| "Christmas Party" | |
|---|---|
| The Office episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 10 |
| Directed by | Charles McDougall |
| Written by | Michael Schur |
| Featured music | "Christmas in Hollis" by Run-DMC |
| Cinematography by | Randall Einhorn |
| Editing by | David Rogers |
| Production code | 2010[1] |
| Original air date | December 6, 2005 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Christmas Party" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixteenth episode overall. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Charles McDougall. It was first broadcast on December 6, 2005 on NBC. The episode guest stars David Koechner as Todd Packer.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, the office throws a Christmas party and plays Secret Santa. Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), having put much effort into finding a gift for Pam (Jenna Fischer), becomes frustrated when Michael Scott (Steve Carell) makes everyone play "Yankee Swap", and an iPod that Michael bought for Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) becomes the hot object of the game.
The episode received positive reviews from television critics, with many applauding Michael's "Yankee Swap" scene. The episode was nominated for two Primetime Emmy awards, one for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, and one for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. "Christmas Party" earned a Nielsen rating of 4.3 in the 18–49 demographic, being viewed by 9.7 million viewers, making it, at the time of its airing, the highest-rated episode of the season.