"Christmas Party" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixteenth episode overall. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Charles McDougall. It was first broadcast on December 6, 2005 on NBC. The episode guest stars David Koechner as Todd Packer.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, the office throws a Christmas party and plays Secret Santa. Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), having put much effort into finding a gift for Pam (Jenna Fischer), becomes frustrated when Michael Scott (Steve Carell) makes everyone play "Yankee Swap", and an iPod that Michael bought for Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) becomes the hot object of the game.
The episode received positive reviews from television critics, with many applauding Michael's "Yankee Swap" scene. The episode was nominated for two Primetime Emmy awards, one for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, and one for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. "Christmas Party" earned a Nielsen rating of 4.3 in the 18–49 demographic, being viewed by 9.7 million viewers, making it, at the time of its airing, the highest-rated episode of the season.
Plot
The office staffers hold a "Secret Santa" gift exchange at their Christmas party. Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) received Pam Beesly's (Jenna Fischer) name, and puts a great deal of effort into her gift (a teapot filled with some mementos and a personal letter from him to her). Michael Scott (Steve Carell) buys a $400 video iPod as his gift to Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak), far exceeding the $20 limit. He is disappointed by the handmade oven glove he receives from Phyllis Lapin (Phyllis Smith) and insists on turning the exchange into a "Yankee Swap". This goes amiss as many of the gifts, such as a decorative name plate with Kelly Kapoor's (Mindy Kaling) name on it, are specific to the recipients. The staff competes for the iPod, and Pam opts to swap for it rather than keep Jim's gift.
Jim's present for Pam ends up with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). Jim tries to convince Dwight to do a post-swap with him, but Dwight refuses, saying he plans to use the teapot for nasal cleansing. Pam elects to trade the iPod for Jim's gift after her fiancé Roy tells her he was planning on getting her an iPod and has no other decent ideas for gifts, but to spare Jim's feelings she tells him she swapped out of appreciation for the effort he put into it. While she goes through the various aspects of her gift, Jim sneaks the letter for her into his pocket.
After ruining his staff's mood, Michael disobeys company policy by buying vodka for the party to compensate. Everyone ends up having a good time, with the exception of Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey), who is furious over not receiving appreciation for her efforts toward arranging the party, as well as Kelly kissing Dwight, whom Angela is secretly dating. The party ends with a drunken Meredith Palmer (Kate Flannery) exposing herself to Michael, who takes a picture and then leaves.
Production
Writing
"Christmas Party" was written by Michael Schur, who portrays Mose Schrute in the series. The episode was his third contribution after the first season entry "The Alliance" and second-season episode "Office Olympics". B. J. Novak later noted that, compared to Schur's previous episode "The Alliance", the "driving force of the mayhem" in the episode is Michael's desire to make all of his workers "happy", rather than him being "a jerk". The scene wherein Dwight plugs the Christmas tree in, only for the office to be underwhelmed by the dismal lights was based on a real moment Schur and his wife experienced during their first Christmas together. Schur based the Christmas party sequences on a scene in Rushmore that happens after the main character does his Vietnam play. He noted that he wanted it to be "pastiche-y" and feature "small groups of people talking to each other". Meredith flashing Michael was based on a real-life experience Greg Daniels's dad had at a former job; at the end of one particular Christmas party, there was a stain on the office couch, which he called an "inappropriate ending" for the party. Daniels's father kept pressuring him to make a Christmas episode of The Office, and so Daniels utilized this experience.