98 Fun Facts About Holiday Party

Which party gift exchange has each guest draw one name and give anonymously to that person?

Secret Santa has each guest draw a name and give that person a gift anonymously; Ireland calls the same game Kris Kindle and Brazil Amigo Secreto, 'secret friend'.

Which creamy, nutmeg-topped holiday drink is often spiked with rum or brandy?

Eggnog is a classic holiday drink, typically made with milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites, and egg yolks, and often flavored with nutmeg and spirits like brandy or rum. It's a staple at many festive occasions.

What festive plant with vibrant red and green leaves is a popular winter holiday decoration?

Poinsettia's red 'petals' are actually bracts, modified leaves that colour up only after weeks of long nights, about fourteen hours of darkness a day for six to eight weeks.

At which kind of party do guests compete to wear the most hideous knitwear?

Several media accounts credit Vancouver-area parties thrown by Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch in the early 2000s with popularising the ironic ugly-sweater trend.

Which mid-December Roman festival is often cited as an influence on modern holiday gift-giving and feasting?

Saturnalia began on 17 December; masters waited on their slaves, and guests swapped gag gifts or small wax and pottery figurines called sigillaria.

What type of holiday gathering typically involves guests bringing a dish to share with everyone?

A potluck is a shared meal to which every guest brings a dish; the phrase 'pot luck' appears in English by 1592, meaning whatever food happened to be in the pot for an unexpected guest.

In Kwanzaa celebrations, what is the name of the special candle holder that holds seven candles?

The kinara, from the Swahili for 'candle holder', holds Kwanzaa's seven candles; one more is lit each evening from 26 December to 1 January.

Which fruit do Spaniards eat at each stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve for luck?

Spaniards eat twelve grapes, one per chime; the custom was recorded by the 1890s and took off in 1909, when Alicante growers promoted it to sell a bumper harvest.

Which traditional Hanukkah-party game is played with a four-sided spinning top, often for chocolate coins?

Dreidel's four sides carry Hebrew letters, and the stakes are usually chocolate coins called gelt.

Which intricate art form using colored powders or petals decorates entrances at Diwali?

Rangoli are intricate patterns created on the floor using colored powders, rice flour, or flower petals, typically at the entrance of homes during Diwali, to welcome prosperity and good luck.

Which lighting is commonly wrapped around trees and banisters for holiday parties?

String lights, also known as fairy lights or twinkle lights, are widely used for holiday decorating, both indoors and outdoors, to add a warm and festive glow.

Christmas crackers are traditionally credited to which London confectioner?

Tom Smith, a London sweet-maker, introduced the cracker in 1847 as a wrapped bon-bon with a snap; the paper hats and jokes were added later by his son Walter.

At Scotland's Hogmanay, what is the name for the initial guest to cross a threshold after midnight?

The first-foot traditionally brings symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, whisky and black bun to bring the household luck.

Which party game has guests swap amusing or impractical gifts, with the option of 'stealing' someone else's pick?

White Elephant, also called a Yankee swap or Dirty Santa, is named for an extravagant, impractical gift that cannot easily be got rid of.

What feast crowns Kwanzaa on December 31st?

Karamu Ya Imani, the Feast of Faith, falls on December 31, the sixth of Kwanzaa's seven days, and gathers the community around the table.

Which sweet, fried dough pastry, often jelly-filled, is a traditional food enjoyed at Hanukkah parties?

Sufganiyot, jam-filled doughnuts, reached Israel with Polish Jewish immigrants as ponchiki; they are fried in oil to recall the miracle of the Temple oil.

What action is commonly performed at midnight on New Year's Eve to ward off evil spirits?

Fireworks are a common feature of New Year's Eve celebrations worldwide, often believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune for the coming year with their loud noises and bright displays.

Which French term names the small dishes served before a meal, usually eaten by hand while guests mingle?

Hors d'oeuvres, literally 'outside the work', are the bite-size dishes served before the meal; petits fours are the sweet miniatures served at the other end.

Who composed the Christmas Eve ballet 'The Nutcracker'?

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote The Nutcracker, premiered in St Petersburg in December 1892 to choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, two years after his Sleeping Beauty.

What decorative strand of interwoven leaves or flowers is often wrapped around a Christmas tree or draped on a mantel?

A garland is a strand of leaves, flowers or beads wound around the tree or draped along a mantel; Nepal's national anthem opens 'Woven from hundreds of flowers, we are one garland that's Nepali.'

Which non-alcoholic holiday-party drink is often made with fruit juices and sparkling soda?

Punch, a bowl drink that 17th-century East India Company sailors made with spirits and citrus, is often mixed alcohol-free for parties from fruit juices and sparkling soda.

What is the collective term for the South Asian sweets, such as ladoos and barfis, shared at Diwali?

Mithai is the umbrella term for South Asian sweets such as ladoo, barfi and jalebi; the tradition is ancient, the Rigveda already mentioning apupa, a cake fried in ghee and dipped in honey.

Festivus, the anti-commercial holiday popularised by a 1997 'Seinfeld' episode, falls on which date?

Festivus falls on December 23, the date fixed by the 1997 Seinfeld episode 'The Strike'; writer Daniel O'Keefe had invented it for his family, and his son Dan co-wrote the episode.

What root vegetable dish, served with applesauce or sour cream, is a Hanukkah staple?

Latkes, or potato pancakes, are a traditional Hanukkah food, often fried in oil to commemorate the miracle of the oil, and typically served with applesauce or sour cream.

Which German-speaking gift-bringer did Martin Luther promote in place of Saint Nicholas?

Christkindl means 'Christ Child'; Martin Luther promoted the Child as gift-bringer to draw Protestants away from Saint Nicholas, moving gifts from 6 December to Christmas Eve.

The Times Square ball first dropped on New Year's Eve to welcome which year?

The first ball dropped at midnight on 31 December 1907 to welcome 1908, staged by New York Times owner Adolph Ochs to promote his new tower; it was skipped in 1942 and 1943 for wartime dim-outs.

The tradition of kissing under which plant is a well-known holiday party custom?

Kissing under the mistletoe is first recorded in eighteenth-century England, where servants popularised it; each kiss was supposed to cost a berry, and when the berries were gone the kissing stopped.

Danes see in the New Year with champagne and which tower of stacked almond-cake rings?

Kransekage is a cone of stacked marzipan rings piped with white icing; Danes and Norwegians serve it at New Year and weddings, often decorated with crackers and small flags.

Which spice is commonly used in holiday baking and drinks, known for its warm, sweet, and woody flavor?

Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of Cinnamomum trees; its warm, sweet flavour comes from cinnamaldehyde, which is why it dominates mulled wine, gingerbread and hot cider.

What activity at holiday parties involves teams acting out words or phrases without speaking?

Charades began in 18th-century France as a written riddle about each syllable of a word; the acted version, in which players mime the syllables in turn, took over in 19th-century parlours.

What are the three colours of the seven Kwanzaa candles?

Three red candles sit on the left, three green on the right and a single black candle in the centre, matching the Pan-African colours.

In which country do New Year's Eve revellers hoping to travel walk the streets carrying a suitcase?

In Chile, walking around the block with a suitcase at midnight is said to bring travel in the year ahead; yellow underwear for luck and a plate of lentils are other Chilean customs.

What holiday activity has guests build and decorate a small edible building out of spiced cookies?

Gingerbread house decorating took off in Germany after the Grimms' 1812 Hansel and Gretel made an edible cottage famous; the spiced dough is cut into walls and roof and glued with royal icing.

Which candle on the Hanukkah menorah is used to light all the others?

The shamash, Hebrew for 'attendant', sits apart from the eight Hanukkah lights and is used to kindle them, because the holiday candles themselves may not be used for any practical purpose.

Which party cocktail is made with vodka, cranberry juice and a lime garnish?

The Cosmopolitan, a cocktail made with vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice, and an orange liqueur, is a popular choice for many parties, including holiday gatherings.

In the Philippines, which clothing pattern is worn on New Year's Eve to attract prosperity?

Polka dots are worn on New Year's Eve in the Philippines because circles resemble coins; households also pile twelve round fruits on the table for a prosperous year.

Which common holiday party game features themed cards with squares to mark off?

Bingo cards are easily themed for a party, with squares such as 'ugly sweater' or 'reindeer' to mark off; the game descends from the Italian lottery Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia, first drawn in 1530.

Which activist created Kwanzaa, first celebrated in 1966?

Activist and professor Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966, drawing on African harvest festivals; the name comes from the Swahili 'matunda ya kwanza', 'first fruits'.

Which rolled sponge dessert, iced to resemble tree bark, is a Christmas classic?

The Yule log cake, or Bûche de Noël, is a traditional holiday dessert, especially in France, designed to resemble a festive log and often decorated with mushrooms and other woodland elements.

What shiny metallic strands, designed to mimic ice, get draped over Christmas trees?

Tinsel dates to Nuremberg around 1610, when it was made from shredded silver to catch candlelight; the loose narrow strips that imitate icicles are called lametta.

Which drink of red wine, fruit and sometimes brandy is a refreshing holiday option?

Sangria, a Spanish and Portuguese drink made with wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and sometimes a small amount of brandy, can be a festive and refreshing choice for holiday parties.

For Jains, Diwali marks the final nirvana of which figure?

Jains hold that Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, attained final nirvana at Pavapuri on the new-moon night of Diwali, traditionally dated 527 BCE, and light lamps to mark it.

Which Danish New Year's Eve custom is said to bring a year of bad luck if you forget it at midnight?

Danes literally leap into the new year from a chair or sofa as the clock strikes twelve, then head outside for amateur fireworks.

What is the name for the seven principles of Kwanzaa, which are central to the holiday's celebration?

The Nguzo Saba, meaning 'The Seven Principles' in Swahili, are the core values of Kwanzaa, with each day of the seven-day celebration dedicated to one principle.

What circular decoration of evergreens, berries and ornaments is typically hung on doors?

An olive wreath was the prize at the ancient Olympic Games long before the ring of evergreens became an Advent decoration.

What are the small decorative clay lamps traditionally lit during Diwali called?

Diyas are small clay lamps filled with oil or ghee and lit with a cotton wick; rows of them on Diwali night stand for light and knowledge in Hindu, Sikh and Jain ritual alike.

Which soft confection, made by cooking sugar, butter and milk to the soft-ball stage, is a holiday-party classic?

Fudge is cooked only to the soft-ball stage, about 112-116 °C, which keeps it tender; the earliest known American reference is an 1886 batch made in Baltimore, recalled by Vassar student Emelyn Hartridge.

What is the term for a festive song, often religious, sung during the holiday period?

A carol was originally a medieval circle dance with song, from the Old French carole; the word came to mean the festive, often religious songs sung at Christmas, such as 'Silent Night'.

Which country's Christmas Eve tradition, the 'Jolabokaflod', revolves around gifting books?

Iceland's Jolabokaflod, the 'Christmas book flood', took hold in 1944, when wartime import limits were looser on paper than on other gifts; a free catalogue of new titles, the Bokatidindi, is delivered to every household.

On the night of which date does the horned Krampus roam Alpine towns alongside Saint Nicholas?

Krampusnacht is 5 December, the eve of the Feast of St Nicholas on the 6th; Austria's Dollfuss regime banned the tradition in 1934.

Italy's broom-riding Befana delivers sweets and coal to children on the eve of which feast?

La Befana comes on the night of 5 January, the eve of Epiphany, filling stockings with sweets or coal; legend says she declined to join the Magi and has searched for the Christ child ever since.

The midnight New Year's sing-along 'Auld Lang Syne' is a 1788 poem by which Scottish poet?

Robert Burns claimed to have taken it down from an old man's singing; the pentatonic tune everyone hums today was not attached until 1799.

Twister became a hit after Eva Gabor played it on TV in 1966 with which talk-show host?

Johnny Carson played Twister with Eva Gabor on The Tonight Show in May 1966; Milton Bradley had renamed the game from 'Pretzel', and rivals accused it of selling 'sex in a box'.

Daisuke Inoue claimed to have built the first karaoke-style machine in 1971 in which Japanese city?

Daisuke Inoue, a nightclub musician in Kobe, built his 8 Juke there in 1971 but never patented it; Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario holds a rival claim with his Sing Along System.

In the Mexican Catholic reading of the piñata, what do its points represent?

The traditional seven-pointed pinata's spikes stand for the seven deadly sins; the blindfold is faith, the stick is virtue and the candy that spills out is the reward of heaven.

The word 'confetti' comes from an Italian word for what?

Confetti is the Italian for sugared almonds (singular confetto), a small sweet; Milanese nobles threw sweets and flowers at carnival parades from the 14th century, and paper confetti took the name in the late 1800s.

The bang in a pull-string party popper comes from a tiny charge of which sensitive explosive?

Party poppers use Armstrong's mixture, a friction-sensitive blend of red phosphorus and potassium chlorate, in a charge of roughly 16 milligrams; some designs swap it for compressed air.

Who commissioned the first commercially available Christmas card in London in 1843?

Henry Cole commissioned the card in 1843 and John Callcott Horsley designed it; its image of a family toasting with wine caused a stir, and the 2,050 printed sold at a shilling each.

Which country has gifted London its Trafalgar Square Christmas tree every year since 1947?

Norway's capital Oslo has sent the tree every year since 1947 as thanks for British support during the Second World War; it is lit in early December and taken down on Twelfth Night.

On 'Stir-up Sunday' in late November, British families traditionally start making what?

Stir-up Sunday takes its name from that day's Book of Common Prayer collect, 'Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord'; cooks took it as the cue to mix the Christmas pudding, each family member stirring and making a wish.

The tall Christmas sweet bread panettone is associated with which Italian city?

Panettone is Milan's Christmas bread, a tall domed loaf studded with candied peel and raisins; Italian emigrants carried it to Argentina, Brazil and Peru, and to Italy's former colony Eritrea.

The official seal on a Dresden Christmas stollen depicts which ruler?

The gold Dresdner Stollen seal shows Augustus II the Strong, the Saxon elector who ordered a 1.8-tonne stollen for his Zeithain camp in 1730; the bread was first recorded in Dresden in 1474.

KFC Japan took its 'Kentucky for Christmas' party-barrel campaign nationwide in which year?

KFC Japan launched 'Kentucky for Christmas' nationally in 1974, four years after Takeshi Okawara, manager of its first Japanese store, pitched a fried-chicken 'party barrel' as a turkey substitute.

Catalan children beat the Tió de Nadal log with sticks at Christmas to make it do what?

The Caga Tio, 'pooping log', is fed from 8 December and kept under a blanket; on Christmas Eve children beat it with sticks, singing for it to poop out presents such as turron and small toys.

Sweden's giant straw Gävle Goat, raised each Advent since 1966, is notorious for what?

As of December 2025, 43 of 60 goats had been destroyed or damaged, and torching it normally carries a three-month prison sentence.

Scandinavia's candle-crowned Saint Lucy's Day processions take place on which date?

Saint Lucy's Day is 13 December; girls in white robes with red sashes hand out saffron buns called lussekatter, and the leading Lucia wears a crown of candles.

The Dutch gift-bringer Sinterklaas traditionally arrives each year by steamboat from which country?

Sinterklaas arrives from Spain by steamboat each mid-November in a televised 'intocht'; since 2019 his white horse has been called Ozosnel, replacing the 'pensioned' Amerigo.

The Greek New Year's cake with a hidden coin honours which saint's feast day?

Vasilopita honours Saint Basil of Caesarea, whose feast falls on 1 January; the hidden coin recalls his legend of returning the people's jewels by baking them into loaves.

In the US South, the black-eyed peas in New Year's Day Hoppin' John are said to stand for what?

The black-eyed peas stand for pennies or coins and the collard greens for folding money; some cooks drop a real coin into the pot, and cornbread on the side is the gold.

Oliebollen, raisin-studded fried dough balls, are the New Year's Eve treat of which country?

The Netherlands' oliebollen are literally 'oil spheres'; across the border in Flanders the same treat goes by smoutebollen, or 'lard spheres'.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a Christmas Eve seafood spread from which community?

Italian Americans hold the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, a tradition rooted in southern Italy's meatless vigil, La Vigilia; the 'seven' is an American flourish, and menus often run longer.

Finland's gift-bringer Joulupukki has a name that literally means what?

Joulupukki means 'Christmas goat' (joulu, Yule; pukki, buck), a relic of the Nordic Yule goat who once went door to door demanding gifts before merging with Santa Claus.

Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden who helps Ded Moroz at Russian New Year parties, is his what?

Snegurochka is Ded Moroz's granddaughter; the Snow Maiden came from Russian folklore and Ostrovsky's 1873 play before Soviet New Year parties paired her with him from the 1930s.

Olivier salad is a centrepiece of New Year's Eve tables in which country?

Olivier salad is Russia's New Year's Eve staple, created in the 1860s by Lucien Olivier at Moscow's Hermitage restaurant; Poles make a similar salatka jarzynowa, but for Christmas and Easter.

How many times do most Japanese temples ring their bell at midnight on New Year's Eve?

The bell is struck 108 times, one for each of the earthly desires (bonno) in Buddhist teaching; the Joya no Kane custom came to Japan from Song-dynasty Chinese Zen temples.

Toshikoshi soba is eaten on Omisoka because the easily cut noodles symbolise what?

Toshikoshi soba's thin, easily cut noodles stand for letting go of hardships, cutting off the old year's troubles; the buckwheat noodles are eaten on Omisoka, 31 December, before midnight.

At Lunar New Year gatherings, red envelopes of cash usually go to whom?

Red envelopes (hongbao) go from married elders to children and younger, unmarried guests; the red colour is meant to ward off evil, and the cash is called yasuiqian, 'money to suppress the year's evil'.

Hamantaschen, the filled Purim party pastries named for the villain Haman, have what shape?

Hamantaschen are triangular, folded from a circle of dough around a poppy-seed or fruit filling; the name means 'Haman's pockets' in Yiddish, and in Hebrew they are oznei Haman, Haman's ears.

Burns suppers, with haggis and bagpipes, are held on or near which date?

Burns Night is 25 January, the poet's birthday in 1759; Greenock's club held its first supper on 29 January 1802, then found parish records giving the true date.

The first Oktoberfest, in October 1810, was thrown in Munich to celebrate what?

The royal wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12 October 1810 was celebrated with a horse race on the meadow since named the Theresienwiese.

Which cartoon character was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade's first balloon, in 1927?

Felix the Cat led the 1927 parade as an air-filled balloon propped up on sticks; helium came in 1928, when balloons were released at the end and finders could claim a reward.

Under which president did the White House Thanksgiving turkey 'pardon' become an annual tradition?

George H. W. Bush made the 'pardon' annual; the oft-told story of Lincoln sparing his son Tad's turkey only appeared in print after Lincoln's death.

Before pumpkins took over, Halloween jack-o'-lanterns were commonly carved from which vegetable?

In Ireland and Scotland jack-o'-lanterns were hollowed from turnips, swedes or mangelwurzels; Irish immigrants switched to the bigger, softer American pumpkin in the 19th century.

Irish coffee is credited to chef Joe Sheridan, who first served it at which 1940s Irish terminal?

Joe Sheridan created Irish coffee at Foynes flying boat base on the Shannon in the winter of 1942-43, warming passengers off a turned-back transatlantic flight with whiskey-laced coffee; Foynes' role later passed to Shannon Airport.

The Bellini, Prosecco with peach purée, was invented at Harry's Bar in which city?

Giuseppe Cipriani created the Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice in the 1940s, naming it for the pink tones in a painting by the Venetian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini.

The British Christmas cocktail called a Snowball mixes lemonade with which liqueur?

A Snowball is advocaat, the thick Dutch egg liqueur, topped up with lemonade in roughly equal parts and often a squeeze of lime, which gives it a pale, custardy look.

Coquito, a rum-and-coconut Christmas drink often called a tropical eggnog, comes from where?

Coquito, 'little coconut', is Puerto Rico's Christmas drink of white rum, coconut milk and cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk and spices, poured from December through Three Kings' Day.

In a German Feuerzangenbowle, what is set alight so it drips into the mulled wine below?

A rum-soaked sugarloaf (Zuckerhut) sits on tongs over the bowl and is set alight; the rum must be at least 54% alcohol to keep the 250-gram cone burning as it drips into the mulled wine.

The drink name 'punch' is commonly traced to a Hindi word meaning which number?

Five ingredients made the classic recipe: alcohol, sugar, lime or lemon juice, water and spices.

Which song did Gemini 6 astronauts play on harmonica from orbit in a 1965 Christmas prank?

'Jingle Bells' became one of the first songs broadcast from space after Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra reported a mysterious 'satellite' in polar orbit, then played the tune over the radio.

Mariah Carey released 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' in which year?

Released in 1994 on the album Merry Christmas, the song did not top the US Hot 100 until December 2019, a 25-year gap that set a chart record.

Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' was kept off the 1984 UK Christmas number one by which act?

George Michael sang on the charity single that beat him, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', which raised money for Ethiopian famine relief.

The hide-a-pickle-ornament Christmas tradition is popularly but wrongly attributed to which country?

Germany barely knows it: a YouGov poll found 91% of 2,057 respondents there had never heard of the pickle ornament, which is likely an 1890s American invention.

Christmas Jumper Day in the UK and Ireland raises money for which charity?

Save the Children launched Christmas Jumper Day in 2012; workplaces and schools wear their most festive knit on a Friday in mid-December in return for a small donation.

The nightly Las Posadas processions in the run-up to Christmas span a period representing what?

The nine nights of Las Posadas, 16 to 24 December, stand for the nine months of Mary's pregnancy; each night a procession re-enacts Mary and Joseph asking for lodging, posada in Spanish.

Which star-shaped lantern lights Filipino homes and streets through the Christmas season?

The parol, a star-shaped lantern originally of bamboo and rice paper, represents the Star of Bethlehem and hangs outside Filipino homes through the Christmas season; San Fernando, Pampanga, holds a giant lantern festival.

In Provence, how many desserts are traditionally laid out after the Christmas Eve gros souper?

Provence's 'treize desserts' number thirteen, standing for Christ and the twelve apostles; they include nougat, dried fruit and nuts (the 'four beggars') and the olive-oil brioche pompe a l'huile.

A Christingle, handed out at church services in Advent, is a candle pushed into which fruit?

The Christingle's orange stands for the world, its red ribbon for Christ's blood and the sweets on four sticks for the seasons; Moravian bishop Johannes de Watteville began it in 1747 with only a ribboned candle.