40 New Year's Eve Trivia Questions (With Answers)

By Cedar & Ledger

A quick quiz fills the time before the countdown and works for families, friends and office parties. Here are 40 New Year's Eve trivia questions in 4 rounds, with answers after each round, so the host can read them straight from a phone.

How to play

1. Split into teams of 2 to 5.
2. Read one round at a time. Teams write their answers down.
3. Read the answers and give 1 point for each correct one.
4. The team with the most points picks the first midnight toast or snack.

Round 1: New Year around the world

1. In Spain, how many grapes do people traditionally eat at midnight?
2. What is the Scottish New Year celebration called?
3. In Japan, how many times are temple bells traditionally rung on New Year's Eve?
4. Which Australian city is famous for midnight fireworks over its harbour bridge?
5. Which Pacific island nation is among the first to reach the new year?
6. In Scotland, what is the custom of being the first visitor of the new year called?
7. In Denmark, people jump off what at midnight to "leap" into the new year?
8. Lunar New Year follows the cycles of what?
9. In Brazil, many people wear what color on New Year's Eve for peace?
10. In Ecuador, families burn what at midnight to say goodbye to the old year?

Answers: 1. 12. 2. Hogmanay. 3. 108. 4. Sydney. 5. Kiribati. 6. First-footing. 7. A chair. 8. The moon. 9. White. 10. Effigies or scarecrow-like figures (often called "años viejos").

Round 2: Countdown and celebration

1. In which city does a lit ball drop in Times Square?
2. At what time does the Times Square ball start to drop?
3. What song is traditionally sung at midnight in many English-speaking countries?
4. In what language was that song first written?
5. What does "auld lang syne" roughly mean?
6. What month is named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings?
7. How many faces does Janus have?
8. What do you call the day after New Year's Eve?
9. Which sparkling drink is most often used for a midnight toast?
10. What do people often blow at midnight to make noise?

Answers: 11. New York City. 12. 11:59 PM. 13. "Auld Lang Syne." 14. Scots. 15. "Old long since," or "for old times' sake." 16. January. 17. Two. 18. New Year's Day. 19. Champagne (or another sparkling wine). 20. Party horns or noisemakers.

Round 3: Resolutions and fresh starts

1. What do you call a promise you make to yourself for the new year?
2. Which month do gyms often call their busiest of the year?
3. Which ancient people are often credited with making the earliest new year promises, to their gods?
4. True or false: the new year has always started on January 1 everywhere.
5. Which calendar sets January 1 as New Year's Day in most of the world today?
6. What is a "word of the year" goal?
7. Name one food some Southern US families eat on New Year's Day for luck.
8. What is "Dry January"?
9. In the 12-grape tradition, what does each grape stand for?
10. What do many people write on the first page of a new planner?

Answers: 21. A New Year's resolution. 22. January. 23. The Babylonians. 24. False. 25. The Gregorian calendar. 26. One word that sums up how you want the year to go. 27. Black-eyed peas (collard greens and cornbread count too). 28. Taking a break from alcohol for the month. 29. One month of the coming year. 30. Accept any reasonable answer, such as goals, their name or the year.

Round 4: Quick numbers

1. How many days are in a leap year?
2. How many months have 31 days?
3. How many seconds are counted down at midnight in the classic countdown?
4. How many minutes are in an hour?
5. How many weeks are in a year, rounded down?
6. How many days are in December?
7. How many hours are in a day?
8. How many days are in a regular year?
9. What number comes on the last stroke of the countdown?
10. How many months start with the letter J?

Answers: 31. 366. 32. Seven. 33. 10. 34. 60. 35. 52. 36. 31. 37. 24. 38. 365. 39. 1 (then "Happy New Year!"). 40. Three (January, June, July).

Hosting tips

• Kids' table: read Rounds 2 and 4 only and let them answer out loud.
• Big parties: print the questions and hand one round to each table.
• Before midnight: save Round 4 for the last 15 minutes so it ends near the countdown.

More ideas: New Year's Eve games for the family and New Year's Eve with kids at home.

Prefer pages you can print? The New Year's Eve Party Games Pack has 40 trivia questions with answer keys and a team sheet, plus resolution charades, a countdown story and a predictions sheet.

Made with AI assistance and reviewed before publishing.

Related template: the nye games pack template. Also see: New Year's Eve Party Planner 2026

See all Cedar & Ledger templates

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