I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas Quiz

Answer: the cattle were lowing

"Lowing" is a rather odd word, but it just means the sound that cows make. One cow making noise might not be annoying, but a whole herd of mooing cattle would be enough to wake up almost anyone!

Answer: ponies

"My Favourite Things" is a song from the movie "Sound of Music". Bits of the lyrics that contain animals are: "cream-coloured PONIES and crisp apple strudels", "raindrops on roses and whiskers on KITTENS", "wild GEESE that fly with the moon on their wings", "when the DOG bites" and "when the BEE stings".

Answer: Alvin and the Chipmunks

The names of the chipmunks were: Alvin (the troublemaker), Simon (the one with the glasses) and Theodore (the cuddly one). The narrator/chaperone human was named Dave. "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" was released in 1958. The Hula Hoop was the "hot toy" that year. This group of rodents has survived the test of time and they've received five Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Reel Award, and a Kids Choice Award. They even released a movie and a video game recently (although they might not be as popular as the hula hoop lol).

Answer: kangaroo

"Well that's the bestest Christmas treat that Joey ever had
Curled up in mother's pouch all snug and glad
The last they saw was Santa headed northward from the sun
The only year the boomers worked a double run"

"Six White Boomers" was a song written and recorded by Rolf Harris and is about kangaroos (instead of reindeer) pulling Santa's sleigh in search of a baby kangaroo's mother. A male kangaroo is called a boomer, a buck, a jack or "old man". Adult females are called does, jills or flyers. A baby kangaroo is called a joey.

Answer: Thistlehair, the Christmas Bear

"The city's full of manger scenes
And stores lit up in red and green.
But down the road just out of town
There's more magic to be found.
The countryside is all a-glow
With holly trees and mistletoe.
And in them woods there lives a bear
Known to all as Thistlehair"

"Thistlehair the Christmas Bear" is from the (certified platinum) 1985 album called, suitably, "Alabama Christmas".

Answer: sitting on top of his doghouse

"The Baron made Snoopy fly to the Rhine
And forced him to land behind the enemy lines
Snoopy was certain that this was the end
When the Baron cried out, "Merry Christmas, my friend!"

"Snoopy's Christmas" is a song by the Royal Guardsmen. And while Snoopy might have an over-active imagination, during World War I, a temporary (and voluntary) truce between the German and Allied troops was held in honour of Christmas. Soldiers from opposing sides shared food rations, cigarettes, newspapers, handshakes and Christmas carols. After the truce, war resumed (for another four years). Sometimes, truth IS stranger than fiction.

Answer: lamb

The song is called "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
The lamb is mentioned twice:
(First Verse) "Said the night wind to the little lamb, do you see what I see? Way up in the sky, little lamb" (a star)
(Second verse) "Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, do you hear what I hear? Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy" (a song).

Answer: The Friendly Beasts

The author of this Christmas song is unknown. Besides the donkey, the other animals and the gifts they gave were:
Cow: "I gave Him my manger for a bed. I gave Him my hay for to pillow His head"
Sheep: "I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm and He wore my coat on that Christmas morn""
Dove: "I cooed Him to sleep that He should not cry, we cooed Him to sleep my love and I"
Camel: "Over the desert upon my back, I brought Him a gift in the wise men's pack"

Answer: six

The six different birds are: a partridge, turtledoves, french hens, calling birds, geese and swans. Along with eight cows, that house must have been quite messy!

Answer: crocodiles and rhinoceroses

"No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too"

Recorded by Gayla Peevey in 1953, the song's popularity resulted in the gifting of an actual hippopotamus (named Matilda) to Gayla at Christmas time. She donated the animal to the Oklahoma City zoo, where Matilda lived for almost 50 years. I'm sure this song is an annoyance to adults, but "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas" is quite cute/catchy and regarded as one of the enduring Christmas novelty tunes. If you live in Canada, you'll recognise it as the song used to advertise Telus phone products. If you live elsewhere, you can listen to it on various websites.