The Office has Christmas episodes to watch during the holiday season. With nine seasons and 201 episodes, The Office has produced special episodes for many holidays and established a tradition of Christmas stories. Most of The Office's Christmas episodes served as mid-season finales, as they often aired in December.
If you count two-part specials as just one episode, The Office had seven Christmas episodes. The only two seasons of The Office that did not have a Christmas special were seasons 1 and 4. This is because the first season of The Office only had six episodes, and the fourth season of The Office was cut short due to the writers' strike in 2008.
Of all seven Christmas episodes of The Office, only two were without Steve Carell's Michael Scott. Michael's constant need for love and the Party Planning Committee often stole the show in The Office's holiday episodes, but other characters got their moment to shine. From a disastrous game of Secret Santa to Dwight's need to save Christmas, here's a rundown of every Christmas episode of The Office.
Here are all the Christmas episodes of The Office:
Season 2, Episode 10, "The Christmas Party"
The Office's first Christmas episode, "The Christmas Party," brought together all the character dynamics that viewers had been following throughout the first half of season two. Michael Scott is now a much nicer manager than he was in season one, and he wants his employees to have the best Christmas party possible. Apparently, in classic Michael Scott fashion, the extra money for the party planning committee came from a corporate bonus paid to the Scranton branch after Michael fired Devon in the first season of The Office. The infamous "Secret Santa" happened at the "Christmas Party", which was one of the most disappointing moments for Jim and Pam. A perfect representation of Jim and Pam's "will they, won't they" story. In "The Christmas Party", Jim created a personalized gift for Pam, but Michael came up with a new twist on the game where everyone can steal someone else's gift. Not as plot-heavy as other Office Christmas episodes, "The Christmas Party" may be the easiest choice for those looking to re-watch the series during the holidays.
Season 3, Episodes 10-11, "Christmas at Benihana"
The first two-part Christmas episode of The Office, "A Benihana Christmas", was also the first Christmas episode of The Office to feature Dunder Mifflin Stamford characters Andy and Karen. In "Christmas at Benihana", Pam and Karen compete with Angela and the Party Planning Committee to see who can create the best office Christmas party. "Christmas at Benihana" also marks the beginning of a new phase in Jim and Pam's story, as Jim tried to distance himself from Pam after he began a relationship with Karen. In "Christmas at Benihana", Michael also suffers from a broken heart as he and Carol broke up right before the Christmas party. This prompted Michael Scott's iconic "Christmas is cancelled" line, and Andy, Dwight and Jim had to cheer their friend up.
Season 5, Episode 11, "Moroccan Christmas"
A more confusing Christmas episode than previous ones, "Moroccan Christmas" finds Phyllis taking over the leadership of the Party Planning Committee, now that she has Angela in her pocket. Corrupted by power, Phyllis was able to throw what Michael called the best Christmas party in the office, but not everything went so well. Meredith set her hair on fire after drinking too much, leading to Michael Scott's chaotic intervention, and that wasn't the only plot point in "Moroccan Christmas." Dwight's business idea for last-minute Christmas shopping and Andy's personal problems made "Moroccan Christmas" one of The Office's most unique Christmas episodes.
Season 6, episode 13, "Secret Santa"
Not as uplifting as The Office's previous Christmas episode, "Secret Santa" sees Michael and Phyllis vying for the role of Santa Claus this year, even though now second-in-command Jim has already allowed Phyllis to take the position. Since Michael refuses to accept that he can't be Santa Claus, much of "Secret Santa" revolved around Steve Carell's character doing everything he could to stop Phyllis. However, "Secret Santa" features what has become a classic "Office" scene - Kevin trying to decide what he wants for Christmas while sitting on Michael Scott's lap. "Secret Santa" also features Pam trying to help Oscar woo Matt, as well as Andy's exaggerated "12 Christmas gifts" for Erin. Perhaps the most important part of The Office's Secret Santa is that it leads up to the sale of Dunder Mifflin, which will culminate in Kathy Bates' Joe Bennett becoming the owner of the company and creating the Dunder Mifflin Saber Company.
Season 7, episodes 11-12 "Cool Christmas"
"Cool Christmas" is the second two-part Christmas episode of The Office and the last to feature Michael Scott. In fact, "Cool Christmas" began the build-up to Steve Carell's exit from the series, as it reintroduced Holly and proved that Michael would do anything to impress his ex-girlfriend. After learning that Holly would be returning to the Scranton branch for a few weeks to fill in for Toby, Michael threw all the decorations for the office party in the trash and postponed the celebration until the day of Holly's arrival. Unbeknownst to Michael, Holly was still dating AJ, making "Cool Christmas" another Office Christmas episode that Michael will spend heartbroken. "Cool Christmas" also continues The Office's long-running Scranton Strangler mystery, and while many believe Toby was the Scranton Strangler, the character was put on the jury list for that case.
Season 8, Episode 10 "Christmas Wishes"
"Christmas Wishes" is the first Christmas episode of The Office not to feature Michael Scott. Like almost everything else in The Office season 8, whether viewers like "Christmas Wishes" or not depends on what they think of the show after Steve Carell's departure. "Christmas Wishes" combines everything that made The Office season 8 so controversial, including Andy's unnecessary relationship with Erin and a lot of screen time devoted to Robert California. Now he's dating Jessica, the new regional manager of The Office. Andy tried to follow in Michael Scott's footsteps and throw the best Christmas party ever, but apparently things don't go to plan. From Erin wishing Jessica dead to Jim and Dwight trying to set each other up, "Christmas Wishes" is mostly about how Andy wasn't quite ready to be a manager.
Season 9, Episode 9 "Dwight's Christmas"
The Office's final Christmas episode, "Dwight's Christmas," focuses heavily on Dwight—as does the rest of Season 9. With Robert California no longer on the show and Andy Bernard's role in the plot greatly diminished, it was Dwight who had to carry the final season of The Office as both manager and main character. When preparations for this year's Christmas party don't go as planned, Dwight is forced to save the day by throwing a real Schrute family party instead. A Dwight Christmas" also sets the stage for several controversial The Office storylines, including Pete and Erin's relationship and Jim's plans to move to Philadelphia.
Those were all the Christmas episodes of The Office. And if you are suddenly a fan of Lovecraft's work, then you will be interested in Top 10 Lovecraft Horror Movies.
