This year, forget the Christmas movies. If you’re in the mood to curl up on the couch and binge on something festive yet still familiar, maybe it’s time you paid your old pals from the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin a friendly revisit.
Sure, you probably don’t really need an excuse to rewatch all seven Christmas-themed episodes of The Office—or any episodes of the hit NBC sitcom, which debuted in the U.S. in 2005 and ran for nine seasons before going off the air in 2013. But whether you watched the show as it aired or caught up later on once it hit the streaming circuit, you likely know by now that it was never zanier (or more heartfelt) than during the holiday season.
Here’s where to watch all The Office Christmas episodes, along with summaries for each (in case they all blur together for you now) so you can catch all your favorites or maybe discover a couple new ones along the way.
1. “Christmas Party” (Season 2, Episode 10)
Our first invitation to a Dunder Mifflin Christmas bash at the Scranton branch turns into what is arguably the show’s most memorable holiday episode. In “Christmas Party,” Michael torpedoes the gang’s Secret Santa get-together in classic fashion, flouting the $20 gift limit in order to surprise work-crush Ryan with the most primo present that 2005 had to offer: an iPod. Anarchy ensues—go figure—when Michael gets a homemade oven mitt from Phyllis and declares that Yankee Swap rules now apply.
The episode still manages to sneak in some tender moments amid all the cringe, though. You get Jim and Pam at one of their first will-they-or-won’t-they tipping points, and it’s hard not to root for Jim (even if he is veering uncomfortably into steal-your-girl territory) as he attempts to get Pam’s teapot gift back from Dwight. Not for nothing, this was also the highest-rated episode of season 2, pulling in an impressive 9.7 million viewers and cementing what would go on to become an annual tradition. Fun fact: John Krasinski still has that teapot!
Watch it: Peacock
2. “A Benihana Christmas” (Season 3, Episodes 10 and 11)
Season 3 of The Office is widely regarded as one of the show’s best, and the two-parter “A Benihana Christmas” proves why. It gives us our first real glimpse at the power of the Party Planning Committee, but heavy lies the crown as Angela has to contend with an insurgency led by none other than Karen and Pam, a.k.a. Jim’s then-girlfriend and his future wife, respectively.
As one half of the party does karaoke and the other slips into the conference room for the good brownies, Michael is off moping at Benihana over a breakup. An all-expenses-paid Sandals vacation never seemed so horrifying as when Michael tries, increasingly in vain, to find a woman who will agree to go with him. All in all, it’s comedic gold and everything you’d expect from an episode directed by the late, great Harold Ramis.
Watch it: Peacock
3. “Moroccan Christmas” (Season 5, Episode 11)
Come for the premise—a Moroccan-themed Christmas soirée rife with sitar-playing, belly-dancing, and lots of hummus—but stay for the B-plots in this unforgettable episode, which shines the spotlight on the supporting cast in a big way. From the cold open on, “Moroccan Christmas” doesn’t disappoint: You get Dwight selling the season’s hottest toy, Princess Unicorn, to desperate parents at a huge markup, and Phyllis—who’s been sitting on intel about Dwight and Angela’s affair—power-tripping hard, in a way you know the legendary Mrs. Bob Vance deserves after all those years of being bulldozed over on the Party Planning committee.
The festivities screech to a halt when Meredith accidentally lights her hair on fire, setting the stage for Michael to launch an intervention. It’s awkward, wildly inappropriate, and the second-hand embarrassment you’ll feel as it all goes down is real. In short, this is The Office at its peak, baby.
Watch it: Peacock
4. “Secret Santa” (Season 6, Episode 13)
Secret Santa worked out so well the first time at Dunder Mifflin (*cough*), it only makes sense that the Party Planning committee would resurrect it again for season 6. But this time around, there’s more to contend with: We get dueling Santas, ominous tidings from corporate about the future of the company at large, and Pam trying to hook Oscar up with his secret crush (as if he needed any help from her in that department).
The episode’s levity really comes via Andy, who decides to treat his own secret crush, Erin, to presents inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas. It doesn’t go exactly as planned, but it’s a lot of fun to watch unfold. Beat that with your stupid teapot, Jim.
Watch it: Peacock
5. “Classy Christmas” (Season 7, Episodes 11 and 12)
This two-parter pulls out all the stops, literally and figuratively, as Michael kicks off the episode declaring that this year, the Christmas party needs to be “classy.” His motives are pretty simple, as he wants to impress Holly, his erstwhile love who’s back in town to fill in for Toby.
Things go horribly awry when Holly reveals she’s still dating someone else and Michael, refusing to be so unceremoniously friend-zoned, rips into her on behalf of their future children. It’s bad—real bad—but B-plots like an epic snowball fight between Jim and Dwight and Darryl spending time with his daughter help to make this one of The Office’s most endearing holiday episodes.
Watch it: Peacock
6. “Christmas Wishes” (Season 8, Episode 10)
Running into your ex with his new girlfriend? Tough, but you’ll survive. Running into your ex at the company Christmas party he helped plan with a seemingly perfect new girlfriend on his arm? Unbearable, or at least, that’s the sense you get watching Erin drunkenly navigate the shindig in “Christmas Wishes,” the show’s penultimate holiday episode.
By season 8, the show was in a slump due to Michael’s departure and Pam’s maternity leave, but this episode still manages to squeeze out some laughs as Andy works to make everyone’s holiday wishes come true. Mostly though, it’s just uncomfortable—of all The Office Christmas episodes, this might be the one to skip, unless you’re a completist.
Watch it: Peacock
7. “Dwight Christmas” (Season 9, Episode 9)
In some ways, The Office’s final Christmas episode is its most bittersweet: Michael’s long gone (Ryan and Kelly are MIA, too); Jim and Pam are on the rocks; and—in an almost meta way of signaling that the show is coming to an end—no one at the Scranton branch has planned a party for the holiday. This gives Dwight the opportunity he’s been waiting for, however, so he swoops in and springs into action, treating the gang to an authentic Pennsylvania-Dutch Christmas bonanza, complete with German food and him in full Belsnickel regalia.
As he skulks around, the rest of the office gets up to some serious hijinks. Everyone’s least-favorite HR rep Toby finally gets the girl—well, sort of—and Darryl passes out drunk on a table. As closers go, this one is messy, but you still don’t want to miss it.
Watch it: Peacock
Bonus Episode: “The Office Christmas Special” (2003)
Two years before there was a Dunder Mifflin—and more than a year after Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s original The Office aired its series finale—the gang from Wernham Hogg’s Slough branch returned to television screens for this Christmas special. In addition to answering burning questions like why there was a documentary film crew shooting the inner-workings of a paper company in the first place—along with other questions about how many copies of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” David Brent actually sold via his Juxtaposition Records and “Who does your tampons?“—this two-parter brought Tim and Dawn (the original “Jim and Pam”) back together again. This all after she, very publicly, made it clear that she just wasn’t that into him. As with the entire series in general, the Christmas episode mixes brutally cringey behavior with moments of true sentimentality.
Watch it: Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu
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Where to Watch All of The Office’s Christmas Episodes
Source: Philippines Wonders
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