What Kind of Christmas Guest Are You?

Every Christmas gathering runs on a cast of characters, and you are one of them whether you planned it or not. Somebody has the turkey timings on a spreadsheet. Somebody is washing up before the pudding is finished. Somebody is asleep under a paper hat by four o'clock.

This quiz names your role. It asks about the moments that reveal it: Christmas Eve, your jumper, first thing on Christmas morning, how you buy presents, the best bit of dinner, what you do afterwards, your board game energy, your choice of telly, Boxing Day, and your part in the family group chat.

It is built for sharing. Send it round and see who is who. Everyone knows which one they are, and everyone has a strong opinion about which one you are.

You make ten picture choices, one at a time, each an original drawing made for this site. Every option carries one or two guest types.

We use our own proprietary structure: each pick adds a point to every type it carries, and each total is divided by how often that type appears across the quiz, so no type wins just by turning up more often. The highest score is your guest type. The second highest is your "dash of", the extra ingredient in how you do Christmas.

Answer for the Christmas you actually have, not the one in the adverts.

Here is every result, and what it says about you.

• Host: Christmas happens because you make it happen. You bought the presents by November, ordered the matching family jumpers in October, and explain the board game rules before anyone opens the box. The day has a shape because you gave it one.
• Elf: the quiet reason everything runs smoothly. You make everyone coffee before they ask, keep score at the board game, and are halfway through the washing up while others are still sitting down. Handmade gifts and thank-you messages are your love language.
• Entertainer: the room gets louder, and better, when you arrive. Your jumper lights up and plays a tune, you open presents in your pyjamas at full volume, and you play to win. Without you, the crackers would just be paper.
• Foodie: everyone's favourite part of the day has your fingerprints on it. You made the stuffing from scratch, you have strong views on roast potatoes, and your Boxing Day leftovers sandwich deserves its own award.
• Napper: you have mastered the art of Christmas, and everyone else is still learning. The softest jumper, the longest lie-in, the best spot on the sofa. You understand that the point of the day is to feel very full and very warm.
• Wildcard: the story everyone tells next year starts with you. You were at the pub on Christmas Eve, you invented a new rule halfway through the board game, and you suggested the walk that somehow ended at the pub again.

Your "dash of" is your runner-up type, and it is the twist in how you do Christmas. A Host with a dash of Foodie runs the day around the dinner. A Host with a dash of Entertainer runs it around the games.

It is often the part your family recognises first. The Napper with a dash of Wildcard falls asleep at four, then wakes at nine and suggests a midnight walk. The Elf with a dash of Host quietly ends up running the whole thing.

The quiz is best taken by everyone at once. Send the link to the family group chat on Christmas Eve, or pass a phone round the table after dinner.

• Ask everyone to guess their own result first, then take it.
• Then guess each other's. The arguments are the best part.
• Work out the balance. A table with three Hosts needs a peace treaty. A table with no Elf needs a washing-up rota.
• Save the results and take it again next year. The page keeps the same address and refreshes for each Christmas.

If someone gets Napper and denies it, take a photo at four o'clock and settle the matter for good.

The best Christmas tables have a mix, because each type covers what another one lacks. A Host and an Elf are the classic pairing: one makes the plan and the other quietly makes it work. Put them together and dinner is on the table at the time it was promised.

The Entertainer and the Wildcard are the double act. One starts the game, the other changes the rules, and between them the evening has a story by nine o'clock. They need a Host nearby to stop the board game lasting until midnight.

The Foodie and the Napper are natural allies. One cooks the feast and the other appreciates it more completely than anyone else in the house. Every Foodie secretly loves a guest who asks for seconds and then falls asleep in gratitude.

The trickier pairings are the same type twice. Two Hosts in one kitchen means two spreadsheets and one oven. Two Wildcards means nobody is sure where the evening is going, including them. If that is your family, hand out jobs early: one Host gets the dinner, the other gets the games, and the Wildcards get the walk.

Whatever your mix, the day goes best when everyone gets to play their part. Let the Host host, let the Elf help, and let the Napper nap.