How to Run a Christmas Quiz for a French Association

A Christmas quiz for your association: in a hall or online, rounds, teams, sign-up through your donation page, and the French rules on prizes and raffles.

In short A Christmas quiz is a simple action for an association: an evening in a hall or online, 6 to 8 teams, four rounds and one sign-up per team through your donation page. Be careful with prizes: a prize draw counts as a tombola or loto, with precise rules.

this article describes the rules in France.

A quiz needs no stall, no heavy equipment and not many volunteers. Here is how to build it, from team sign-ups to the final ranking, and how to announce it to your donors.

Why a Christmas quiz works

A quiz brings people around a table and a game, not around a request for money. Participants come with friends or colleagues, stay two hours and leave having supported your association without feeling they paid for a donation.

You can prepare it in about three weeks with three people: one for the questions, one for sign-ups and one for hosting. It is a format you can repeat every year, and it works as well in a village hall as on a shared screen.

To compare it with other formats, read our overview of Christmas action ideas for an association.

In a hall or online: choosing the format

In a hall, count on one room for 6 to 8 tables of 5 to 6 people, a microphone, a projector and one answer sheet per team. The atmosphere is warmer, but you have to book the venue, which is often done through the town hall (mairie).

Online, a video call is enough: each team joins a virtual room and sends its answers in for the final vote. It is easier for scattered volunteers and distant supporters. A mixed format is possible too, with some teams in the hall and others remote.

  • Hall: friendly, but you need a venue and someone on the welcome desk.
  • Online: no venue, more people possible, but less warmth.
  • Mixed: the most flexible, as long as your host is comfortable with both.

Rounds and teams

Plan four rounds of 10 questions, so 40 questions in about 2 hours, breaks included. Vary the themes: Christmas culture, traditions from here and elsewhere, music, and a round about your association so people get to know it without a speech.

Aim for teams of 5 to 6 people. Fewer and people feel alone; more and some stop taking part. Add a picture or music round to wake up the room, and a final tiebreaker with a numeric answer, where the closest guess wins.

  1. Welcome and rules, 15 minutes.
  2. Rounds 1 and 2, 40 minutes.
  3. Break and presentation of your campaign, 15 minutes.
  4. Rounds 3 and 4, 40 minutes.
  5. Marking and prize-giving, 10 minutes.

Signing up through the donation page

Instead of a sign-up sheet and cheques, open a donation page where each team registers as it gives. Each team leaves its team name and a contact e-mail, and you keep a clear list of entrants.

On the page you can offer several amounts with a label, for example "Team entry" or "Extra support". The donor chooses a one-off or monthly gift, and the page works on a phone, which matters for last-minute sign-ups.

One point to watch on tax: if the entry fee gives access to the evening, that counts as something in return. It must not exceed a quarter of the gift, with a maximum of €65 a year, otherwise the tax reduction is not secured (service-public.gouv.fr). Set your team fee with that ceiling in mind and ask your tax office (service des impôts) before mentioning a tax receipt (reçu fiscal).

Prizes: what the rules allow

Rewarding the winning team is not a problem in itself, but as soon as you draw a prize by lot, you enter the field of lotteries. A tombola is forbidden in principle, and allowed for associations under conditions: prizes in kind rather than cash, and proceeds going entirely to a social, humanitarian, educational or cultural purpose, for example.

You need prior authorisation from the mayor of your registered seat (in Paris, from the police prefect), requested with form Cerfa no. 11823. It is only possible on site: a lottery run remotely is not allowed for an association. For an online quiz, forget the prize draw.

The traditional loto needs no authorisation if the stakes stay within a restricted circle, with a stake under €20, non-cash prizes and a public-interest purpose. Repeating it regularly in a hall open to the public does not count as a restricted circle. Penalties can reach a €90,000 fine and 3 years in prison.

Our practical advice: give prizes to the best-ranked teams instead of a draw, and ask your town hall to confirm your situation if you are unsure.

How to do it with WeGlow.world

Here is how to organise sign-ups and follow-up with WeGlow.world. You create your donation page in three steps, with amounts and labels for each team, as a one-off or monthly gift, and you share the link by e-mail and on social media.

Your supporters can also start their own action page to sponsor a team or collect gifts around the quiz. If you have written a thank-you text in your account, it goes out after each gift.

For a digital touch you can imagine the Card Wall: each team would leave a card there, like an envelope hung on a string. It is an experience still at concept stage, until the official launch. You will find all the ideas on the WeGlow.world Christmas page, and you can start for free with an account.

For the full timeline, see our guide to organising a Christmas action in France, and for a fully remote version, our article on the online Christmas action with a digital experience.

Frequently asked questions

These are the five questions that come up most before launching a Christmas quiz for an association.

How many teams do you need for the quiz to be worthwhile?

Six to eight teams of 5 to 6 people are enough for a good evening. Below 5 teams, the atmosphere drops quickly. Set a sign-up deadline one week ahead to confirm the hall.

Can you draw prizes by lot during the quiz?

Only under the tombola rules: prior authorisation from the mayor, prizes in kind, proceeds for an allowed purpose, and only on site. An online draw is not allowed for an association.

Does the entry fee give right to a tax receipt?

Not necessarily. If the entry gets you the evening in return, that counts as something in return, limited to a quarter of the gift and €65 a year. Only an eligible association can issue the receipt: ask your tax office for advice.

Do you need authorisation to run the quiz?

We found no rule specific to the quiz, but using a public hall often goes through the town hall. Above €153,000 collected from the public, a declaration to the prefecture is required (associations.gouv.fr).

How do you tell donors without breaking the CNIL rules?

Inform people, when collecting their details, that their data is used for charitable prospecting, and offer a simple way to refuse, with an unsubscribe link in every message. For a sale, ask for consent.

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