Christine Kopaczewski - A Very Merry Dunder Mifflin Christmas: Celebrating the Holidays with The Office

O VER the course of seven epic Christmas episodes, The Office delighted audiences everywhere with unconventional, often outrageous, and seriously funny memories. Each December, ready to blow off a years worth of pent-up boredom and frustration, the hyped-up holiday party was the ultimate escape from the teams monotonous paper-pushing gigs and the perfect recipe for chaos, love triangles, and prank wars to ensue and they did.

In the pages ahead, youll relive your favorite festive moments, get tips on planning your own seasonal soiree, find the perfect gift for that special someone, and a slew of other holiday hacks and high jinks. So, before you dive into forming your own Party Planning Committee, lets look back at all the ways Michael and his workmates at Dunder Mifflin made the most of their holiday seasons.

If Jim and Dwight are up to their old pranks again, if Michael is committing another party faux pas, it must be the holidays at Dunder Mifflin. Ahead are crib notes to all seven unforgettable Christmas episodes and a Dunder Mifflin Christmas quiz to test your Office knowledge.

Ryan: Angela drafted me into the Party Planning Committee. Her memo said that we need to prepare for every possible disaster. Which to me seems excessive.

The first of the Christmas episodes set the tone for the seasons of holiday hilarity that followed. Without consulting the almighty Party Planning Committee, Michael decides to arrange a Secret Santa for everyone to participate in. Although theres a $20 limit on all Secret Santa gifts, Michael blatantly ignores the rules and splurges on a video iPod (dropping at least $400) for Ryan.

Dwight: Okay, everybody, listen up! It is time to get your presents, wrap them, and place them under the tree like so. If you do not get your present wrapped and under the tree within the next five minutes, you will be disqualified from Secret Santa. All right? No exceptions except Michael.

Jim is excited to learn that hes gotten Pam as his Secret Santa and fills a teapot with meaningful trinkets and a card revealing his feelings for her. Dwight, decked out as one of Santas elves, gathers the group around the tree to get the festivities started. However, things quickly take a turn for the worse when Michael is furious to find that hes received a handmade oven mitt from Phyllis. In hopes of getting a gift more suited to his taste, he insists that the group play Yankee Swap.

Dwight: Yankee Swap is like Machiavelli meets Christmas.

Things continue to spiral when gifts suited specifically for one person, like a nameplate engraved with KELLY (obviously meant for Kelly Kapoor) and Jims special teapot for Pam, are being shifted around from colleague to colleague, all trying to trade up for Michaels iPod.

Michael: Everyone wants the iPod. Its a huge hit. It is almost a Christmas miracle.

In the end, Pam claims the iPod as her own and Jim is distraught to find that Dwight has taken the teapot to clean out his sinuses. Pam, however, has a change of heart when her fianc Roy tells her that he was going to get her an iPod for Christmas anyway and is out of good gift ideas. She trades and gets the teapot back from Dwight, telling Jim that she did so because of all the effort he put in to spare his feelings.

Michael: I want people to cut loose. I want people making out in closets. I want people hanging from the ceilings, lamp shades on the heads. I want it to be a Playboy Mansion party. And also I want you to spread the word that I will have my digital camera. And Ill be taking pictures all along the way.

Meanwhile, Michael is annoyed by the nights turn of events, and buys 15 bottles of vodka, despite a strict alcohol-free party policy. The entire group (minus Angela) drinks and is merry, until a very intoxicated Meredith flashes Michael.

Kevin: Why did you get it so big?

Michael: A, thats what she said, and B, I wanted it to be impressive. The biggest day of the year deserves the biggest tree of the year.

Kevin: But what are we going to do with this hacked-off part?

Michael: Well, that is a perfectly good mini-tree, Kevin. And we are going to sell that to charity. Thats what Christmas is all about.

Michael: This is an old adage, but they say when you find true love, you know within the first 24 hours. With Carol, I knew within the first 24 minutes of the second day I met her.

Season 3s holiday gathering hits a bit of a snag when Michael is suddenly dumped by his girlfriend, Carol. Lonely and stuck with a romantic couples getaway to Sandals (Michaels gift to Carol), he mopes around the office all dayuntil Andy moves into action to put a smile back on Michaels face. His fix? A trip to Benihana. Andy and Jim insist that Michael accompany them to what they fondly call Japanese Hooters, and hilarity follows.