Winter Which Came First? 100 Fun Trivia Game Questions (+Free Printable)
Think you know your winter history? Put your knowledge to the test with this fun and unique Winter ‘Which Came First?’ trivia game!
For each question, players must decide which of two things came first in history.
Ice skating or skiing? Hot tea or hot chocolate? Blizzard warnings or tornado warnings?
Some answers may seem obvious, while others might surprise you! Check the answer and read a brief explanation to discover the fascinating history behind it.
This family-friendly winter trivia game is perfect for:
- Family game nights
- Classroom winter parties
- Youth groups
- Winter birthday parties
- Office gatherings
- Snow days
- Holiday gatherings
- Road trips
- Winter break
Be sure to grab the free printable PDF at the bottom of this post! It is the blue “download” button.
Contents
How to Play ‘Which Came First?’
One person reads each question aloud.
Players must guess which of the two choices came first in history. You can play individually or divide into teams and keep score.
Award one point for each correct answer. The player or team with the most points wins!
Tip: Some answers are obvious…others are much trickier than they seem!
*Grab the free printable below! (It’s the blue download button)
Winter Sports and Activities ‘Which Came First?’ Trivia Game Questions
1. Ice skating or skiing?
2. Sledding or skiing?
3. Building snowmen or making snow angels?
4. Snowboarding or Skiing?
5. The Winter Olympics or the Summer Olympics?
6. Figure skating or ice hockey?
7. The first ski lift or the first snowmobile?
8. Sledding or snow tubing?
9. Bobsled or Luge?
10. Curling or Ski jumping?
11. Cross-country skiing or freestyle skiing?
12. Speed skating or ice hockey?
13. Ski mountaineering or Mogul skiing?
14. Snowshoeing or ice fishing?
15. Dog sledding or snowshoeing?
16. Snowmobiling or Polar plunging?
17. Horse-drawn sleigh rides or building snow forts?
18. Snowball fights or pond hockey?
19. Ice sculpting or Tobogganing?
20. Ice climbing or Ice sailing?
Related: Winter Trivia Quiz
Winter Movies & TV ‘Which Came First?’
21. Frozen or Ice Age?
Answer: Ice Age (2002), Frozen (2013)
Related: Fun Frozen Movie Trivia
22. Happy Feet or March of the Penguins?
Answer: March of the Penguins (2005), Happy Feet (2006)
23. Frozen or The Snowman?
Answer: The Snowman (1982), Frozen (2013)
24. The Chronicles of Narnia or Frozen?
Answer: The Chronicles of Narnia (2005) Frozen (2013)
25. The Mighty Ducks or Cool Runnings?
Answer: The Mighty Ducks (1992), Cool Runnings (1993)
26. Jack Frost or Groundhog Day?
Answer: Jack Frost (1979), Groundhog Day (1993)
27. The Polar Express or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
Answer: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), The Polar Express (2004)
28. Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
Answer: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Frosty the Snowman (1969)
29. The Holiday or Holiday Inn?
Answer: Holiday Inn (1952), The Holiday (2006)
30. The Ice Princess or Blades of Glory?
Answer: The Ice Princess (2005), Blades of Glory (2007)
Winter Food & Drinks ‘Which Came First?’
Think you know the history of your favorite comfort foods and warm beverages?
31. Hot chocolate or marshmallows?
Answer: Hot chocolate came first by thousands of years.
32. Chicken noodle soup or tomato soup?
Answer: Chicken noodle soup has ancient roots while tomato soup became popular in 1897.
33. Apple cider or hot chocolate?
Answer: Hot chocolate: Hot chocolate came first, with cacao drinks dating back thousands of years in Mesoamerica, while apple cider production developed later in Europe.
34. Coffee creamer or whipped cream?
Answer: Whipped cream dates back to the 16th century, while coffee creamer was invented in the mid-20th century.
35. Chicken pot pie or beef stew?
Answer: Beef stew: Beef stew came first, with meat and vegetables cooked together in liquid dating back thousands of years, while chicken pot pie developed into its recognizable form during medieval and 16th-century Britain.
36. Macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese?
Answer: Macaroni and cheese: Macaroni and cheese came first, with early pasta-and-cheese recipes dating back to the 14th century, while the modern grilled cheese sandwich became popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
37. Shepherd’s pie or chicken and dumplings?
Answer: Shepherd’s pie came first, beating out chicken and dumplings by nearly a century when tracing their origins as distinct, named dishes.
38. Chili or French onion soup?
Answer: French onion soup: French onion soup came first, with onion-and-broth soup recipes dating back to ancient times, while chili con carne developed in the American Southwest and Texas during the 19th century.
39. Broccoli cheddar soup or Potato soup?
Answer: Potato soup: Potato soup came first, with recipes appearing in the 18th and 19th centuries, while broccoli cheddar soup didn’t emerge as a distinct recipe until the late 20th century.
40. Split pea soup or clam chowder?
Answer: Split pea soup came first by thousands of years.
41. Vegetable soup or beef stew?
Answer: Vegetable soup came first, as basic broths and plant-based or mixed pottages predate structured meat stews by thousands of years.
42. Beef stroganoff or pot roast?
Answer: Pot roast: Pot roast came first, with braising techniques dating back to at least 1651, while the first known written recipe for beef stroganoff appeared in a Russian cookbook in 1871.
43. Meatloaf or fondue?
Answer: Meatloaf beats fondue by more than 1,000 years.
44. Casseroles or meatballs?
Answer: Meatballs came first, beating casseroles by more than a thousand years. While both foods were born out of the practical need to stretch expensive ingredients and feed large families, their histories trace back to very different eras.
45. Ramen or Pho?
Answer: Ramen: Ramen came first, with Chinese-inspired noodle soups appearing in Japan in the late 19th century, while pho originated in northern Vietnam in the early 20th century.
46. Bread pudding or apple crisp?
Answer: Bread pudding: Bread pudding came first, with roots dating back to 11th-century England, while the first recorded apple crisp recipe appeared in print in 1915.
47. Baked pears or sticky toffee pudding?
Answer: Baked pears came first, with ancient Romans preparing spiced pear dishes as early as the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, while sticky toffee pudding is a much more modern British dessert popularized in the 1960s and 1970s.
48. Cinnamon rolls or oatmeal?
Answer: Oatmeal came first by a margin of tens of thousands of years.
49. Pumpkin pie or pecan pie?
Answer: Pumpkin pie: Pumpkin pie recipes appeared in American cookbooks before pecan pie became popular, with pumpkin pies dating back to the 17th century.
Related: Fall ‘Which Came First?’ Questions
50. Gingerbread cookies or sugar cookies?
Answer: Gingerbread came first, with early ginger-and-honey cakes dating back to around 2400 BCE in ancient Greece, while modern sugar cookies originated with German Moravians in Pennsylvania in the late 1700s
Related: Christmas ‘Which Came First?’ Questions
51. Caramel apples or toffee?
Answer: Toffee came first, with the term first recorded in Britain in 1825, while caramel apples were invented much later in the United States in the 1950s.
52. Fudge or peppermint bark?
Answer: Fudge came first, with its origins dating back to around 1886 in the United States, while peppermint bark first appeared in the 1960s and was popularized nationwide by Williams Sonoma in 1998.
53. S’mores or beignets?
Answer: Beignets came first by several centuries.
54. Hot buttered rum or Irish coffee?
Answer: Hot buttered rum came first, originating in Colonial America during the 17th century, while Irish coffee was invented much later in 1942 or 1943 by chef Joe Sheridan in Ireland.
55. Mulled cider or Eggnog?
Answer: Mulled cider came first, with spiced drinks dating back to ancient Rome and the tradition evolving into medieval English wassail, while eggnog developed from the medieval British drink posset and didn’t get its name until the late 1700s in colonial America.
Related: Christmas Food & Drink Trivia
56. Peppermint mocha or Chai latte?
Answer: Chai latte (1998), Peppermint Mocha (2002)
57. Wassail or eggnog?
Answer: Wassail came first, with roots in Anglo-Saxon England dating back to at least the 7th century, while eggnog evolved from medieval British posset and took shape as a recognizable drink in 17th-century Britain.
58. Hot toddy or hot tea?
Answer: Hot tea came first by thousands of years.
59. Mexican hot chocolate or apple cider?
Answer: Apple cider came first, with evidence of fermented apple drinks dating back to around 3000 BCE in Europe, while cacao-based drinks emerged in Mesoamerica around 1500–500 BCE as bitter, spiced beverages rather than the sweet hot chocolate we know today.
60. Stollen or Panettone?
Answer: Stollen came first, with its origins in Dresden, Germany, dating back to at least 1329, while Italian panettone originated in Milan during the 15th century.
61. Mince pies or Tamales?
Answer: Tamales came first by thousands of years.
62. Poutine or Buche de Noël?
Answer: Bûche de Noël came first, beating poutine by nearly a century.
63. Baked Alaska or ice cream cake?
Answer: Ice cream cake came first, evolving from 18th-century frozen desserts into Victorian-era molded and layered treats, while Baked Alaska was created later in the mid-19th century.
64. Coffee or tea?
Answer: Tea came first by several thousand years, with roots in ancient China around 2700 BCE, while coffee developed much later, around the 9th century CE.
Winter Inventions & Traditions ‘Which Came First?’ Game Questions
65. The first artificial snow or the first snowmaking machine?
Answer: Artificial snowflakes came first, with Japanese physicist Ukichiro Nakaya creating the first in a laboratory in 1936, while the first commercial snowmaking machine was invented later in 1950 by Art Hunt, Dave Richey, and Wayne Pierce.
66. The first electric blanket or the first electric heater?
Answer: Electric heater (1883), Electric blanket (1912)
67. Snow boots or scarves?
Answer: Snow boots came first, with primitive insulated footwear dating back around 3000 BCE, while scarves were first documented in ancient Egypt around 1350 BCE.
68. The first thermos or the first insulated lunchbox?
Answer: The Thermos came first, with the vacuum flask invented in 1892 and the commercial Thermos launched in 1904, while the first lunch kit combining a lunch box with a built-in Thermos bottle appeared in 1911.
69. The first pair of snow goggles or the first ski helmet?
Answer: The first pair of snow goggles came first by centuries, with Indigenous Arctic peoples developing protective eyewear to prevent snow blindness long before modern ski helmets were invented in the 20th century.
70. The first snow globe or the first lava lamp?
Answer: Snow globe (1878), lava lamp (1963)
71. Mittens or gloves?
Answer: Mittens came first, dating back to the Ice Age and deep prehistory for warmth and survival.
72. Snow shovels or snowplows?
Answer: Snow shovels came first, with evidence of a 6,000-year-old snow removal tool found in Russia, while the first recorded mechanical snowplow was used much later, in Milwaukee in 1862.
73. Wool coats or down jackets?
Answer: Wool coats came first, with wool textiles dating back to around 6000 BCE in Mesopotamia, while down jackets were invented much later in the 1930s and patented by Eddie Bauer in 1940.
74. The first hot water bottle or the first electric heating pad?
Answer: Hot water bottles came first, with early versions made from metal or ceramic dating back centuries, while electric heating pads were developed in the early 20th century.
75. Snow days or winter vacations?
Answer: Winter vacations came first, with school holiday breaks rooted in early English and European traditions, while snow days became a recognized practice much later, following devastating blizzards like the Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888 in the United States.
76. Sweaters or cardigans?
Answer: Sweaters came first, with knitted wool garments dating back to the 15th century in the Channel Islands, while cardigans were invented much later in the 1850s during the Crimean War by the 7th Earl of Cardigan
77. Beanies or hoodies?
Answer: Beanies came first, beating the modern hoodie by several decades in their current forms.
78. Oven or microwave?
Answer: The oven came first by thousands of years.
79. Electric fireplace or space heaters?
Answer: Space heaters (1890s), Electric fireplaces (1912)
80. Ice scrapers or windshield wipers?
Answer: Windshield wipers (1903), ice scrapers (1930s)
81. Ski poles or snowboards?
Answer: Ski poles came first by thousands of years.
82. Snowblowers or Snowmobiles?
Answer: Snowmobiles came first, beating out the invention of the modern mobile snowblower by just one year.
83. Snow tires or tire chains?
Answer: Tire chains came first, with early automobile tire chains appearing in the early 1900s, while the first winter-specific snow tires were introduced in the 1930s.
84. New Year’s celebrations or Valentine’s Day celebrations?
Answer: New Year’s celebrations came first, dating back around 4,000 years to ancient Babylon, while Valentine’s Day originated much later, around 496 CE.
85. Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Presidents Day?
Answer: Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day) came first, becoming a federal holiday in 1885, while Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983 and first celebrated nationwide in 1986.
86. The first Christmas lights or the first artificial Christmas tree?
Answer: Artificial Christmas trees came first, with the first U.S. patent issued in 1878, while the first electrically lit Christmas tree was displayed by Edward H. Johnson in 1882.
Winter Nature ‘Which Came First?’
87. Frostbite or windchill terms?
Answer: The term “frostbite” came first, preceding “wind chill” by more than 350 years.
88. The first scientific study of snowflakes or the first photograph of a snowflake?
Answer: The scientific study of snowflakes came first, with Johannes Kepler writing about their six-sided structure in 1611, while the first successful photograph of a snowflake was taken by Wilson Bentley in 1885.
89. Weather forecasting or Groundhog Day predictions?
Answer: Groundhog Day predictions came first, with roots in ancient European folklore and an American record dating back to 1840, while formal U.S. weather forecasting began later with the establishment of the federal Weather Bureau in 1870.
90. The first weather satellite or the first Doppler weather radar?
Answer: Weather satellites came first, with TIROS-1 launching in 1960, while the first experimental Doppler weather radar was modified and developed by the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in 1964.
91. The Northern Lights or the Southern Lights documented first?
Answer: The Northern Lights were documented first, with ancient civilizations recording observations of auroras thousands of years ago, while early documented observations of the Southern Lights came later.
92. Hibernation or migration recorded observations?
Answer: Migration came first in the historical record, with ancient civilizations documenting seasonal animal movements thousands of years before scientists formally studied and classified hibernation.
93. The first documented discovery of a glacier or the first documented blizzard?
Answer: Glaciers were documented in the 1500s, while the first documented blizzard was in 1870.
94. The first recorded observation of a blizzard or the first official blizzard warning?
Answer: Blizzard observations came first, with historical accounts of severe winter storms dating back centuries, while formal blizzard warnings became part of modern weather forecasting in the 20th century.
95. The first photograph of the Northern Lights or the first photograph of a snowflake?
Answer: Snowflake photography came first, with Wilson Bentley capturing the first successful snowflake photograph in 1885, while the first known photograph of the Northern Lights was taken in 1892.
96. The first recorded sighting of a polar bear or the first recorded sighting of a penguin?
Answer: The first recorded sighting of a polar bear came first, predating the first recorded sighting of a penguin by more than a thousand years.
97. The first weather forecast on television or the first weather satellite images?
Answer: Television weather forecasts came first (1941), while the first satellite weather images followed after TIROS-1 launched in 1960.
98. The first official blizzard warning or the first official hurricane warning?
Answer: Hurricane warnings came first, with official storm warnings issued by the U.S. Weather Bureau in the late 19th century, while formal blizzard warnings came much later well into the 20th century.
99. The first blizzard warning or the first televised weather forecast?
Answer: Televised weather forecasts came first, appearing in the 1940s, while the first statewide blizzard warning in U.S. history was issued in 1978.
100. The first blizzard warning or the first tornado warning?
Answer: Tornado warnings came first (1948), preceding the development of formal blizzard warnings.
Free Winter ‘Which Came First?’ Printable Game
Print this fun printable Winter ‘Which Came First?’ game and find the answer key directly below!
If you love this game, grab this Winter Higher or Lower Game, too!
Winter Which Came First? Answer Key To The Printable Above
(The answers are for you below! But if you’d like to skip coming back or make the game completely screen-free, you can also grab the full PDF game set with answers here.
- Skiing
- Summer Olympics
- Speed skating
- The Mighty Ducks
- Hot chocolate
- Tomato soup
- Ice fishing
- Snow boots
- Ice Age
- Winter vacations
- Space heater
- Snowmobiles
- Frostbite
- Down jackets
- Marshmallows
Related:
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