Hangin' Around the Christmas Tree Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Last Christmas, Mary invited four family members to stay with her over the holiday period, but wanted to make sure they weren't missing out on their own Christmas traditions. Her simple solution was to invite each of them to bring their favourite Christmas tree ornament with them and place it on her tree to help them feel at home. The only problem is that she has forgotten who brought which one and why it was important to them... That's where you come in - can you use the clues (based on the limited information Mary has been able to recall) to work out who each ornament belongs to, where in the world they got it from and what it reminded them of? If you've a pen and paper handy then using the 'grid' method might help you to solve the puzzle. Alternatively, working out the answer to each question in turn should help guide you towards the solution. Information you need to know: Mary's relations were named Carol, Gabriel, Holly and Noel. Their Christmas tree ornaments (baubles) were blue, gold, red and silver. The locations the ornaments came from were Lapland, London, New York and Sydney. The things they reminded their owners of were a birthplace, a honeymoon, meeting Father Christmas, and a wedding anniversary Clues: 1. Holly's favourite tree decoration was a big red ball shaped like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's nose. 2. Neither Gabriel nor Carol were the person that had bought a gold tree ornament while in New York. 3. One relative had a beautiful silver bauble engraved with the number '25' that celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. 4. The blue bauble, the bauble that belonged to Gabriel, the bauble bought during a honeymoon and the one from Lapland were all different decorations placed on Mary's tree. 5. The Christmas tree ornament from Sydney was a reminder of their birthplace for one of Mary's relatives. And now the questions begin: Who had bought their favourite Christmas tree decoration in New York?

Answer: Noel

Clue 2 tells us that the ornament bought in New York was gold and that it didn't belong to either Carol or Gabriel. Since clue 1 stated that Holly's ornament was red, it must have been Noel that made the purchase in the Big Apple.

New York is noted for its impressive annual Christmas celebrations - famous examples include Macy's window display, ice skating in Central Park or the impressive Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center. If you can't make it to New York in person then you can still get in the New York Christmas spirit by watching films such as 'Miracle on 34th Street'.

2. Who put a blue bauble on Mary's Christmas tree?

Answer: Carol

Clues 1 and 2 along with the answer to question 1 rule out Holly (with the red reindeer nose) and Noel (the gold ornament from New York). Clue 4 states that the blue ornament and Gabriel's ornament are different decorations, so it must have been Carol who placed the blue ornament on the tree.

The use of the word 'bauble' to refer to the (typically) round ornaments that are hung on Christmas trees tends to be more common place in Britain, with other terminology being 'Christmas ornament' or (the more descriptive) 'Christmas balls'. Glass baubles actually originated in Germany as early as the 16th century and made popular internationally by Britain's Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert.

3. What colour was Gabriel's contribution to the decoration of the Christmas tree?

Answer: Silver

Gabriel's ornament must have been silver by process of elimination, as we've already determined that Holly's was red (clue 1), Noel's was gold (question 1 and clue 2) and Carol's was blue (question 2).

There are plenty of baby names out there with Christmas connections - whether as names derived from popular Christmas items or traditions (Carol, Holly, Noel) or the names of the people involved in the Christmas story like Mary, the mother of Jesus, or the angel Gabriel who informed Mary of her impending motherhood.

4. Who returned from a trip to Lapland with a new favourite Christmas tree decoration?

Answer: Holly

Clue 4 states that neither the blue bauble (identified as Carol's in question 2) nor Gabriel's bauble were the one obtained in Lapland. Since we also know from question 1 that Noel's came from New York, that just leaves Holly as the lucky person who got to go to Lapland.

Lapland is a region of northern Finland that has been associated with the home of Father Christmas since the 1920s. The connection was first made by a Finnish children's radio presenter named Markus Rautio and the idea was popularised in a series of children's books. It also opened up a lucrative tourist industry for the remote and snowy region, with thousands of people taking their children there to meet Father Christmas and his reindeer.

5. The Christmas tree ornament that reminded its owner of their wedding anniversary was purchased in which location?

Answer: London

Clue 3 tells us that the tree decoration that commemorated the silver wedding anniversary was silver (as it obviously should be). We know from question 3 that the silver bauble was Gabriel's and that he couldn't have bought it in either Lapland (Holly, question 4) or New York (Noel, question 1). Since clue 5 tell us that the bauble bought in Sydney related to a birthplace rather than a wedding anniversary, we can deduce by elimination that the anniversary bauble must have been purchased in London.

Christmas in London might not be as iconic as Christmas in New York, but still has plenty of traditional festive sights. Options include viewing the Christmas lights and decorations in the main shopping districts, visiting the Christmas displays at Hamleys toy store, or attending a traditional pantomime in the West End.

6. What colour was the ornament that reminded one of Mary's relatives of Sydney?

Answer: Blue

We know that the ornament from London was the silver anniversary bauble (question 5 and clue 3); the one from Lapland was Holly's red one (question 4 and clue 1); and that New York yielded the gold one (clue 2). Therefore the one from Sydney must have been blue.

Christmas tree ornaments come in all colours, shapes and sizes, although it has to be said that traditional colours such as red, gold or silver tend to be the most popular. Blue makes an elegant alternative though!

7. Where did Carol get her tree decoration from?

Answer: Sydney

The answer to question 6 tells us that the tree bauble from Sydney was blue and the answer to question 2 tells us that the blue bauble belonged to Carol. So Carol was the person who wanted a reminder of their Australian heritage.

Christmas "Down Under" tends to be quite different to the traditional snowy images of Christmas that are prevalent in the Northern hemisphere. With the festive season falling at the height of summer, clearly the key difference is the weather - making barbecued turkey on the beach preferable to wrapping yourself up in a woolly hat and scarf and roasting chestnuts around an open fire...

8. What was the ornament purchased in Lapland a reminder of?

Answer: Meeting Father Christmas

Out of these options it would seem obvious that a trip to Lapland yielded a memorable meeting with Father Christmas, but given that many towns and cities around the world have a Santa's grotto where children can meet their hero in the run up to Christmas, we do need to prove this answer logically...

From question 5 we know that the wedding anniversary commemorative ornament came from London and clue 5 tells us that the ornament purchased in Sydney was the birthplace reminder. Clue 4 states that the Lapland ornament and the honeymoon ornament are different, so we can prove beyond doubt that the ornament from Lapland was bought to remind its owner of the magical occasion where they got to meet Father Christmas.

9. Where did one of Mary's relatives go on their honeymoon (and obtain a Christmas tree bauble in the process)?

Answer: New York

The answer to this question is the next step on from the logic behind the solution to the previous question. If London is associated with the anniversary, Sydney is associated with the birthplace and Lapland is associated with meeting Father Christmas - then by elimination the honeymoon has to be associated with New York.

As well as being an iconic Christmas destination, New York is also a popular choice for people who want to spend their honeymoon in a city rather than a beach. Romantic options include a trip up the Empire State Building ('Sleepless in Seattle' style), a stroll in Central Park, helicopter tours of the city's skyline or even a trip out to view the Niagara Falls.

10. What colour was the Christmas tree bauble that was bought to remind its owner of meeting Father Christmas?

Answer: Red

From question 8 we know that the bauble-shaped reminder of meeting Father Christmas was purchased in Lapland (possibly from the man himself!) and from question 4 we know that it was Holly who went to Lapland. Clue 1 told us that Holly's Christmas tree bauble was red.

Red is a colour that is traditionally associated with Christmas. The connection may have initially been the red berries on a holly wreath, but it was probably really made popular in the 1930s when a Coca Cola advertising campaign created the now iconic image of Santa Claus wearing a bright red suit.

Source: Author Fifiona81

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

When decorating your Christmas tree, adding ornaments that represent special events or invoke happy memories can make the process both fun and meaningful. Use a bit of logic to work out the meaning behind the decoration of the tree in this puzzle.

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