Christmas is almost here, and for fans of The Office, this time of year means only one thing: it’s time to rewatch the show’s chaotic, hilarious, and sometimes painfully awkward Christmas episodes. Over nine seasons, The Office gave us seven holiday specials filled with gift-giving gone wrong, dramatic Secret Santas, too much drinking, and questionable party themes.
For those wondering why seven Christmas episodes, well, it’s because the first season, having only six episodes, didn’t have a Christmas episode. And later on, season 4 of The Office further missed out on a Christmas episode, because it took place during the 2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Thus, leaving us with only seven episodes to enjoy and judge.
So, whether you’re planning a cozy holiday marathon of those few Christmas episodes or just want to know how controversial each of those was, given that it’s part of The Office, this list will help you revisit them all. Just grab your hot chocolate and maybe a fire extinguisher, and get ready as we rank every Christmas episode from The Office, from least to most controversial.
The table contains basic details on The Office US:
TV Show The Office CreatorGreg Daniels CastSteve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. NovakRotten Tomatoes Score81%Number of Seasons 9
7. Dwight Christmas (Season 9, Episode 9)
Let’s begin the list with Dwight Christmas, where Dwight Schrute planned the office’s holiday party in his own unique way. And while this man is known for either being a party pooper with his strict rules or for his quirky, unconventional celebratory plans, Dwight somehow managed to deliver a rather normal party, for once.
Instead of tapping into his bizarre brain to pull out eyebrow-raising plans, he simply held a Pennsylvania Dutch-style Christmas with his traditional foods, strict customs (of course), and dressed as Belsnickel, a strange folklore figure. So, while he hosted one of the weirdest and most awkward parties, it was far from being controversial.
No one makes odd, offensive jokes, no one does anything upsetting or cringy, thus making it the most boring yet least controversial Christmas episode of all time. To be honest, it kinda stayed true to the monotonous tone of The Office, since Michael’s exit.
6. Christmas Party (Season 2, Episode 10)
Next in line is the Christmas Party episode, which was kind of the first Christmas episode of The Office. Perhaps that’s why it’s one of the most classic and funniest. In this episode, we see the office employees participate in a Secret Santa gift exchange, but obviously, things go off the rails when Michael buys an expensive iPod and forces everyone to play “Yankee Swap”.
Secret Santa gift exchange in The Office | image: NBC
This ensures gifts get stolen, and chaos ensues. Naturally, Jim’s heartfelt gift for Pam, the iconic teapot, becomes part of the craziness, landing on Dwight’s hand, leading Jim to persuade Dwight to exchange it for something else. Later on, Michael tries to fix the mood by buying 20 bottles of vodka for the party. You might say that’s a lot, but clearly, for Michael, it’s not.
But overall, this episode is low on controversy because most characters are just being silly and chaotic for laughs. There’s a gift exchange, we get to see Jim’s thoughtful side towards Pam, we also get to see Michael trying to impress Ryan with the iPod, and nothing harmful or offensive occurs. Everything that happens is pretty expected, and so fans mostly remember this one fondly.
5. Classy Christmas Parts 1 & 2 (Season 7, Episodes 10 & 11)
Broken into a two-part episode, Classy Christmas revolves around Michael throwing a “classy” Christmas party to impress Holly, who’s returning from Nashua. The preparation soon becomes a lovely Pam and Michael moment, and Michael soon finds out that Holly and her boyfriend might be breaking up soon.
Dwight in The Office | image: NBC
This heightens his desire to impress Holly even more, thus leading him to want everything to be fancy and perfect for her, with better decorations and special treats. Meanwhile, Angela is dating the senator, and Toby is getting jury duty on the Scranton strangler trial, which becomes the episode’s most self-centred plot.
But thankfully, we’re saved from their unending brags, as Jim and Dwight get into a shockingly violent snowball fight. So, this double episode ends up being one of the most lowkey yet iconic Christmas parties of The Office, without a hint of controversial topics. After all, it was meant to be classy.
4. A Benihana Christmas (Season 3, Episodes 10 & 11)
We see The Office Christmas party at its peak in Season 3. The main storyline of A Benihana Christmas involves Michael’s sad breakup with Carol, and Andy taking him on a trip to Benihana, a Japanese steakhouse. Michael and Andy each bring back a date to the office party, then can’t tell the two women apart, which leads to awkward jokes.
So, with a hint of racism, this one is a bit high on controversy surrounding the festive season. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Angela and Pam organize rival Christmas parties at the office, and the employees split between which party they gonna attend. This creates a hostile environment in the office, which once again seems a bit controversial.
Later, Dwight is pranked into thinking he’s being recruited by the CIA, while Michael gives his “she’s not your ho no mo’” speech. So, overall, it seems a bit controversial, but nothing harmful or offensive. Like, it would be considered insensitive by today’s standards, making it more controversial than the previous episodes on this list, but not high enough to be the most controversial one.
3. Moroccan Christmas (Season 5, Episode 11)
This is where things get a bit wild with office politics, blackmailing, and even accidents. Season 5 of The Office sees Moroccan Christmas, where Phyllis, now head of the party planning committee, plans on throwing a Moroccan-style event. But when she faces an objection from Angela as usual, she starts blackmailing her.
Angela and Phyllis in The Office | image: NBC
Having the knowledge that Angela is cheating on Andy with Dwight, Phyllis decides to use this as leverage. Now, while it already seems controversial with all the cheating and blackmailing during the festive season, it gets more wild when Phyllis actually does just blurt out the truth about Angela to the entire office.
But that’s not where it ends. Things go worse when Meredith gets very drunk and accidentally sets her hair on fire, which leads Michael to stage a distraction called an intervention. Like, everything that could go bad, goes bad in this episode. Plus, we also learn about Dwight trying to make money by reselling the season’s hot toy.
Naturally, as Phyllis and Meredith’s behavior goes too far, it ends up making the Moroccan Christmas episode a bit too controversial for a Christmas episode.
2. Christmas Wishes (Season 8, Episode 10)
Appearing later on the show, Christmas Wishes is the first of the two Christmas episodes without Michael Scott. Additionally, it also lacks Pam, probably because Jenna Fischer was on maternity leave (via EW). But in terms of what happens in the episode, it mostly focuses on Erin being jealous of Andy’s new girlfriend and getting drunk at the party to cope.
Andy in a still from The Office | image: NBC
Soon, she blurts out her wish for Andy’s girlfriend to be gone. Like dead gone. And wishing someone’s death during the festive season led a few people to take offense in this episode, leading it to be the second most controversial Christmas episode in the show. Additionally, there’s also Robert California trying to hit on Erin and take advantage of her vulnerability.
Like, honestly, everything about this episode feels awkward and uncomfortable, leading to a damaged holiday spirit. Because of this, Christmas Wishes lands high on our controversial list, failing to capture the traditional charm of earlier episodes.
1. Secret Santa (Season 6, Episode 13)
Despite being one of the most boring Christmas episodes in The Office, Secret Santa ranks high on controversy. After all, this one sees Phyllis getting to be Santa, which makes Michael very jealous. And when that man is jealous, we know things are gonna get ugly real soon. So yeah, Michael then retaliates by dressing as Jesus.
Michael and Phyllis in The Office | image: NBC
Breath folks! This became just as controversial and uncomfortable for the employees as it was for the audience. But that’s not where he ends things. Michael takes it to a different level by calling Phyllis “tranny claus”. That’s sky-high on the level of controversy. Like, The Office features a lot of offensive jokes, but this one was just scandalous humor.
Overall, this episode isn’t mean-spirited, but some people find Michael’s behavior extra cringey, insensitive, and hella controversial, thus leading Secret Santa in first place.
Let us know which Christmas episode you consider the most controversial in The Office.
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