Count down to 2025 with these New Year's trivia questions for adult and kids
60 New Year’s Trivia Questions to Count Down to 2025
Published on Dec. 19, 2024
Looking for something fun to do on New Year’s Eve while waiting for the clock to strike midnight? Have we got the entertaining, enriching, family-friendly game for you. Test your holiday knowledge—and the kids’ too—with a challenging game of New Year’s trivia. Not only will it keep everyone busy (and awake!), but it’s also a great way to start off the year smarter.
We’ve compiled 60 fascinating trivia questions that’ll wow your family and friends on New Year’s Eve. There’s something for everyone, with questions ranging from easy to challenging and topics touching on everything from the origins of the famous Times Square ball drop to New Year’s traditions around the world to memorable holiday movies, songs and TV shows.
Time to don your party hats, clink your glasses and learn some interesting facts while you wait to ring in 2025. There’s no doubt these New Year’s trivia questions will spark amusement and make the time fly until it’s 3 … 2 … 1 … Happy New Year!
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Fun New Year’s trivia questions
1. Question: In what year did the ball-lowering celebration in Times Square first take place?
Answer: 1907
2. Question: How much confetti drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: More than 1 ton.
3. Question: In what country is it a tradition to jump off a chair at midnight on New Year’s Eve to avoid having bad luck in the new year?
Answer: Denmark
4. Question: What happens during a popular New Year’s Day event called the Polar Bear Plunge?
Answer: People take a dip or swim in a cold body of water, typically in a place located in the Northern Hemisphere.
5. Question: In 46 B.C., which Roman leader made Jan. 1 New Year’s Day?
Answer: Julius Caesar
6. Question: What does “Baby New Year” typically wear?
Answer: A diaper, sash and top hat
7. Question: Which city drops a giant chocolate kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: Hershey, Pennsylvania
8. Question: When did the practice of making New Year’s resolutions start?
Answer: Some 4,000 years ago, with the ancient Babylonians
9. Question: What country produces Champagne, the drink of choice on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: France
10. Question: In Greece, what object is baked into a New Year’s cake to bring good luck?
Answer: A coin
11. Question: Around which landmark do people in London gather to watch fireworks on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: The London Eye
12. Question: In Spain, what fruit do people eat 12 of when midnight strikes?
Answer: Grapes
13. Question: An Irish tradition on New Year’s Eve is to add what to the table to pay tribute to loved ones who have passed away during the year?
Answer: An extra place setting
14. Question: What do people in Japan make sure they get in the mail before New Year’s Day?
Answer: Their New Year’s cards
15. Question: What was a major fear as soon as the clock struck midnight on Jan. 1, 2000?
Answer: That computer systems wouldn’t recognize the number 2000, leading to massive worldwide computer failures, power outages and the inability for people to withdraw money from their bank accounts
Tricky New Year’s trivia for adults
16. Question: In what two years did the Times Square ball not drop?
Answer: 1942 and 1943 because of World War II light restrictions
17. Question: In 1904, which newspaper sponsored the first New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square?
Answer: The New York Times
18. Question: On which day do many people give up on their New Year’s resolutions?
Answer: The second Friday in January, informally known as Quitters Day
19. Question: January is named after which Roman god?
Answer: Janus
20. Question: What are the triangles on the Times Square ball made of?
Answer: Waterford crystals
21. Question: What’s the name of the annual New Year’s Day parade that takes place in Pasadena, California?
Answer: The Rose Parade
22. Question: What do the Scottish call New Year’s Eve?
Answer: Hogmanay
23. Question: True or false: As far as New Year’s Eve plans go, more people choose to go out than stay home.
Answer: False. According to a CivicScience poll, 53% of people stay home with their families.
24. Question: In Italy, what color underwear do people wear on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck and love?
Answer: Red
25. Question: What French-speaking country declared its independence on Jan. 1, 1804?
Answer: Haiti
26. Question: On average, how many hours do parents book a babysitter for on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: Six hours, typically from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to Care.com
27. Question: After Russians write down their New Year’s wish on a piece of paper, what do they do with it?
Answer: Burn it
28. Question: People in which U.S. territory toss a bucket of water out of the window to drive away lingering evil spirits from the year?
Answer: Puerto Rico
29. Question: In Australia, what serves as the backdrop for one of the world’s largest fireworks displays on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: The Sydney Opera House
30. Question: True or false: Making New Year’s resolutions is more popular among young people than older adults.
Answer: True. Of those who made resolutions last year, 49% fell between the ages of 18 and 29, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
31. Question: What city is home to the New Year’s Day Mummers Parade?
Answer: Philadelphia
New Year’s trivia for kids
32. Question: Why is the Chinese New Year celebrated at a different time?
Answer: Because it’s based on the lunar calendar, not the Gregorian calendar
33. Question: What time does the Times Square ball start making its descent?
Answer: 11:59 p.m.
34. Question: How many people watch the Times Square ball drop around the world?
Answer: More than 1 billion
35. Question: What famous action did Abraham Lincoln take on Jan. 1, 1863?
Answer: He issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all people held as slaves within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be, free.”
36. Question: How much does the Times Square ball weigh?
Answer: 11,875 pounds
37. Question: What type of peas do people in the U.S. South eat on New Year’s Eve for good luck in the new year?
Answer: Black-eyed peas
38. Question: What famous Mary Shelley novel about a monster was released on New Year’s Day in 1818?
Answer: Frankenstein
39. Question: On New Year’s, people in the Philippines wear clothing featuring what type of pattern for good luck?
Answer: Polka dots
40. Question: On Dec. 31, 1935, Charles S. Darrow received a patent for his invention of what popular board game?
Answer: Monopoly
41. Question: What landmark immigration station in New York Harbor officially opened on Jan. 1, 1892?
Answer: Ellis Island
42. Question: What does Father Time represent?
Answer: The passing of the outgoing year
43. Question: Which round treat do the Dutch eat on New Year’s?
Answer: In the Netherlands, Dutch people enjoy oliebollen, their version of a donut (without the hole)
44. Question: What do people blow on to make noise on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: A party horn, also called a party blower or noisemaker
New Year’s pop-culture trivia
45. Question: Who currently hosts Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC?
Answer: Ryan Seacrest
46. Question: How many New Year’s parties does the gang in How I Met Your Mother plan to attend in the span of three hours?
Answer: In the 2005 episode titled “The Limo,” the group aims to hit up five parties but only ends up making it to four
47. Question: What is the highest-grossing New Year’s Day movie?
Answer: Avatar
48. Question: What 1989 classic rom-com has the two main characters finally coming together on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: When Harry Met Sally
49. Question: In a 1999 episode of Friends called “The One with the Routine,” which two characters try to get on camera during New Year’s Rockin’ Eve?
Answer: Monica and Ross
50. Question: Who is credited with writing the words to “Auld Lang Syne“?
Answer: Scottish poet Robert Burns
51. Question: What does “Auld Lang Syne” literally translate to?
Answer: “Old long since”
52. Question: Who sings the popular version of “Auld Lang Syne” we know of today?
Answer: Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
53: Question: What 1972 disaster movie takes place on New Year’s Eve?
Answer: The Poseidon Adventure
54. Question: What Swedish pop band sings the song “Happy New Year?”
Answer: ABBA
55. Question: Where does the 2011 movie New Year’s Eve take place?
Answer: New York City
56. Question: What famous British four-man band auditioned for Decca Records on New Year’s Day in 1962, only to get rejected by the label?
Answer: The Beatles
57. Question: In The Godfather Part II, what occurs between Michael and his brother Fredo during a New Year’s Eve party in Havana?
Answer: Michael gives Fredo the “kiss of death”
58. Question: Which female singer released her version of the Frank Loesser song “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” in 1960?
Answer: Ella Fitzgerald
59. Question: What actor famously says “Merry New Year!” in 1983’s Trading Places?
Answer: Eddie Murphy
60. Question: In the TV special Happy New Year, Charlie Brown, what does Charlie need to finish in order to attend Peppermint Patty’s New Year’s Eve party?
Answer: His book report on War and Peace
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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s trivia, Marcy Lovitch tapped her experience as a longtime writer and research editor who has worked at Glamour, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, Family Circle and more. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
