The Office: All Of The Holiday Episodes, Ranked

The Office is known for many things, including its famous holiday episodes. Most of the holiday-related episodes had Dunder Mifflin’s employees celebrating the true meaning of Christmas through participation in some sort of dysfunctional holiday party.

But like any traditional office, those at Dunder Mifflin celebrated more than just Christmas. One season 7 episode even gave Thanksgiving a nod. It’s time to see how every holiday episode of The Office stacks up against each other. From a Christmas wonderland in Scranton to flowers and hearts for Valentine’s Day, this is a definitive ranking of The Office‘s most festive episodes.

Updated on December 14th, 2021, by Lynn Gibbs: With the holiday season upon The Office fans, rewatching festive episodes is a great way to ease into the holiday spirit. However, there are more holiday-related episodes than just the Christmas ones. Whether it’s Phyllis celebrating Valentine’s Day with Bob Vance or Kelly prepping everyone for Diwali, Michael Scott loves a holiday party. And thanks to the Party Planning Committee, the office holiday parties were always some of the best in the series. 

15 “WUPHF.com” Is The Closest Fans Got To An Office Thanksgiving Episode

This is more of an honorable mention. ‘WUPHF.com’ is The Office‘s unofficial Thanksgiving episode. It follows Ryan’s attempt to get his co-workers invested in his Internet company. While Thanksgiving isn’t the main theme of the episode, it first aired near the autumn holiday.

During the episode, Dwight and Angela’s relationship timeline is funky because they were involved in a child contract without being in a relationship. To stay busy, Dwight turns the office parking lot into a hay bale festival. Thanksgiving is mentioned once during a chat between the Senator and Angela. Even if it’s not a true Turkey Day episode, it’s the closest thing fans get. But is it the best holiday episode? No, simply because it’s not solely about the holiday.

14 “Secretary’s Day” Was Filled With Relationship Drama And Viral Videos

Several holidays are celebrated more specifically in an office setting, which includes ‘Secretary’s Day.’ Explored in The Office‘s sixth season, the episode saw Michael Scott attempt to make Erin Hannon’s day special by taking her to lunch, though he inadvertently revealed her current boyfriend Andy’s past engagement to Angela, causing drama.

There were also a lot of laughs at Dunder Mifflin on Secretary’s Day as Oscar made a video that mashed up Kevin with the Cookie Monster. The video went viral, though led to some harsh HR guidelines from Gabe that ultimately made him one of the most annoying characters.

13 “Christmas Wishes” Featured A Prank War As Andy Took Over The Office Party

‘Christmas Wishes’ saw Andy attempting to make everyone’s Christmas dreams become a reality. However, after introducing the gang to his new girlfriend, Jessica, Erin became upset and drank too much at the Christmas party. Her jealousy brought upon subtly hilarious moments as Robert California similarly mourned his divorce. Meanwhile, Andy became concerned about the pair bonding over their frustrations.

Meanwhile, Dwight and Jim were told by Andy that if they pull any more pranks on each other, they’d lose their Christmas bonuses. Wanting to end up with twice as much cash, they continuously framed each other by pranking themselves. While ‘Christmas Wishes’ is funny, it’s nothing outstanding and lacks some of the charm of earlier episodes.

12 “Moroccan Christmas” May Feel Out Of Character, But It’s Still Full Of Fresh Humor

‘Moroccan Christmas’ sees Phyllis throwing the annual holiday bash instead of Angela for the first time as the new head of the Party Planning Committee. She blackmailed Angela into doing what she wanted, holding Angela’s affair with Dwight over her head. Some fans loved this sassy version of Phyllis while others thought she went too far.

Meanwhile, Meredith got drunk and set her hair on fire at the party, which leads Michael to stage an intervention for her alcoholism and trick her into entering a rehab center. The last storyline had Dwight buying out the most-wished-for doll of the season, Princess Unicorn, so he could upsell the toy for a profit. While some criticized the Michael-Meredith and Angela-Phyllis plots for feeling out of character, the episode is full of fresh humor when considered on its own.

11 “St. Patrick’s Day,” A Day To Work Late And Build Mega-Desks

While ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ on The Office is largely known for the colorful green attire seen around Dunder Mifflin and the after-work celebration at Poor Richard’s, the sixth season episode also featured a power struggle between Michael Scott and new boss Jo Bennett that resulted in the staff staying late instead of celebrating the holiday.

The episode is also fondly remembered for the struggle between Dwight and Jim, who returned from time off to discover Dwight’s obsession with his modified mega-desk. Jim then used this to prank Dwight by turning it into a Quad-Desk for himself.

10 “Diwali” Expanded On A New Culture For The Show & A Blossoming Relationship

In ‘Diwali,’ Kelly Kapoor introduced Diwali to her coworkers and invited them to a family party to celebrate the Festival of Lights together. Michael didn’t understand the concept of saris and thought it was a costume party, so he showed up in his Halloween costume. Pam flew solo and ended up happily dancing with one of Kelly’s friends (as her ex-fiance watched on in sorrow). And Jim—who was at his new office branch—was starting a new relationship with Karen.

Although Jim and Karen didn’t celebrate Diwali, they did have memorable moments working late in this episode. With so many storylines happening in one episode, ‘Diwali’ was one of the best holiday episodes.

9 Michael Believed In Love Again In “Blood Drive”

‘Blood Drive’ is the second Valentine’s Day episode on this list. Considering what a diehard romantic Michael Scott is, Valentine’s Day is a big holiday for him. His urgency to have a Valentine’s Day party came after meeting a lovely woman while giving blood. Michael fainted during it and the woman disappeared.

By throwing a party for the entire Scranton work complex, he’d hope he’d see her again. That woman and Michael didn’t cross paths again, but it was fun seeing Dunder Mifflin party with others in the complex in the name of love. Even Kevin found love in this episode!

8 Dunder Mifflin Celebrates a Traditional Schrute Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas In “Dwight Christmas”

When the Party Planning Committee didn’t come through with their annual Christmas bash, Dwight gathered everyone around to celebrate a traditional Schrute Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas. He dressed up as the gift-bringer Belsnickel, who determined if Dunder Mifflin’s employees were impish or admirable — the equivalent of Santa’s naughty or nice.

The episode’s B-plot saw Pete teaching Erin about his favorite film, Die Hard. ‘Dwight Christmas’ provided lots of laughs, returning with a feel more similar to earlier Office Christmas episodes. Rainn Wilson’s acting is also spot-on in this one.

7 “Classy Christmas” Is A Funny And Memorable Two-Part Holiday Episode

This two-part Christmas collective saw Michael throwing a classy holiday party to celebrate Holly’s return to Dunder Mifflin. He believed that she would be single again, even though the last time he saw her, she was dating A.J. When she showed up and was still in a relationship, Michael vandalized her Toy Story Woody doll out of jealousy. His pivotal moment with Holly was ruined.

Other storylines in the episodes included Darryl growing concerned that his daughter didn’t want to spend the holidays with him and Dwight challenging Jim to an intense snowball fight. ‘Classy Christmas’ is all-around funny and memorable, as it continued Michael’s quest for love while containing gags familiar to the holiday-themed episodes before it.

6 The Office Dressed To Impress To Win A Coupon Book On Halloween In “Costume Contest”

There were quite a few amazing Halloween costumes that made an appearance on The Office. From Michael’s two-headed office manager to the numerous Jokers that appeared following Heath Ledger’s success with the character in 2008’s The Dark Knight.

However, The Office staff went all-out in order to win a costume contest to receive a coupon book that was worth $15, 000 in savings, though everyone but Oscar treated it like it was worth the cash amount. The episode featured some hilarious moments, great costumes, and touching moments as Jim finally dressed up for Pam.

5 Dueling Parties And A Bad Break-Up Fueled The Office’s “A Benihana Christmas”

‘A Benihana Christmas’ saw Pam and Karen teaming up to compete against Angela’s holiday party after they tire of her bossy antics. Additionally, Michael’s girlfriend Carol broke up with him after he sent her a family picture card with his head Photoshopped over that of her ex-husband. This led him to a Benihana restaurant, at which he and Andy met the waitress they would bring to the holiday parties.

The two-part episode is filled with the kind of conflict that’s so uncomfortable fans can’t help but laugh. Jim’s two romantic partners scheming alongside each other additionally added a fascinating and funny dynamic to the mix.

4 The First “Halloween” On The Office Featured A Rare Firing And A Smashed Pumpkin

The Office celebrated quite a few Halloween episodes, though the second season’s holiday-titled episode was one of the best, both because of the early creative costumes as well as the unique opportunity to see Michael Scott fire one of his employees, which was a rare occurrence.

Devon White was the unfortunate background employee who was thrown under the bus in a WTF moment by Creed, Michael’s original intended target. Devon, who was coincidentally dressed as a classic “hobo,” even smashed a pumpkin on Michael’s car after he was let go from Dunder Mifflin.

3 “Secret Santa” Was Almost One Of The Worst Christmas Parties On The Office

In ‘Secret Santa,’ Michael became upset when Phyllis walked in as Santa Claus because he was used to dressing up as the big guy. So he tried to out-do her by dressing up as Jesus. When Jim put an end to his antics, Michael called CFO David Wallace and learns that everyone might lose their jobs — news he used to take back control of the Christmas party.

Pam meanwhile tried to push Oscar and the new warehouse worker into a relationship, and Dwight tried to determine what the mysterious pieces he received in the mail will build. Additionally, Erin had a relatable moment when she asked her Secret Santa (Andy) to stop sending her actual “Twelve Days of Christmas” gifts after she got attacked by the live birds. The episode features a ton of incredible one-liners and the cast’s various conquests kept it going strong.

2 “Valentines Day” Included Some Big Moments In A Few Office Romances

Season 2’s ‘Valentine’s Day’ explored a few different relationships during the romantic holiday, though as it was early in the series, they weren’t quite the relationships fans would eventually grow to love. Pam was fed up with Roy’s consistently awful boyfriend behavior as Phyllis was showered with gifts.

Dwight and Angela’s secret relationship took the next step when he gave her a key to his place, and Michael accidentally revealed his developing romance with Jan during a corporate meeting that he managed to expertly maneuver, causing her to fall further for him. The ups and downs of so many characters made this episode great.

1 The Second Season’s “Christmas Party” Turned Into A Controversial Yankee Swap

Topping off the list is the inaugural ‘Christmas Party’ episode, in which Michael changed “Secret Santa” into a more competitive white elephant gift exchange. It wasn’t Michael’s best workplace decision because it caused a small debacle among the workers. Dwight ended up with a teapot that Jim filled with memorabilia for Pam, Ryan received a flowery nameplate that said “Kelly,” and Pam scored an iPod that Michael had originally intended for Ryan.

While most of the office was upset by the results, Michael decided to lighten the mood by breaking the company’s policy on alcohol and turning things up. In the end, Pam decided to trade with Dwight, ending up with the teapot Jim had bought her. While the dry jokes made this episode hilarious, the sweet twist ending makes it just as heartwarming as it is funny.

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