"Christmas Party" is the tenth episode of the second season of The Office and the 16th overall. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Charles McDougall. It first aired on December 6, 2005. It was viewed by 9.7 million people.
Synopsis
The Scranton branch celebrates Christmas. Michael and Dwight bring in a Christmas tree in preparation for the office party. Ryan is drafted onto the Party Planning Committee. Michael interrupts the meeting, telling them to double everything, and he counts out cash to pay for it. He informs the documentary crew that he received a Christmas bonus of "3,000 g's" (actually $3,000). He wants to serve liquor at the party, but Pam reminds him that Corporate does not allow them to.
Dwight informs the employees to put their Secret Santa presents under the tree. Some gifts are revealed: Toby got a baby poster for Angela, Oscar got a shamrock keychain for Creed, and Kevin, who drew his own name for Secret Santa, reveals he got something for himself. Jim has gotten Pam for the first time, bought her a teapot, filled it with inside jokes and a letter revealing his true feelings. After lighting up the Christmas tree, which doesn't look very bright with the main lights off, they begin the Secret Santa gift exchange.
During the gift exchange, Michael gives Ryan a video iPod, exceeding the $20 limit. When Michael receives a homemade oven mitt from Phyllis, Michael fails to see the sentimental value of the present and turns the office gift exchange into a "Yankee Swap" with the hopes of receiving a gift of higher monetary value. By the end of the game, Pam loses the teapot and receives the video iPod. The teapot ends up with Dwight. The office tells Michael that Yankee Swap was a bad idea, and Michael tells them that he bought the iPod because he received a Christmas bonus.
This kills the party, and Michael is shown buying 15 bottles of vodka to cheer everyone up.
After learning that Roy would have gotten her an iPod, Pam trades her gift to Dwight for the teapot. She opens up the teapot with Jim. Pam enjoys all the bonus presents inside the teapot, while Jim sneaks back the letter with his true feelings.
Bob Vance and Todd Packer come to the party, which has gained new life. A drunk Kelly kisses Dwight, who tells her it was inappropriate. Angela is seen outside smashing Christmas ornaments. The office leaves for Poor Richard's, and Michael goes into his office to gather his things. Meredith enters his office and takes off her top, which prompts Michael to take a picture and quickly leave the office with an incredulous look on his face.
Trivia
- The special contents of the teapot:
- A cassette - no explanation given, possibly a mix tape. Jim and Pam shared an iPod outside the office after work, and Jim had put music on during Jim's party
- High school yearbook photo - Pam saw it at Jim's party
- "Boggle" timer - no explanation
- Two hot sauce packets - Pam mistook it for ketchup
- Miniature golf pencil - no explanation. In an interview, John Krasinski explains that Pam threw it at Jim in jest, presumably after losing.[1]
- Card with special message - Jim snuck the card back into his pocket before she could see it
- Writer Michael Schur noted in the DVD commentary that one theme of the episode is that Phyllis's day gets progressively better, while Angela's gets progressively worse.
- Todd Packer hangs mistletoe from his pants. In Episode Five of Series Two of the British version of the series, Chris Finch places a red clown nose on his crotch and invites the receptionist to kiss him "on the nose."
- Ironically, Meredith is the only one in the conference room to not be labelled as a "Ho" or "Pimp" by Michael.
Deleted scenes
Notable cut scenes include:
- Oscar and Creed move a desk, but Creed moves it too far and pins Oscar to the wall.
- Michael talks to the camera about the role each of the employees plays at Christmas time. Dwight is the monster who puts the star on the tree. He also claims that Dwight looks like Spock (a reference to the large pointed ears worn as part of his elf costume), which annoys Dwight to no end, since, if he wants to look like Spock, he has a pair of Vulcan-style pointed ears at home.
- The Party Planning Committee decorates the tree while Dwight asks people whom they're bringing to the party. Phyllis confides to the camera that her new boyfriend is Bob Vance.
- Dwight compares humans to bears opening presents.
- More of the Yankee Swap, including Kelly getting mad at Oscar for not liking her gift, Oscar telling the camera that she got him the same gift last year, Oscar opening Pam's present, and Phyllis storming out of the room.
- Kelly and Toby trade presents. Toby had the "Kelly" nametag, and Kelly had the book of short stories.
- Kevin sings a whole verse of "Christmas in Hollis".
- Dwight explains to the camera that he must remain sober at the party because he is an officer of the law. In the background, Meredith's dancing becomes increasingly animated.
- Ryan tells Toby that he got the book for him. Ryan ended up with Creed's jacket, which he intends to give to a homeless person. Creed tells Oscar that he once had a radio show back in the 1970s.
- Angela says to Kelly, "You behaved very badly tonight."
- Michael explains to the camera that he loves it when people envy the gift you gave someone else.
Cultural references
- Michael barges into the Party Planning Committee meeting shouting Merry Christmas! with a lisp, imitating Jimmy Stewart's character from the movie It's a Wonderful Life.
- Michael points at Pam, Angela, Phyllis, and Ryan, saying Ho, ho, ho, pimp! "Ho-ho-ho" is the traditional laugh of Santa Claus; Michael makes a pun on ho (the laugh syllable) and ho' (slang for whore).
- Michael misstates his bonus as three thousand G's, or $3 million. In the episode Email Surveillance, Michael said, "There are certain things a boss does not share with his employees. His salary." But in this episode, he shares the fact that he got a $3000 bonus.
- Secret Santa is a gift exchange in which each participant is randomly assigned another participant for whom to buy a gift. The identity of the giver is typically not revealed.
- Rockefeller Center is a plaza in New York City. The lighting of the center's Christmas tree is a major local event.
- Yankee Swap, also known as Nasty Christmas or White Elephant Exchange, is pretty much as described in the episode.
- The liquor store clerk is wearing a necktie because Michael is shopping at a state-run liquor store, and the dress code requires the clerk to wear a necktie.
- Roy and Darryl's conversation in the kitchen is about Fantasy Football, a game in which participants build a team of actual football players and earn points based on the performance of those players.
- Michael calls Jim Ebenezer. Charles Dickens' story A Christmas Carol is a tale of the curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge.
- Boggle is a word game by Parker Brothers.
- Dwight plans to use the teapot as a neti-pot.
- Poor Richard's Pub is a real pub in Scranton.
- The animated special Michael refers to in a deleted scene is Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The abominable snowman Bumble loses his teeth but reforms and puts the star atop the tree.
- Spock is a character from the Star Trek franchise; his people, the Vulcans, are distinguishable from Humans by their ears, which form a point at the top.
Quotes
Cast
Main Cast
- Steve Carell as Michael Scott
- Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
- John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
- Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly
- B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard
Recurring Cast
- Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
- Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
- Creed Bratton (actor) as Creed Bratton
- Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
- Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
- Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin
- Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
- Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
- Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Lapin
- David Denman as Roy Anderson
- Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
- David Koechner as Todd Packer
- Bobby Ray Shafer as Bob Vance
Guest Cast
- Ryan Martin as Liquor Store Cashier
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