies and milk out for Santa.
Did you guess it?
I am a baked treat shaped like a little person. I smell of spice and I have icing buttons and a smile. What am I?
I am a spicy brown treat for December.
My relative can even be built into a whole house.
A gingerbread man
Why it works: A gingerbread man is a spiced biscuit cut in a person shape and decorated with icing.
Did you guess it?
I am a circle of green branches with a red ribbon. I hang on the front door to say welcome. What am I?
I have no beginning and no end, just like a hoop.
People hang me on a door or a wall in December.
A wreath
Why it works: A wreath is a ring of greenery that is hung up as a festive welcome.
Did you guess it?
I am a tall tube on the roof. Smoke goes up through me, and Santa goes down through me. What am I?
I stand on top of a house.
I connect the roof to the fireplace.
A chimney
Why it works: A chimney is the roof tube that smoke rises through, and the way Santa enters in stories.
Did you guess it?
I go jingle, jingle, ding! I am small, round and metal, and I sing when I shake. What am I?
Tie me on a sleigh and you will know it is coming.
I make a ringing sound.
Bells
Why it works: Bells ring and jingle when they move, so sleigh bells announce the sleigh's arrival.
Did you guess it?
I wrap around the tree like a long glowing snake. I come in red, green, blue and gold, and I switch on at night. What am I?
You plug me in to make me work.
I make the whole tree twinkle in the dark.
Christmas lights
Why it works: String lights glow in many colors and are wound around the tree like a snake.
Did you guess it?
I hang from a branch of the tree. I am round, shiny and as colorful as a sweet, but you cannot eat me. What am I?
You hang me with a small hook or string.
Made of glass, glitter or paper, I make the tree look pretty.
An ornament
Why it works: An ornament is a shiny decoration that hangs from the tree's branches.
Did you guess it?
Carols, cards and a few puns, with clues that reward a little thinking.
I am paper folded in half with a picture on the front and a message inside. In December I travel in an envelope to say 'Merry Christmas.' What am I?
People write their name inside me.
You can stand me on a shelf or pin me up.
A card
Why it works: A Christmas card is folded paper with a picture and a greeting inside.
Did you guess it?
I am made of ribbon and tied in loops on top of a gift. Pull my end and I come undone. What am I?
I decorate the top of a present.
You tie me the same way as a shoelace.
A bow
Why it works: A bow is a ribbon tied in loops, like the knot on a shoelace.
Did you guess it?
I have shiny, prickly green leaves and bright red berries. People hang me indoors at Christmas. What am I?
I am a plant that stays green in winter.
My name sounds like 'jolly' with a different first letter.
Holly
Why it works: Prickly green leaves with red berries describe holly, a classic Christmas plant.
Did you guess it?
I am a song sung by a group of singers at Christmas time, often at your front door on a cold evening. What am I?
I have words and a tune.
People sing me together, usually standing in a group.
A carol
Why it works: A carol is a festive song, and carolers sing in groups.
Did you guess it?
I hide a secret. You cut me, fold me and tape me around a box, and then somebody rips me to pieces. What am I?
I cover a present so nobody can see it.
I come in a roll, with festive patterns.
Wrapping paper
Why it works: Wrapping paper hides a gift until it is torn off.
Did you guess it?
I have 24 little doors, and you open one each day from December 1. Behind each door there is a picture or a treat. What am I?
I count the days to Christmas.
You open my last door on Christmas Eve.
An Advent calendar
Why it works: An Advent calendar counts down the days before Christmas, with one door per day.
Did you guess it?
I am the place at the very top of the Earth. It is icy and freezing, and the story says Santa's workshop is here. What am I?
I am at the top of the world map.
A compass points roughly in my direction.
The North Pole
Why it works: The North Pole is the top of the Earth, and stories put Santa's workshop there.
Did you guess it?
Two people pull me and I go bang. Inside there is a paper crown, a silly joke and a tiny toy. What am I?
I am a cardboard tube wrapped in shiny paper.
Families in the UK and Australia pull me at the festive dinner table.
A Christmas cracker
Why it works: A Christmas cracker bangs when pulled apart and holds a crown, a joke and a toy.
Did you guess it?
I am a glass ball with a tiny town inside. Shake me and white flakes swirl around, yet nobody gets cold. What am I?
I sit on a shelf and I am a pretty souvenir.
I am filled with water and glitter.
A snow globe
Why it works: A snow globe is a water-filled glass ball where shaking makes fake flakes swirl.
Did you guess it?
I come in long, thin, glittering strands that droop from branches. You drape me over the tree to make it sparkle. What am I?
I am shiny and made of thin strips of foil or plastic.
You drape me round the tree like a scarf.
Tinsel
Why it works: Tinsel is shiny, thin strands used to decorate the tree.
Did you guess it?
What fruit do you get if you cross an evergreen tree with an apple?
It grows in warm places and has spiky leaves on top.
One part of its name is a tree with needles.
A pineapple
Why it works: Pine plus apple makes pineapple.
Did you guess it?
What do Santa's helpers learn first at school?
It is the set of letters from A to Z.
Say it out loud and you will hear a small pointy-eared worker inside it.
The elf-abet
Why it works: Alphabet becomes elf-abet when an elf sneaks into the word.
Did you guess it?
I keep a decorated evergreen upright indoors. Screws grip its trunk, and my basin holds water. What am I?
Look beneath the lowest branches.
My broad base supports the trunk while screws hold it firmly.
A tree stand
Why it works: A tree stand supports a cut evergreen and holds water to keep its trunk supplied.
Did you guess it?
What kind of songs do elves play while they tie bows on gifts?
Think about covering a present in paper.
Remove the silent first letter to get a style of music with spoken rhymes.
Wrap music
Why it works: Wrap sounds like rap, so elves wrapping gifts play wrap music.
Did you guess it?
Why does Santa like to work in the garden?
Think about how Santa laughs.
A garden tool is spelled almost the same as his laugh.
So he can hoe, hoe, hoe
Why it works: Ho, ho, ho sounds like hoe, hoe, hoe, a garden tool.
Did you guess it?
I am a little piece of paper marked To and From. I am tied to a present to show who it is for. What am I?
I am small and I have a loop of string.
I tell you whose present it is.
A gift tag
Why it works: A gift tag labels who a present is for and who it is from.
Did you guess it?
I am a long strip of greenery hung along a stair rail in December. My leaves may be real or pretend. What am I?
I decorate a room without standing in a pot.
I drape in loops along a rail or mantel.
A garland
Why it works: A garland is a decorative strand of greenery hung along a surface.
Did you guess it?
Number puzzles, tricky puns and plant facts for older kids who like a challenge.
Mia opens 1 present on December 1, 2 presents on December 2, 3 presents on December 3, and so on. How many has she opened by the end of December 6?
Add up the presents day by day.
Try pairing the numbers: 1 with 6, 2 with 5 and 3 with 4.
21
Why it works: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 21.
Did you guess it?
An elf wraps 4 gifts every 10 minutes. How many gifts does she wrap in one hour?
How many 10-minute chunks fit into an hour?
There are 6 chunks, and each chunk has 4 gifts.
24
Why it works: An hour is 6 lots of 10 minutes, and 6 x 4 = 24.
Did you guess it?
Dad baked some cookies for Santa. Santa ate half of them, then my brother ate 2, and only 1 was left. How many did Dad bake?
Work backward from the 1 that was left.
Before my brother ate 2, there were 3. So 3 is half of what?
6
Why it works: 1 left plus 2 eaten is 3, and 3 is half of 6.
Did you guess it?
An elf numbers gift boxes from 1 to 30. How many labels contain the digit 2?
Count labels with 2 in the ones place and those with 2 in the tens place.
The labels in the twenties form one group; avoid counting any label twice.
12
Why it works: The ten labels 20 to 29, plus 2 and 12, make 12 labels.
Did you guess it?
A tree has 5 strings of lights with 20 bulbs on each string. On every string, 3 bulbs are broken. How many bulbs work?
Find how many bulbs work on one string first.
17 work on each string, and there are 5 strings.
85
Why it works: Each string has 20 minus 3 = 17 working bulbs, and 5 x 17 = 85.
Did you guess it?
Which Christmas word do you get if you say 'no L' out loud?
It is an old word for Christmas that you hear in carols.
Say 'no' and then the letter L.
Noel
Why it works: 'No L' said quickly sounds like Noel.
Did you guess it?
In old stories, a child who was not so nice found a lump of me in their stocking. I am black, and I burn to make heat. What am I?
I am a black rock that is dug out of the ground.
People used to burn me in fires and furnaces.
Coal
Why it works: Coal is the black fuel that old tales put in the stockings of the not-so-nice.
Did you guess it?
What does Santa say when he walks backward?
Think of his famous laugh.
Read his laugh from the end to the start.
Oh, oh, oh
Why it works: Ho, ho, ho spelled backward is oh, oh, oh.
Did you guess it?
Why did the wrapping paper smile after covering the last gift?
Think of finishing every part of a job.
The same phrase means placing a layer over something.
It had everything covered
Why it works: Having everything covered means being fully prepared and also hiding gifts under paper.
Did you guess it?
Why is a broken drum the best present?
Think about what you do to a drum.
It also means nothing could be better.
You cannot beat it
Why it works: To beat a drum is to hit it, and cannot beat it means nothing is better.
Did you guess it?
What do you call a detective at the North Pole?
Think of the man in a red suit who visits on Christmas Eve.
Detectives hunt for these, and the word sounds like part of his name.
Santa Clues
Why it works: Santa Clues sounds like Santa Claus, and detectives look for clues.
Did you guess it?
What do you call a cat at the beach on Christmas Day?
Think about what is under your feet at the beach.
Say it out loud and it sounds like the name of a famous man in a red suit.
Sandy Claws
Why it works: Sandy Claws sounds like Santa Claus, and cats have claws.
Did you guess it?
My big red 'petals' are really colored leaves. I grow in pots on windowsills in December and I come from Mexico. What plant am I?
I am a Christmas plant, but I am not a tree.
My name starts with P and ends with A.
A poinsettia
Why it works: A poinsettia's red 'petals' are actually bracts, which are a kind of leaf.
Did you guess it?
No riddles match both filters. Try another age or difficulty.
Make it Advent-style: pick 24 riddles, order them from easy to hard, and read one a day through December, or tape one to each door of an Advent calendar.
Add one to your Christmas cracker or lunch box: print a riddle card and fold it up with a paper crown and a small treat.
Run a stocking riddle hunt: the tree, stocking and chimney riddles have answers that are places in the house, so hide the next clue there.
Tuck a printed riddle into a Christmas card, and write the answer on the back or in your next card.
Read hint one only for ages 4 to 6, and save the number riddles for a quiet minute at the table.
No. They cover the cultural side of Christmas: Santa, reindeer, elves, trees, presents, stockings, cookies and carols. There are no nativity or church riddles, so they suit mixed classrooms, school parties and family gatherings.
Start with the group for ages 4 to 6. Read each riddle aloud, let your child guess, then give hint one and hint two if needed. The Santa, tree and reindeer riddles are the easiest to solve.
Choose 24 or 25 riddles, mixing easy and tricky ones, and number them by date. Read one each morning, keep the answer hidden until the evening, and tell the class or family why the trick works.
Give hint one, wait a few seconds, then give hint two. If they are still stuck, reveal the answer and read the short line that explains how the riddle works. Finding the trick is part of the fun.
Yes. Use the print option to make riddle cards with a separate answer key. They work well for class parties, Christmas dinner tables and stocking stuffers, and each card also prints both hints.