Giggle Bells

Christmas riddles with answers

Here are 26 Christmas riddles with answers: 16 easy ones for kids, then 10 hard ones with word tricks and a little math, for teens and grown-ups. Each answer stays hidden until you tap it.

Easy riddles for kids

Good for ages 5 and up. Give a clue if they get stuck: "It's something you wear" works for half of them.

  • I have a thumb but no fingers. What am I?

    A mitten.

  • You hang me up empty and find me full. I have a heel but no foot. What am I?

    A stocking.

  • I fall without getting hurt, and no two of me are alike. What am I?

    A snowflake.

  • I have a carrot for a nose and coal for eyes, and I am scared of spring. What am I?

    A snowman.

  • You can eat my walls, and my roof is made of icing. What am I?

    A gingerbread house.

  • What goes up a hill slowly and comes down fast?

    A sled.

  • I am round and shiny and I hang on a hook. If the cat finds me, I end up on the floor. What am I?

    An ornament.

  • I am made of snow, but you can sit inside me out of the wind. What am I?

    An igloo.

  • You can catch me but you can't throw me, and I make your nose run. What am I?

    A cold.

  • What has hands but can't wrap a present?

    A clock.

  • I am striped red and white and shaped like a hook. You can hang me on the tree or eat me. What am I?

    A candy cane.

  • I have a star on my head, presents at my feet, and needles but no thread. What am I?

    A Christmas tree.

  • I have keys but open no doors, and at Christmas I play carols. What am I?

    A piano.

  • What gets bigger the more you roll it in the snow?

    A snowball.

  • I ring but I am not a phone, and I jingle but I am not a pocket full of coins. What am I?

    A bell.

  • The more you take off me, the closer you get to the surprise. What am I?

    A wrapped present.

Hard riddles for teens and adults

Word riddles and two counting puzzles about "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Paper and a pencil help.

  • I appear once in "jingle," twice in "bell," and never in "Christmas." What am I?

    The letter L.

  • Take away my first letter and you can sled down me. Take away the next one and you feel sick. What word am I?

    Chill. Then hill, then ill.

  • Take away my first letter and I mean "right this minute." Take away the next one and I am what you say when you fall in me. What word am I?

    Snow. Then now, then ow.

  • Take away my first letter and I am a girl's name. Take away the next one and I am what you did to the cookies. What word am I?

    Skate. Then Kate, then ate.

  • I am a month. Take away my first three letters and what is left glows in the fireplace. Which month am I?

    December. Take away "Dec" and you have "ember."

  • Spell "stressed" backward and you get something every Christmas table needs. What is it?

    Desserts.

  • Holly's mom has four daughters. Three of them are Ivy, Pine and Fir. What is the fourth daughter called?

    Holly.

  • The day after tomorrow is Christmas Eve. What was the date the day before yesterday?

    December 20. Today is December 22.

  • In "The Twelve Days of Christmas," how many gifts does the singer get in all, counting every verse?

    364. One for every day of the year but one.

  • Counting every verse of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," which gift does the singer get the most of?

    It's a tie: 42 geese a-laying and 42 swans a-swimming.

Solved them all? There is more Christmas down the lane.

Snowglobe Lane is a whole Christmas street you can walk down online: Advent windows to light, carols to sing, a kitchen with cookies to bake, a workshop with things to color and print, and a quiet chapel at the end of the lane.

Walk down Snowglobe Lane