XMAS QUIZ: Can you answer 20 Christmas-themed questions set by a quizzing addict?

Some of us may know him as EastEnders’ amiable loser Barry Evans, others as a comedy version of himself in Extras and Life’s Too Short.

But actor Shaun Williamson is also a master of quizzes. He’s won Celebrity Mastermind and Pointless, and has vied against the best in the World Quiz Grand Prix. Safe to say, he’s a quizzing addict.

His new book, A Matter Of Facts (Cassell, £16.99), pitches some of the questions he’s tackled along the way, and now to add a little competitive sparkle to the festive season, Williamson has compiled this Christmas quiz just for you, filled with brain-teasers covering festive films and music, food and other yuletide conundrums… scroll down for the answers.

QUESTIONS

1. What is your star sign if you are born on Christmas day?

2. Which act had the Christmas number one single in 1996, 1997 and 1998?

3. In the song The Twelve Days Of Christmas, how many ladies are dancing?

4. Which country has traditionally supplied Trafalgar Square’s Christmas tree since 1942?

5. In the 17th century, who banned Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony, a law that has never officially been rescinded?

6. Alphabetically, which of Santa’s reindeer comes last?

7. In which country is Santa Claus known as Kris Kringle?

8. For Christmas dinner, Japanese people traditionally eat which famous fast-food product?

9. How many ghosts appear to Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol?

10. To avoid bad luck, by which date should Christmas decorations have been taken down?

11. In which Christmas film would you find the characters Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie?

12. What is the name of the skin that hangs from a turkey’s neck?

13. Which alcoholic ingredient is used in a snowball cocktail?

14. How many Christmas number one singles have contained the word Christmas (or Xmas) in the title?

15. Born on Christmas day 1984, what is the name of England’s most capped cricketer?

16. The last verse of which famous hymn begins: ‘How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given…’?

17. When Kevin is left to fend for himself in Home Alone, which country have his family travelled to?

18. In which of the world’s oceans will you find Christmas Island?

19. Which unlikely duo had a hit in 1987 with Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree?

20. At which property do the British royal family traditionally spend Christmas day?

ANSWERS

1. Capricorn
2. The Spice Girls
3. Nine
4. Norway
5. Oliver Cromwell
6. Vixen
7. Germany
8. Kentucky Fried Chicken
9. Four
10. January 5
11. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
12. Wattle
13. Advocaat
14. Seven – 1955: Christmas Alphabet (Dickie Valentine); 1973: Merry Xmas Everybody (Slade); 1974: Lonely This Christmas (Mud); 1984, 1989 and 2004: Do They Know It’s Christmas? (Band Aid, Band Aid II, Band Aid 20); 1985: Merry Christmas Everyone (Shakin’ Stevens)
15. Alastair Cook
16. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
17. France
18. Indian Ocean
19. Mel Smith and Kim Wilde
20. Sandringham