All of The Office Christmas Episodes: Ranked

Alexandra Docken, Staff Writer

If you know me, you know that I spend most of my free time watching “The Office.” I have probably rewatched the entire series at least five times over, if not more. I can recite lines word for word, give you a full rundown of episodes, and give you a complete backstory of any given character. In short, I love “The Office.”

So this Christmas, if you’re bored and have a Netflix subscription, here are all of the Christmas/holiday episodes… ranked from impish to admirable.

7. Christmas Wishes (Season 8, Episode 10)

Okay. This episode isn’t bad, but it’s the first Christmas episode without Michael Scott, Robert California comes and gets a little too close to poor, innocent Erin, and Pam isn’t there. Andy, being the new boss, tries to please everyone and grants them all one wish. Obviously, this doesn’t go over well. In addition, Dwight and Jim are threatened with losing their holiday bonuses if they continue to prank each other. So, in an attempt to steal the other’s bonus, each man tries to “prank” themselves, but they really aren’t very good pranks.

6. Moroccan Christmas (Season 5, Episode 11)

This episode actually has a lot of redeemable qualities, but the main storyline falls flat, pushing it to sixth place. It has one of the best cold opens, Dwight coming into a completely gift wrapped desk, but then focuses on Meredith’s issues for the rest of the episode (a real bummer). The sub-plot of Dwight buying out all of the season’s hottest toys is mildly humorous, but again is outshined by Phyllis revealing Dwight’s relationship with Angela (currently engaged to Andy) in front of the whole office, putting a real damper on the whole party.

5. A Benihana Christmas (Season 3, Episodes 10-11)

This ranking might come as a surprise to some people. I know a lot of people who really liked this episode, but, to me, it fell a bit flat. A large portion of the episode is spent at the restaurant Benihana. Here, Andy, Jim, and Dwight take Michael to lunch to try and cheer him up after his breakup with Carol. The men spend time flirting with the waitresses (ew) and it just doesn’t feel very Christmas-y. They come back to the office where they find two competing Christmas parties, to which the build-up was mildly funny, but then just seems like a normal Christmas episode. The redeeming qualities of the episode include Angela’s performance of Little Drummer Boy and Dwight thinking he’s being recruited by the CIA… but both are very short segments.

4. Classy Christmas (Season 7, Episodes 11-12)

This episode is ranked right in the middle for good reason. It isn’t the funniest, but it perfectly balances humor and emotion. In this episode, Toby announces he will be leaving for jury duty, meaning that Holly(!) will be returning from Nashua. Michael goes insane. Pam and Jim exchange sentimental gifts and Darryl’s little daughter comes to the office and hands out a bunch of snacks from the vending machine! (C’mon, that’s cute!!) Jim and Dwight get in a huge snowball fight, with Dwight continually taking it to the next level throughout the episode. Angela brings her boyfriend, the “Senator,” to the party, and plenty of jokes are cracked on that topic. Overall, it’s a solid episode.

3. Secret Santa (Season 6, Episode 13)

A lot of people don’t like this one, but hear me out. Even though there’s a lot of tension in the office in this episode (possible company bankruptcy and Jim and Pam’s relationship on the rocks), a lot of the jokes that are cracked are the type of jokes I think of when I think of “The Office.” Michael is upset that Jim and Dwight (interim heads of the Party Planning Committee) let Phyllis be Santa, so he sabotages the party by dressing as “Jesus” and making crude jokes over a microphone all night. The additional plot of everyone having a Secret Santa adds another laugh, with Erin getting tons of birds from Andy, Jim getting a used shirt from Creed, and Creed getting a pack of deodorant from Angela. The night ends with David Wallace delivering the good news that their jobs are safe, with Michael realizing that he should just be “normal” Michael, and the episode wraps up all cozy.

2. Dwight Christmas (Season 9, Episode 9)

By far one of my favorite episodes. This is peak, classic Dwight. Though some of our favorite characters are missing and Jim and Pam aren’t doing ~great,~ all of Dwight’s shenanigan’s more than make up for it. Dwight throws together a classic Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas, complete with wild traditions and Santa Claus’ counterpart, Belsnickel. The episode feels like a true Christmas party and ends with a sweet, warm feeling of holiday cheer when Jim decides to stay in Scranton with Pam for the night (instead of going to Philly). Overall, it really felt like a Christmas episode and had a lot of laughs.

1.Christmas Party (Season 2, Episode 10)

This one is the classic Christmas episode. It’s the show’s first Christmas episode and everyone is buzzing with holiday spirit. There’s a Secret Santa party for which everyone is excited (and gets a little out of hand). Basically, every part of it is classic “The Office.” Kevin draws himself and gets a footbath, Michael goes out of budget and gets an iPod for Ryan, and (one of the most memorable moments) Jim gets Pam a blue teapot filled with small memories they have together. Michael gets jealous of his bad present and decides to turn the Secret Santa into a “Yankee Swap” (White Elephant) and it turns into an all-out free for all. The office is decorated with tinsel and a tree, and you know it’s a Christmas episode.

 

So whatever you’re doing this Christmas break, I recommend fitting in at least a few episodes of “The Office.” Maybe 100. Maybe the whole series. Up to you.