Christmas Party (The Office)
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
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.
"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.
He is disappointed by the handmade oven glove he receives from Phyllis Lapin and insists on turning the exchange into a "Yankee Swap".
After ruining his staff's mood, Michael disobeys company policy by buying vodka for the party to compensate.
[6] Schur based the Christmas party sequences on a scene in Rushmore that happens after the main character does his Vietnam play.
He had heard the names "Nasty Christmas", "White Elephant", and "Yankee Swap" used to describe the game, and so he wrote all three into the script in order "to cover all regions of the country".
[12] Schur revealed in the commentary for the episode that Stanley bought Kelly her nameplate, Dwight's paintballs were intended for Phyllis, Meredith bought Dwight shot glasses, Ryan got Toby a book of short stories, Angela purchased Stanley a picture frame, and Pam drew Meredith a picture of the office.
However, the producers felt that he was not able to capture Pam's "feminine side" and so several young female artists were asked to draw the building.
"[13] McDougal sought to bring movement to the Secret Santa scene, due to it being a largely stationary sequence.
[8] The series' writers researched local Pennsylvania laws and discovered one that requires a liquor salesman must wear a tie.
[12] To preserve Flannery's modesty, the series' monitors were shut off and the memory card for the digital camera was removed.
Notable cut scenes include Oscar and Creed moving a desk, Dwight confirming that Phyllis is bringing a date to the party and Pam is not, Dwight saying he prefers the way humans give presents to the way bears give them, Kevin singing "Christmas in Hollis" by Run DMC, Oscar revealing that he was not really enthusiastic about the shower radio because Kelly gave him the same thing last year, Toby and Kelly doing a post-swap trade of the name plate for the book of short stories, and Michael explaining that Christmas is about seeing people envy the gifts that you give to others.
[16] An encore presentation of the episode on December 28 received a 3.2 rating/8 percent share and was viewed by over 6.5 million viewers and was ranked number one in the adults 18–34 demographic.
[18] Matt Fowler of IGN named the episode the second-best Christmas special of the series, calling it "a classic full of holiday cheer" with "one of the best comedic experiences ever".
[19] The Cincinnati Post named the episode, and specifically the scene where Michael makes the office play "Yankee Swap," one of the 2005 "Holiday Highlights".
Club awarded the episode an "A−", and applauded its vignette-style presentation, noting that this format "work[s] in the show’s favor".
[22] He also applauded the characterization of Michael, writing that it allowed him to "indulge in some David Brent-like behavior without it coming off as a lackluster impression or a bad shade on the show.
