Underneath the Christmas Tree Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ivy

First of all, an explanation of the solution:

Clue 1 tells us that Mary's present has green paper, so it has to be the one shown in question 2, 6 or 10. But clue 2 adds that all the presents with red ribbons (including 2 and 10) belong to men. So Mary's present is the one shown in question 6.

From clue 3 we know that Carol's present is decorated in green, red and yellow (the same as Mary's). That means it has to be number 5 (as we already know from clue 2 that 10 must belong to a man).

Looking at the third part of clue 1 tells us that Santa's present has a green bow and must therefore be number 9.

Clue 4 identifies that Gabriel, Ivy and Nicholas all have the same colour of bow on their presents, which has to be either blue or red (as there are only two boxes each with a green or yellow one). However, clue 5 adds that Noel's also has a red bow, so Gabriel, Ivy and Nicholas must own the blue-bowed presents (numbers 1, 2 and 8). Clue 6 then identifies number 1 as Ivy's, as all the presents with red paper belong to women.

Holly's present can also be identified at this stage as clue 7 reveals that it must have yellow paper (the same colour as the yellow ribbon on Ivy's box) and the only yellow-papered present that can be hers is number 4. (The other has a red ribbon and therefore belongs to a man according to clue 2.)

We know that Nicholas's present is either number 2 or 8. Clue 8 states that it has the same colour paper as Douglas's, which instantly rules out number 8 as it is the only present with yellow paper left unidentified. So number 8 must be Gabriel's and, since Nicholas's present has green paper, Douglas must be the owner of number 10.

That just leaves Joseph and Noel to sort out. Looking back at clue 5 we can allocate Noel to the red-bowed present number 7 and write Joseph's name on the tag for number 3.

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The name Ivy is derived from the plants of the Hedera genus and is often heard at Christmastime in the lyrics of the popular carol 'The Holly and the Ivy'. In the UK, Ivy was a popular name for baby girls in the early part of the 20th century, but dropped out of the Top 100 in the 1930s before making a comeback in the 2010s as part of a wider trend for parents to opt for what might previously have been considered "old-fashioned" names.

Answer: Nicholas

Saint Nicholas (the titular "Little Saint Nick" in the well-known Christmas song by the Beach Boys) was a bishop of the city of Myra during the Roman period. As well as being the patron saint of a whole range of people (including children, students, sailors and prostitutes), he is also identified as the real-life figure on whom the legend of Santa Claus is based.

Answer: Joseph

Joseph featured heavily in the biblical stories of the birth of Jesus as the carpenter who married Mary despite the fact that she became pregnant by divine intervention and struggled to find somewhere for her to give birth in Bethlehem. Joseph and his accommodation issues get a mention in the lyrics of the popular Christmas song 'Mary's Boy Child'.

Answer: Holly

Holly, a red-berried plant of the Ilex genus, features heavily in popular Christmas music and Christmas carols. Aside from the aforementioned 'The Holly and the Ivy' it is also used to 'Deck the Halls' and has a 'Holly Jolly Christmas'. Famous Hollys include the British TV presenter Holly Willoughby; the Australian actress Holly Valance; and the fictional heroine of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', Holly Golightly.

Answer: Carol

Carol is predominantly used as feminine name in modern times, but a masculine version is also used in Continental Europe as a variant of Charles or Karl. Prominent male Carols include two kings of Romania - King Carol I reigned from 1881 to 1914 and his great-nephew King Carol II held the throne from 1930 to 1940.
Plenty of Christmas carols also mention kings - 'We Three Kings' and 'Good King Wenceslas' are two that spring to mind.

Answer: Mary

The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the most famous women in both the Bible and popular Christmas music. For example, Boney M's 1978 hit 'Mary's Boy Child' made it to number one on the UK Singles chart and has become one of the most played songs of the holiday season.

The name has been commonly used for baby girls for centuries and lots of countries have had a Queen Mary or Maria.

Answer: Noel

The name Noel is derived from the French word for Christmas and was traditionally bestowed on babies born during the Christmas period. While most commonly used a boy's name, it is also used for girls - generally spelled slightly differently. Presumably though children in French or Spanish-speaking countries who have a father called Noel won't call their Dad "Pere Noel" or "Papa Noel" - as that's the term used for Santa Claus. I imagine those Dads would also be somewhat fed up with repeated renditions of the traditional carol 'The First Noel'.

Answer: Gabriel

Gabriel was the angel sent to inform Mary that she was about to become the mother of the son of God. His role in the Christmas story is told in the hymn 'The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came', which is also known by the name 'Gabriel's Message' and featured as the B-side to Sting's 1985 single 'Russians'.

Answer: Santa

Despite forming the first part of Santa Claus, the name Santa is not really directly associated with Christmas as it derives from the word for "saint" in Spanish and various other languages. As a result there are loads of towns and cities around the world that called Santa something.

Answer: Douglas

At first glance Douglas might not seem like a particularly Christmassy name, but Douglas-fir trees (which are native to the north-west United States) are one of the more popular species of conifer to be commonly grown to be used as Christmas trees. It is also the name given to a brand of animated singing trees, which are highly amusing when tested in a shop but can quickly become downright annoying when played constantly!