Every Christmas Episode Of The Office, Ranked

Despite going off the air in 2013, "The Office" remains one of the most beloved sitcoms ever made. It helped usher in a new era of cringe comedy thanks to the antics of Michael Scott (Steve Carell), who went to increasingly bizarre lengths to get his co-workers to like him and see him as a "cool" boss. Even if the antics were extraordinary, "The Office" largely remained grounded by focusing on all of the annoying aspects of office life so many people know too well. That includes awkward Christmas parties. 

Look, we've all been there. You'd probably rather get home to spend the holidays with your family or maybe have a party with your actual friends. But you don't want the boss to think you're not a team player, so you at least make an appearance at whatever awkward festivity the boss has planned toward the end of the year. At best, it's an innocuous time, but at worst, someone winds up outing their coworker's affair. Or at least that's what happened on "The Office" one time, and that's really just the start of how cringey an "Office" Christmas party can get. 

Naturally, there's the good kind of cringe and the bad. So I've watched and rewatched every "Office" Christmas episode and ranked them from worst to best. Depending on your holiday festivities, you may only have time to watch a couple, so let this guide steer you in the right direction. 

Season 9 essentially functions as a zombie version of "The Office." Michael Scott is long gone, and the show is running on fumes at this point. A gem would emerge every once in a while, but fans pretty much watch this waiting for the end. That's why season 9's "Dwight Christmas" ranks last as the worst "Office" Christmas special. 

Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is the star of the show here, as he dresses up as Belsnickel, a folkloric, grumpy German figure who brings gifts around the holidays. It's perfectly in line with Dwight's sensibilities and plays into the idea the final season of "The Office" wanted to spin Dwight off into his own spinoff (that never came to be). On top of an unfortunate usage of blackface, this episode fails to capture the magic we've seen in previous "Office" Christmas outings.

Jim (John Krasinski) has started a new job in Philadelphia, giving him a fraught relationship with his wife, Pam (Jenna Fischer). It brings the whole vibe down. Darryl (Craig Robinson) is also upset at Jim for forgetting him, and Nellie (Catherine Tate) and Toby (Paul Lieberstein) share a romantic moment in what feels like a last-ditch attempt to infuse another will they/won't they subplot into the show before it ends. 

The one redeeming quality is when Jim returns to the party, pleasing both Pam and Dwight. The last season offers a nice touch of showing Jim and Dwight burying the hatchet after years of pranking and general rudeness. They've genuinely come to care about one another, and while it's nice to see here, it's too little too late. 

If "Dwight Christmas" is a bad "Office" episode, "Christmas Wishes" is just kind of ... there. It's the first Christmas episode sans Michael Scott, who left in the previous season. There's also no Pam, since the character's on maternity leave at the time. As such, the emotional crux of the episode falls onto Andy (Ed Helms), who brings his new girlfriend to the office Christmas party, much to the dismay of Erin (Ellie Kemper), who dated Andy briefly. 

Erin drinking to excess provides most of the show's funny moments, but it takes a far darker turn when it's implied Robert California (James Spader) wants to drive her home to take advantage of her. Nothing happens (thankfully), but it's an implication the show didn't need. You might expect Jim and Dwight to provide some yucks, but they resort to pranking one another so that the other can lose their bonus. Everyone's tired of their pranks at this point, which could almost function as meta commentary on how the show's grown stale. The audience may also feel like the characters' best pranks are behind them, and the switch-up of intention does little to assuage those fears. 

"Christmas Wishes" has a few bright spots, but more than anything, it's a good demonstration of how the whole show feels off without Michael. Andy may do his best, and he's perfectly awkward (like inviting his current girlfriend to a party he knows his ex will be at). It just doesn't capture the same highs as some of the other Christmas specials. 

Michael Scott acting like a petulant child is to be expected, but it goes into overdrive in season 6's "Secret Santa." The reason? Jim, who's co-manager at this point, has made Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) the office Santa, which delights everyone except Michael, who normally dresses as Santa. He tries to usurp her Santa duties and then dresses up as Jesus Christ to outdo her. 

It's all pretty mean-spirited, with Michael making sexist and transphobic comments, and then things shift gears about halfway through. Michael learns that Dunder Mifflin will be sold, and he's worried he and everyone else will lose their jobs. It re-contextualizes Michael's pointless squabble about who plays Santa, but I can't help but wonder if the revelation of Dunder Mifflin getting sold would've played better had it come at the episode's beginning. If Michael knows from the start Dunder Mifflin's getting sold, it could explain his harsher treatment of Phyllis. It could function as a manifestation of his stress and grief, but instead, Michael's just a jerk the whole time before learning a lesson and apologizing to Phyllis. 

There are some good one-liners, and there's a funny B-plot with Andy giving Erin gifts based on "The 12 Days of Christmas" song, most of which are live birds. All in all, it's not bad but not as strong as "Office" Christmas episodes of the past. 

Holly Flax (Amy Ryan) was the puzzle piece that finally made the entirety of Michael Scott's character come together. It's astonishing to think she was only supposed to appear in one episode, but thankfully, she helps show how love truly was out there all along for Michael. And she gets a great spotlight in the two-parter "Classy Christmas." 

Michael learns Holly will serve as a temporary replacement for Toby, so he scraps the usual silly Christmas party for something a little swankier — or at least what Michael would consider swanky. To his dismay, he discovers Holly is still with her boyfriend, sending him down a path of self-destruction. It's Michael acting like a petulant child again, but this time, you kind of feel for him. By this point, pretty much all fans wanted Michael to get together with Holly, so the frustration is palpable. 

"Classy Christmas" is more focused on character development for Michael than humor, but that's not inherently a bad thing. It's nice to see Michael grapple with some nuanced emotions and make it out on top, inadvertently showing Holly how he could make a great father someday. Besides, most of the jokes come from the Jim and Dwight B-plot where Dwight continually pummels Jim with snowballs, heightening the gag until Jim exits Dunder Mifflin to find the parking lot littered with snowmen. And Dwight could be hiding in any one of them...

"Moroccan Christmas" has a claim to the best cold open in any "Office" Christmas episode. Dwight discovers that Jim has wrapped his desk and chair in wrapping paper, which he thinks is stupid since he can tear it apart quickly. He soon discovers that there's nothing there, and Jim meticulously formed wrapping paper in the shape of a chair and desk instead. How long did this take? Nothing's too time-consuming for ol' Jim. 

"Moroccan Christmas" is the rare "Office" Christmas special where the Michael story is probably the least interesting thing about it. He grows concerned over Meredith's (Kate Flannery) alcoholism after she gets drunk and accidentally sets her hair on fire. He stages an intervention, which inherently brings the vibe down. The real meat of this story rests in the very capable hands of Phyllis, who discovered in the season 4 finale that Angela (Angela Kinsey) was sleeping with Dwight, despite just getting engaged to Andy. The episode presented some unique challenges but made for a lot of fun going into season 5, and "Moroccan Christmas" sees Phyllis blackmail Angela into doing the party she wants (since they're both integral members to the Party Planning Committee). 

Then you have Dwight buying and upselling Princess Unicorn dolls to exasperated parents, leading to a hilarious moment with Toby by the end. There's a lot more that works in "Moroccan Christmas" than doesn't, and this episode sees the Dwight/Angela affair finally come to a head, leading to a shift in the status quo going forward for the rest of season 5.  

It can take comedies a while to find their footing, and "The Office" was no exception at the beginning. After the show became a cultural juggernaut, various cast members would talk about how they were always at risk of getting cancelled, but season 2's "Christmas Party" changed the game. It amassed 10 million viewers, and suddenly, "The Office" was on its way to becoming must-watch TV. 

"Christmas Party" set the template for all Christmas episodes to come. Michael's enthusiasm for the Secret Santa exchange dissipates when he buys an iPod for Ryan (B.J. Novak) but gets a handmade oven glove from Phyllis, which may be sentimental, but that doesn't mean anything to Michael. He then pushes a Yankee Swap, much to the dismay of Jim who got Pam a teapot with a special note inside. The teapot note would return for the final season of "The Office," with Jenna Fischer eventually revealing how it was a personal message from John Krasinski to her, which is why her character understandably got emotional after reading it. 

"Christmas Party" is the platonic ideal of what a great "Office" Christmas episode should be. Michael makes things awkward, the Party Planning Committee has ample in-fighting, and there's development when it comes to Jim and Pam's relationship. With jokes and heart, "Christmas Party" fills you with the kind of holiday cheer you want that time of the year.

If season 2's "Christmas Party" helped save "The Office," season 3's two-parter "A Benihana Christmas" proved the sitcom was here to stay. Carol (Nancy Carell) breaks up with Michael, sending him down a spiral for the office Christmas party. So he, Jim, Dwight, and Andy go to Benihana where they make a scene and Andy insists Michael should hook up with their Asian servers, bringing two of them back to Dunder Mifflin. 

This is where things get dicey for some, as the humor veers into racist territory, culminating in Michael drawing on his date so that he can tell who is his and who is Andy's. But that's part of why "A Benihana Christmas" is Steve Carell's favorite "Office" episode. "The Office" wasn't scared to be edgy or cringey. It leaned fully into that aesthetic, with it being clear that Michael was in the wrong. He wants so desperately to be liked and ultimately loved by somebody that he'll bring back random women (who weren't even their servers) just to feel something. 

It's worth mentioning that "A Benihana Christmas" was directed by "Ghostbusters" star Harold Ramis, which is probably why so many of the show's gags land well, like the ridiculously awkward karaoke moments. The Michael storyline would've been enough, but it's also great to see Pam and Karen (Rashida Jones) bonding, despite Karen dating Jim at the time. Jim may find it awkward, but the two really have a great rapport as they put on their own Christmas party to rival Angela's. "Christmas Party" found what worked on "The Office," but "A Benihana Christmas" ratcheted up the chaos tenfold.