Reindeer Riddles: 30 Arctic and Christmas Riddles with Answers

I’m a deer that lives in the snowy far north, and in Christmas stories I pull a sleigh through the night sky. What am I?

I’m a set of bony “branches” on a reindeer’s head. I fall off every year and grow back even bigger. What am I?

I’m a baby reindeer, born in late spring. What am I called?

I’m a big group of reindeer that eat, rest and travel together. What am I?

I have runners but I never jog. I glide over snow, and in stories eight reindeer pull me. What am I?

I’m the jolly man in a red suit who, the stories say, travels by reindeer on Christmas Eve. Who am I?

I’m the cold, icy spot at the very top of the world where, the stories say, Santa’s workshop stands. What am I?

In winter, reindeer dig through the snow to find me: a crunchy, grayish food that grows on rocks and the ground. People call me “reindeer moss,” but I’m not really a moss. What am I?

What’s a reindeer’s favorite kind of weather?

In North America, wild reindeer have a different name. What is it?

In most kinds of deer, only the males grow antlers. Which reindeer grow them?

Male reindeer drop their antlers in late fall, but females keep theirs until spring. So a reindeer still wearing antlers on Christmas Eve is most likely what?

While antlers are growing, they’re covered in soft, fuzzy skin full of blood vessels. This skin has the same name as a soft, smooth fabric. What is it?

When reindeer walk, a tendon slipping over a bone in each foot makes a sound that helps the herd stay together in a snowstorm. What sound is it?

In summer, a reindeer’s eyes shine golden. In the long, dark Arctic winter, they change to a different color. Which one?

We’re an Indigenous people whose homeland stretches across the far north of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Many of our families have herded reindeer for centuries. Who are we?

Every spring, many caribou herds walk hundreds of kilometers to the places where their calves are born, and then walk back in the fall. What is this yearly journey called?

In the old poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” eight reindeer pull the sleigh. How many hooves is that?

A reindeer’s fur is made of hollow hairs filled with air. Besides keeping it warm, this helps it do what when it crosses a river?

We hang on a reindeer’s harness and jingle with every step, so people can hear a sleigh coming through the snow. What are we?

In summer I’m soft and spongy for squishy, marshy ground. In winter my pads shrink and harden, so my sharp edge grips the ice. I can also dig through snow. What am I?

Reindeer can see a kind of light that people can’t. It makes lichen and wolves stand out as dark shapes against the bright snow. What kind of light?

Before freezing Arctic air reaches a reindeer’s lungs, it passes through me and gets warmed up. What am I?

A herder has 10 reindeer. In January, all the males have dropped their antlers, but every female still has both of hers. The herder counts 12 antlers. How many of the reindeer are males?

What do you call a reindeer with no eyes?

I’m the biggest member of the deer family. I also live in the north, but my antlers are broad and flat like shovels. What am I?

Sámi herders throw me to catch one reindeer out of a running herd. I’m a long rope with a loop at one end. What am I?

I’m an imaginary line around the top of the Earth. North of me, the sun doesn’t set on the longest day of summer and doesn’t rise on the shortest day of winter. Reindeer live on both sides of me. What am I?

I’m one of the eight reindeer in the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” and my name is also the word for a female fox. Who am I?

Each fall, male reindeer clash antlers and show off to win a mate. What is this season called?