The Office has several Christmas episodes for a holiday-season binge watch. With a nine-season run and a total of 201 episodes, The Office got to make special episodes for many holidays and set a tradition of Christmas-related storylines. Most of The Office’s Christmas episodes served as mid-season finales, as those would often air in December.
If two-part specials are to be considered one episode only, then The Office had seven Christmas episodes. The only two The Office seasons that had no Christmas special were seasons 1 and 4. That is because The Office season 1 only had six episodes while The Office season 4 was cut short due to the 2008 Writers’ Strike.
Of all seven The Office Christmas episodes, only two happened without Steve Carell’s Michael Scott. Michael’s constant need for love and the Party Planning Committee would often steal the show in The Office’s Holiday episodes, but other characters also got their moment to shine. From a disastrous Secret Santa game to Dwight having to save Christmas, here’s a breakdown of every The Office Christmas episode.
Season 2, Episode 10, “Christmas Party”
The Office’s first Christmas episode, “Christmas Party” combines every character dynamic viewers had been following throughout the first half of season 2. Michael Scott is now a much more lovable manager than he was in season 1, and he wanted his employees to have the best Christmas party possible. Obviously, in a classic Michael Scott manner, the extra money for the Party Planning Committee came from the corporate bonus payment sent to the Scranton branch after Michael fired Devon in The Office season 1. “Christmas Party” is when The Office’s infamous Secret Santa happened, which delivered one of the most frustrating Jim and Pam moments. A perfect representation of the “will they, won’t they” Jim and Pam story, “Christmas Party” saw Jim crafting a custom gift for Pam only for Michael to propose a new rendition of the game in which everyone could steal someone’s gift. Not as plot-heavy as other Office Christmas episodes, “Christmas Party” might be the easiest pick for someone who wants to revisit the show during the Holidays.
Season 3, Episodes 10-11, “A Benihana Christmas”
The Office’s first two-part Christmas episode, “A Benihana Christmas” was also the first Office Christmas episode to feature the Andy, Dwight, and Jim to cheer up their friend.
Season 5, Episode 11, “Moroccan Christmas”
A more convoluted Christmas episode than the previous ones, “Moroccan Christmas” sees Phyllis assuming leadership of the Party Planning Committee now that she had Angela in her pocket. A corrupted-by-power Phyllis managed to throw what Michael described as the best Christmas party the office ever had, but not everything went so well. Meredith lighting her hair on fire after drinking too much led to a chaotic intervention led by Michael Scott, and that was not the only subplot in “Moroccan Christmas”. Dwight’s last-minute Christmas shopping business idea and Andy’s personal struggles made “Moroccan Christmas” one of the most unique Office Christmas episodes.
Season 6, Episode 13, “Secret Santa”
Not as inspired as the previous Office Christmas episode, “Secret Santa” sees Michael and Phyllis competing for the role of that year’s Santa Claus, although the now second in command Jim had already allowed Phyllis to take the job. With Michael refusing to accept he could not be Santa Claus, most of “Secret Santa” revolved around Steve Carell’s character doing everything he could to get in the way of Phyllis’ moment. Still, “Secret Santa” does feature something that became a classic The Office scene – Kevin trying to decide what he wanted for Christmas while sitting on Michael Scott’s lap. “Secret Santa” also sees Pam trying to help Oscar make a move on Matt as well as Andy’s wholesome yet exaggerated “12 Christmas gifts” to Erin. Perhaps the most important part of The Office’s “Secret Santa” is that it sets up Dunder Mifflin being sold, an arc that would event culminate with Kathy Bates’ Jo Bennet taking over the company and establishing the Dunder Mifflin Sabre.
Season 7, Episodes 11-12 “Classy Christmas”
“Classy Christmas” was The Office’s second two-part Christmas episode, and it was the final one to feature Michael Scott. In fact, “Classy Christmas” began to set up Steve Carell’s departure from the show as it reintroduced Holly and proved that Michael would do anything to impress his former girlfriend. After finding out that Holly would return to the Scranton branch for a few weeks to cover for Toby, Michael threw the office’s entire party decoration into the trash and postponed the celebration for the day Holly would arrive. What Michael did not know is that Holly was still dating A.J., setting up “Classy Christmas” to be another Office Christmas episode Michael spends with a broken heart. “Classy Christmas” also continues The Office’s long-running Scranton Strangler mystery, and while many believe Toby was the Scranton Strangler, the character had now been listed as a jury for the case.
Season 8, Episode 10 “Christmas Wishes”
“Christmas Wishes” was The Office’s first Christmas episode not to feature Michael Scott. Just like pretty much everything else on The Office season 8, whether or not viewers might like “Christmas Wishes” depends on how what they think of the show after Steve Carell left. “Christmas Wishes” combines everything that made The Office season 8 such a divisive season, including Andy’s redundant relationship with Erin and a lot of screentime dedicated to Robert California. Now dating Jessica, The Office’s new Regional Manager Andy tried to walk in Michael Scott’s footsteps and make the best Christmas party possible, but obviously, things do not go as planned. From Erin wishing for Jessica to die to Jim and Dwight trying to frame each other, “Christmas Wishes” is mostly about how Andy was not exactly ready to be the manager.
Season 9, Episode 9 “Dwight Christmas”
The Office’s final Christmas episode, “Dwight Christmas” focuses a lot on Dwight – just like the rest of the season 9. With Robert California no longer on the show and Andy Bernard's role in the story significantly reduced, it was up to Dwight to carry The Office’s final season both as a manager and as the lead character. When preparation for that year’s Christmas party goes wrong, Dwight has to save the day by throwing an authentic Schrute family party instead. “Dwight Christmas” also sets up a couple of divisive The Office storylines, including Pete and Erin’s relationship and Jim’s plans of moving to Philadelphia.