The Office: Every Christmas Episode Ranked!

If any TV show knows how to celebrate with memorable Christmas episodes, it’s The Office. Every time the staff gets together for an office party at Dunder Mifflin, you can expect hilarity to ensue.

From the painfully awkward moments to the hilarious and endearing, here’s a list of every Christmas episode of The Office, ranked!

7. Christmas Wishes (Season 8 Episode 10)

Obviously, things weren’t quite the same once Michael Scott left. Andy did his best, and he really wanted Christmas to be special on The Office Season 8 Episode 10, “Christmas Wishes.” Andy also invites his “super serious girlfriend,” Jessica, to the Christmas party that year, and jealous Erin copes by getting way too drunk.

Probably the most entertaining part of this episode is watching Jim and Dwight try not to prank one another. You also have to love Stanley’s rant:

Stanley: I want Christmas. Just give me plain baby Jesus lying in a major Christmas!

6. Dwight Christmas (Season 9 Episode 9)

On The Office Season 9 Episode 9, the staff realizes that no one planned a Christmas party, and Dwight suggests an authentic Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas.

As a special gift to Jim, Pam helps to convince everyone to go with Dwight’s idea, which is as odd and Dwightlike as it could possibly be. It’s a funny episode, especially with Dwight dressed as Belsnickel, but it still feels lacking with no Michael Scott.

5. Secret Santa (Season 6 Episode 13)

When Jim tells Phyllis she can dress as Santa for the Christmas party, Michael naturally throws a fit. He realizes he can’t have his way, so he tries to dress as something better — Jesus.

Meanwhile, the news that Dunder Mifflin is being sold causes a bit of chaos until everyone learns they’ll get to keep their jobs.

This is also the episode where Andy manages to get Erin for Secret Santa, and his thoughtful gesture of getting her the Twelve Days of Christmas ends up being, well, painful. Still, nothing quite compares to the last day, when he brings in twelve drummers drumming.

4. Moroccan Christmas (Season 5 Episode 11)

Phyllis: This isn’t your grandmother’s Christmas party. Unless of course she’s from Morocco, in which case it’s very accurate.

Phyllis is now head of the party planning committee, which means she chooses the theme for the Christmas party that year. She also has new power over Angela, since she knows that Angela has been cheating on Andy with Dwight.

While that drama’s happening, Dwight buys up all the “Princess Unicorn” dolls to sell to desperate parents, and Michael stages an intervention for Meredith and subsequently drags her, literally, to rehab, for a moment that’s as hilarious as it is horribly awkward.

3. A Benihana Christmas (Season 3 Episode 10)

Speaking of awkward, The Office Season 3 Episode 10, A Benihana Christmas,” is definitely that. From the start with Dwight bringing in a dead goose to Michael’s “new girlfriend,” this episode is pretty much everything you’d expect from a Christmas episode of The Office.

There’s also the competing Christmas parties, one of which is hosted by both Pam and Karen, and other by Angela and the rest of the party planning committee. It’s nice to see Pam decide to be nice to Karen, but even more satisfying is when Pam and Karen decide to merge the two parties once they feel their point has been made.

Other great moments: Jim giving Michael advice, Angela singing karaoke, and Jim finally accepting Pam’s Christmas gift — the chance to finish an elaborate prank on Dwight.

2. Classy Christmas (Season 7 Episodes 11 and 12)

This two-parter ranks high on the list for a few reasons. For starters, the return of Holly has Michael pulling out all the stops as he tries to have a “classy” Christmas party.

His attempts may be misguided, but they’re certainly endearing. Plus, seeing Michael and Holly’s dynamic together is a treat, even though Holly has a new boyfriend.

Pam’s Christmas gift to Jim, a comic book titled “The Adventures of Jimmy Halpert,” is extra special, but Jim’s reaction to the present is even better. But perhaps the best part is the sheer terror that Jim experiences thanks to Dwight’s snowball attacks.

1. Christmas Party (Season 2 Episode 10)

The very first Christmas episode of The Office is painfully awkward, funny, and endearing — meaning it’s easily the best of the bunch.

When Michael spends too much on a Secret Santa gift and gets a homemade oven mitten in return, he forces everyone to play Yankee Swap instead — even though every gift is personalized to whoever it was originally intended for.

That includes Jim’s gift to Pam, which is a teapot filled with inside jokes. Luckily, she gets the teapot by the end of the episode.

—

Which Christmas episode of The Office is your favorite? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Ashley Bissette Sumerel

Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.