“Christmas is awesome. First of all you got to spend time with people you love. Secondly, you can get drunk and no one can say anything. Third, you give presents. What's better than giving presents? And fourth, getting presents. So four things. Not bad for one day. It's really the greatest day of all time.” – Michael Scott

One of best things about the Christmas episodes of The Office (US version) is the way they nail how the holiday season brings out the best and worst of everyone in the workplace. Of all these, the very first one Christmas Party (originally broadcast on Dec. 6, 2005), directed by Charles MacDougall and written by Michael Schur, may be the best.

Michael: (talking head shot) It was a tough year. I had to fire somebody this year. Yeesh. This party has to really rock. Check it out. Christmas bonus: 3000 Gs. I got this for helping save the company money. So I guess some good came out of firing Devon after all. Maybe I should call him, tell him that.

It’s the day of the Dunder-Mifflin’s Scranton Branch’s annual Christmas Party and this year the theme is Secret Santa. Manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is especially thrilled because he’s going to be Secret Santa for his man-crush Ryan the Temp (B.J. Novak). Despite a $20 limit on gifts, he’s going to show off by giving Ryan a $400 video iPod.

Jim (John Krasinski) is also excited. He’s playing Secret Santa to his crush, receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer) who, unfortunately, is still engaged to dimbulb warehouse worker Roy (David Denman). Pam’s been wanting a teapot so that’s exactly what Jim got her and stuffed it with mementos of personal affection. All is going unexpectedly well until Michael learns that his Secret Santa, Phyllis (Phyllis Smith), has given him a homemade oven mitt. He goes ballistic and petulantly storms out of the office.

Michael: (talking head shot) Presents are the best way to show someone you care. It is like this tangible thing that you can point to and say, "Hey man, I love you this many dollars worth." So Phyllis is basically saying, "Hey, Michael, I know you did a lot to help the office this year, but I only care about you a homemade oven mitt's worth."

Michael returns with an inspiration: he’s going to change Secret Santa to Yankee Swap which means that people select gifts at random and, if they don’t like them, they can “claim” someone else’s gift.

Jim: I thought that it was called "Nasty Christmas."

Pam: We call it "White Elephant."

Michael: Well, I call it fun.

Needless to say, the iPod keeps getting claimed until it ends up with Pam and psychotic nerd Dwight (Rainn Wilson) claims the teapot. And Phyllis breaks down in tears when Meredith (Kate Flannery) claims the oven mitt and Michael taunts her with a cry of “Sucker!” Then, when Michael inadvertently mentions his $3000 bonus, things really get ugly. So, even though Dunder-Mifflin has a policy against serving liquor at office functions, he runs out to the nearest liquor store and buys 15 bottles of vodka figuring that maybe getting everyone plastered will chill them out.

Michael: (talking head shot) Unbelievable. I do the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for these people and they freak out. Well, happy birthday, Jesus. Sorry your party's so lame.

In the end, everybody winds up happy except Michael who got a bag of paintballs from Dwight and Angela (Angela Martin) who, as head of the Party Planning Committee, is so furious that Michael changed the party theme without consulting her first that she takes the Christmas tree ornaments out to the parking lot and stomps on them screaming. (According to the script, Martin was supposed to smash them on the pavement, but when they wouldn’t break she ad-libbed stomping on them.)

Pam trades the iPod with Dwight for the teapot. (She had a change of heart when Roy told her that he was thinking of getting her an iPod, but now he’s just going to give her a sweater.) Even Phyllis cheers up when her boyfriend (now her hubby) Bob Vance (Robert R. Shafer) of Vance Refrigeration puts in an appearance. She introduces him to co-workers Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), Stanley (Leslie David Baker) and Ryan.

Phyllis: Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Bob.

Kevin: Kevin Malone.

Bob: Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration.

Stanley: Stanley Hudson.

Bob: Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration.

Ryan: Ryan Howard.

Bob: Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration.

Ryan: (deadpan) So, what line of work you in, Bob?

The Office: Christmas Party can be viewed on-line at Netflix’s Watch Instanly service and is available for rent (Season Two, Disc Two).