EP. 143 — Classy Christmas, Part 1

Jenna [00:00:03] I’m Jenna Fischer.

Angela [00:00:04] And I’m Angela Kinsey.

Jenna [00:00:06] We were on The Office together.

Angela [00:00:07] And we’re best friends.

Jenna [00:00:08] And now we’re doing the ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you.

Angela [00:00:12] Each week, we will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind the scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you.

Jenna [00:00:19] We’re the Office Ladies. Hello, Angela!

Angela [00:00:23] Hi!

Jenna [00:00:25] I have an overshare.

Angela [00:00:27] Oh.

Jenna [00:00:28] I really, really need to shave my legs.

Angela [00:00:31] Oh.

Jenna [00:00:32] It’s been a long, long time, lady.

Angela [00:00:34] Oh.

Jenna [00:00:35] But you know what?

Angela [00:00:37] What?

Jenna [00:00:37] Here’s the problem.

Angela [00:00:37] What?

Jenna [00:00:38] You know that razor that you told me about?

Angela [00:00:40] Yes, the Intuition? Is that what it’s called? Intuition.

Jenna [00:00:42] I don’t know. It’s the one with the soapy thing around the razor that changed my shaving life?

Angela [00:00:48] Yes.

Jenna [00:00:48] Okay. I need a new one. I need a new thing to click in.

Angela [00:00:52] Yeah.

Jenna [00:00:53] But they hide them. They lock them up now in the stores.

Angela [00:00:56] They do.

Jenna [00:00:56] So every time I’m, like, running to the store… I don’t have time.

Angela [00:01:01] To find someone to have it get unlocked?

Jenna [00:01:03] I can’t. I just. I’ll do it next time. Well, I’ve been quote unquote, doing it next time for months now, and I have full hairy legs. But here is the problem. Because listen, I have no problem with a hairy leg on a lady. I actually think it’s kind of rock star. I don’t grow a good hair leg.

Angela [00:01:24] Oh, you’re like, like Josh’s beard doesn’t grow in very well.

Jenna [00:01:27] I was going to say that my leg hair is like Keanu’s beard.

Angela [00:01:31] Are you patchy?

Jenna [00:01:32] It’s patchy.

Angela [00:01:33] Your patchy leg.

Jenna [00:01:34] It’s. I really need a razor.

Angela [00:01:36] Well, I don’t want to blow your mind or anything, but you can order those razors and they’ll come right to your door.

Jenna [00:01:42] Oh, my gosh. You’re so right.

Angela [00:01:47] You can have a whole box of them.

Jenna [00:01:49] I’m so glad that I brought it up.

Angela [00:01:53] Yeah.

Jenna [00:01:53] Because this has been one of those small problems that I haven’t been able to solve for a good month and a half. You know those. They pile up.

Angela [00:02:01] They do.

Jenna [00:02:02] Oh, I need conditioner. Really need conditioner. Still, I’m going to add some water to the conditioner and see if I can make it last.

Angela [00:02:10] Oh, make it bubbly.

Jenna [00:02:11] Because I can’t seem to get out to get more conditioner. Oh. Lady. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

Angela [00:02:19] You’re welcome. You’re welcome.

Jenna [00:02:20] Next week, I’m going to have some smooth legs. But let’s talk about what we’re here for today, and it’s Classy Christmas Part One!

Angela [00:02:30] I was so excited about this episode. I watched it so many times and it made me so excited for Christmas!

Jenna [00:02:36] It is the holiday season, isn’t it?

Angela [00:02:38] Yeah.

Jenna [00:02:39] This is perfect timing. Classy Christmas Part One is season seven, episode 11. It was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Rainn Wilson. And here is your summary. As office administrator, Pam has disbanded the party planning committee and has organized a Christmas party that everyone loves.

Angela [00:03:00] They are so happy.

Jenna [00:03:03] But Michael is going to make her cancel the party and reschedule it when he discovers that Holly will soon be coming back to Dunder Mifflin Scranton to fill in for Toby while he serves as a juror in the trial of the Scranton Strangler. Finally, Jim and Dwight enter into a snowball war, and Darryl is excited to spend Christmas with his daughter.

Angela [00:03:27] That’s a pretty lopsided war.

Jenna [00:03:30] It’s true.

Angela [00:03:30] I feel like Dwight entered into a snowball war and Jim was like, Oh crap, what’d I start?

Jenna [00:03:34] Fast fact number one, this episode originally aired as an hour long episode on December 9th, 2010. We’re going to break it up into two. We’re doing part one today. When it aired, it was the highest rated NBC series that aired that night.

Angela [00:03:52] Heyyy.

Jenna [00:03:53] Yeah. And fans on Office Tally rated it their third favorite episode of season seven. Like I said, it was directed by Rainn Wilson. And, you know, a number of people wrote in back then and to our Office Ladies mailbox that they felt the character of Dwight was particularly mean in this episode.

Angela [00:04:11] You know, he just reminded me of like grade school boys in elementary that if they got an idea in their head, they couldn’t let it go.

Jenna [00:04:18] Yeah. But he was intense and relentless. For sure.

Angela [00:04:22] I agree. I agree.

Jenna [00:04:24] Mindy did an interview with OfficeTally.com after this episode aired, and she addressed this. She said, Dwight is a complicated character, and he and Jim are not friends. She said Greg told the writers the first season that he never wanted there to be some situation where Dwight evolved into being Jim’s best man at his wedding or that sort of thing. She said a lot of sitcoms will make enemies into best friends, but that was to be avoided on our show. Jim and Dwight were to stay enemies. Are you ready for fast fact number two?

Angela [00:05:02] I am. Can I guess what it’s about?

Jenna [00:05:04] Yes.

Angela [00:05:05] I like trying to guess.

Jenna [00:05:06] Okay.

Angela [00:05:06] Your fast facts. Because, you know, we are ye olde podcast couple now.

Jenna [00:05:11] Yeah.

Angela [00:05:12] Let’s see. I would say it’s either Scranton Strangler or it’s some deep dive about a Christmas decoration.

Jenna [00:05:21] Lady!

Angela [00:05:22] What?

Jenna [00:05:23] Oh, my gosh. Okay. Yes. My fast fact two is about the Scranton Strangler. And later, I have a deep dive on Christmas decorations.

Angela [00:05:33] We’re like, what was the game show where it’s like, like the newlywed game.

Jenna [00:05:36] Newlywed game.

Angela [00:05:37] We would crush that.

Jenna [00:05:38] Yeah. We really would. Especially if all the questions were podcast related. All right, fast fact number two. Here it is. The Scranton Strangler trial begins and Toby is on the jury. Fan question from Callen T in Atlanta, Georgia. In Whistleblower, when Michael asked Jo to transfer Holly back and she said, Let me see what I can do, do you think she has anything to do with Toby getting on the jury? She seems like she would know the right people.

Angela [00:06:12] What? That is so elaborate. So Jo Bennett from Florida can, like, maneuver jury selection in Lackawanna County?

Jenna [00:06:20] Right. To create a reason why Toby is unavailable and Holly has to go back to Scranton.

Angela [00:06:27] I mean, that’s something.

Jenna [00:06:28] What do we think?

Angela [00:06:29] I mean, no, I don’t think so.

Jenna [00:06:34] Mindy said that the Scranton Strangler was one of the most pitched things in the writers room. She said that if you compiled all the notes, you would have an epic and terrifying miniseries.

Angela [00:06:46] Oh, I’d love to see that.

Jenna [00:06:48] I know. That- we should come back and do a short film.

Angela [00:06:53] Called Scranton Strangler.

Jenna [00:06:54] Starring Paul. Well, I wanted to know what would jury duty look like for Toby? So I did a deep dive on jury duty in Lackawanna County.

Angela [00:07:03] I want to hear it because guess who just got her jury summons?

Jenna [00:07:07] I know. You texted me.

Angela [00:07:08] I know. And, lady, I always get picked. So just get ready for my story from my jury duty.

Jenna [00:07:14] Are you going to be like Toby? Are you going to want us to hang on your every word here at Earwolf? Are me and Sam and Cassie going to have our coffees and we’re just going to be saying, Angela…

Angela [00:07:24] Tell us more stories.

Jenna [00:07:24] How did it go?

Angela [00:07:27] Yes.

Jenna [00:07:28] Okay. I look forward to that.

Angela [00:07:29] Well, what did Toby have to go through for jury duty?

Jenna [00:07:32] Yes. Here is what Toby can expect.

Angela [00:07:35] Okay.

Jenna [00:07:35] He’s going to need to report to the jury assembly room on the first floor of the Lackawanna County Courthouse by 8:45 a.m.. Don’t be late.

Angela [00:07:44] No, they’re very serious about that.

Jenna [00:07:46] The workday generally ends around 4 or 5 p.m.. And you are allowed to leave the courthouse for lunch.

Angela [00:07:52] Yes.

Jenna [00:07:53] But, they made this very clear on the website, you cannot talk to anyone about the case. This includes your family, your friends, and your fellow jurors. You are only allowed to speak about the case when you are sent to deliberate, period. If a person attempts to discuss the case with you, you should refuse to listen, walk away, and inform court officers immediately. You also have to avoid listening to radio, television, or reading about the case. I mean wow.

Angela [00:08:26] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:08:27] You are also not allowed to do any independent investigations. No Mom Detectives.

Angela [00:08:32] No Googling. Yeah.

Jenna [00:08:34] You can’t go show up at the crime scene and look around. That’s a no.

Angela [00:08:38] No. No. Nope.

Jenna [00:08:40] Toby is going to receive $9 a day for the first three days of jury duty. If he is selected for a trial that goes more than three days, he will get $25 a day, starting on day four. And then for as long as the trial goes. Toby will also get $0.17 per mile round trip from the courthouse to his local post office. So not to his house.

Angela [00:09:05] Right.

Jenna [00:09:06] But local post office. And parking is provided.

Angela [00:09:10] Okay.

Jenna [00:09:11] All right. Fast fact number three. You know how Michael makes Pam cancel Christmas and redo it? One of his requests is that she swap out the fake tree for a real tree.

Angela [00:09:23] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:09:25] I don’t know what you use. We’ve used both over the many years of my life. I am going to be 48, so 48 Christmases. I’ve had real and fake trees. It got me wondering, which is better for the environment, real or fake?

Angela [00:09:42] Oh, I’m very interested.

Jenna [00:09:43] Well, first of all, 80% of people use an artificial tree.

Angela [00:09:47] That’s a lot!

Jenna [00:09:48] I know. Now, what would you guess? Is it better to cut down a tree and use a real tree? Or is it better to get a fake tree and use it over and over?

Angela [00:09:58] Geez, if I’m guessing, I mean, I know we had a fake tree. You know, we did the same thing you did. Some years we would bust out a real tree. But then my mom got into this fake tree phase, and because it came with lights and she could just plug in the tree and be done. We probably have had that tree for 15 years. We cart it out. So maybe reusing.

Jenna [00:10:24] That’s what I thought.

Angela [00:10:25] Is that not the case?

Jenna [00:10:26] It is not the case.

Angela [00:10:27] Oh.

Jenna [00:10:28] According to the Nature Conservatory, The New York Times, and Green Matters.

Angela [00:10:33] Wow.

Jenna [00:10:34] These are the three articles I Googled.

Angela [00:10:36] Well.

Jenna [00:10:36] Real trees are better.

Angela [00:10:39] Okay.

Jenna [00:10:39] I’ll tell you why. Here in the United States, we purchase around 10 million artificial trees every year, and 90% of those trees are produced and shipped from China. And that creates a huge bunch of carbon emissions. Plus, most artificial trees are not recyclable and they do end up in landfills.

Angela [00:11:00] Oh, wow.

Jenna [00:11:02] I mean, I guess if you already live in China, then your artificial tree has a much smaller carbon footprint.

Angela [00:11:09] Carbon footprint. Yeah.

Jenna [00:11:09] But here’s the other thing. Buying real trees helps keep tree farmers in business.

Angela [00:11:16] Which is a good thing.

Jenna [00:11:17] And a 5 to 6 foot Christmas tree takes about ten years to grow. And according to the National Christmas Tree Association, a farmer will plant 1 to 3 seedlings in place of every tree they cut down. But this is the thing I hadn’t thought of. And it’s so obvious. Trees produce oxygen.

Angela [00:11:37] Well duh.

Jenna [00:11:38] And they suck up carbon dioxide while they’re growing. So they clean the air while they’re growing. And they grow best on hills, which is like land that is not used for other crops anyway.

Angela [00:11:52] And that’s good for erosion, too.

Jenna [00:11:54] Yes! And trees are biodegradable.

Angela [00:11:56] Okay. All right. Well, we have a fake tree that we’ve had for years, but maybe this year I buy a real tree to try to balance it out. Maybe we do a tree in the front yard.

Jenna [00:12:06] There you go. You know, two years ago, we were living in Santa Fe for the holidays. It was during the pandemic. We were there to be with my husband’s family. And we got a certificate to trek into the forests there and cut down our own tree.

Angela [00:12:24] Like the Griswolds?

Jenna [00:12:25] Yes! We hiked into- and they do really grow on hillsides. So we were hiking through the snow with our little handsaw.

Angela [00:12:36] That is so awesome. You know who would love that is my husband. He’d be so excited.

Jenna [00:12:40] They have a thing where it helps the forest. And there’s a certain number of permits they give out per year. And the size of the tree is permitted as well. And it was quite an experience.

Angela [00:12:51] Well, I’m going to need a picture of you in the woods chopping down your tree, because I want to do a side by side of you and Clark Griswold.

Jenna [00:12:58] Well, I have to tell you, the hillside was so steep that it was mostly Lee and then my daughter who climbed up the hill.

Angela [00:13:06] Really?

Jenna [00:13:06] Yes. And I sort of stayed in the middle of the hill to catch my daughter in case she slid down. Lady, it was treacherous. Lee’s dad and my son, they just stayed at the bottom. They just sat on a log. They’re like we’ll see you when you guys are done.

Angela [00:13:21] Oh my gosh.

Jenna [00:13:24] But, you know my daughter is the adventurous one and she couldn’t wait to climb that hill.

Angela [00:13:29] And you’re just there bracing in case someone comes tumbling down.

Jenna [00:13:32] I don’t know what I thought I was going to do. I guess just break someone’s fall, basically. But it was fun. It was really, really cool.

Angela [00:13:40] Well, speaking of the holidays, I have a little bit of holiday cheer for you.

Jenna [00:13:44] Give it to me.

Angela [00:13:45] It’s a holiday merch update for Office Ladies.

Jenna [00:13:48] Oh, yes. I’m so excited about this.

Angela [00:13:51] We are bringing back our awesome ugly Christmas sweater sweatshirts. You guys loved them. We’re going to keep three from last year and we’re going to add two new ones.

Jenna [00:14:00] I’m very excited about the two new ones because one of the new ones is Party Planning Committee.

Angela [00:14:05] Yes! The PPC. We also have some great new travel coffee tumbler mugs. You guys love those. We have a really cozy, fuzzy Office Ladies sweatshirt. And I’m very excited because we are signing copies of our book, The Office BFFs, and we are going to bundle it with a super cute coffee mug that says, It Is Your Mug.

Jenna [00:14:27] And all this stuff is live starting today, right, Angela? You can start ordering right now.

Angela [00:14:32] That’s right. So if you’re looking for something for the Office Ladies fan in your family this holiday season, check out Office Ladies dot com. And I know we’re about to go to break, you guys, but I brought in something pretty special today. Sam always gives us the cutest Christmas gift every year. One year he gave us our very own set of clacky balls.

Jenna [00:14:52] Mm hmm. You know my feelings about the clacky balls.

Angela [00:14:55] I love the clacky balls. This clacky balls set that Sam gave us sat on my office shelf, and then my friend’s toddler came over- I have shared this before- in a matter of, like, maybe 10 seconds, the toddler did this to my clacky balls.

Jenna [00:15:10] Oh, you brought in the…

Angela [00:15:12] Mangled clacky balls. And it’s now become a game in my household when we have a visitor, who can entangle the clacky balls? We are 0 for 10, guys.

Sam [00:15:24] It’s very Excalibur sword of clacky balls.

Angela [00:15:25] Uh huh.

Jenna [00:15:27] So are we bringing this in now? And will this stay here until one of us untangles it?

Sam [00:15:31] Yeah. It’s when you said it was tangled, it’s hard to describe. You’ll have to post a picture in your stories. That’s insane.

Angela [00:15:37] Yeah. Good luck. Ten people have tried. We’ve had ten houseguests who have tried to untangle this unsuccessfully. Also, no one in my family’s been able to. Josh has worked hard on it. So I have taken a picture of the tangled balls and we’ll see if anyone here can untangle them.

Jenna [00:15:54] I’m adding tangled balls to my clacky balls break down, which will be an upcoming bonus episode of Office Ladies. Just you wait.

Angela [00:16:03] Well, on that note, we should take a break because when we come back, there is a classic group photo that’s about to happen.

Jenna [00:16:10] It’s possibly my favorite cold open of all time. All right. We are back. And the folks at Dunder-Mifflin would really like to take a fun picture for their Christmas photo card.

Angela [00:16:22] Yeah, well, they got the normal one. Now they want a fun one. And Jim’s like, One Charlie’s Angels only. I loved that. How many times have you posed like that in a group photo? I’ve actually done that. This scene was so relatable to me, like, everyone who’s ever tried to get either a family photo at a wedding or a holiday, or just that group photo, it’s always this way.

Jenna [00:16:46] I remember when we were shooting it and I thought, this is like the best slice of life observation ever. It’s so funny. So in this cold open, we’re all complaining about how cold we are. We want to get this picture done because we’re freezing and we’re shivering. And Ellie was, like, rubbing her bare arms.

Angela [00:17:04] You and I are doing our hands, like it’s so cold.

Jenna [00:17:08] I looked at the call sheet. It was 93 degrees outside that day.

Angela [00:17:13] Of course.

Jenna [00:17:14] We shot this at 2:30 in the afternoon because that’s when it was going to be shady.

Angela [00:17:18] Mm hmm. In the alley over there.

Jenna [00:17:20] Mm hmm. But, yeah, we were definitely not cold. That’s all really good cold acting.We have a fan question from Akansha C in Delhi, India. Akansha, I hope I’m pronouncing your name correctly because here’s what you’d like to throw out to us in the cold open. When Pam reminds everyone that it’s just a Christmas card from your paper supplier and no one’s going to put it on their fridge, it reminded me of what Angela said in the beginning of your podcast series, which is that Angela Kinsey puts up all of her Christmas cards from every company.

Angela [00:17:56] I do, Akansha! That’s right. My AC repair guy Christmas card’s going up.

Jenna [00:18:00] Yeah. So Akansha just wanted to point out that, you know who would put this card on her fridge? Angela Kinsey.

Angela [00:18:05] I would. Especially this picture, because it’s a hot mess.

Jenna [00:18:12] Well, the thing is, though… they didn’t get it.

Angela [00:18:15] Oh, that was so funny. Just cutting to Michael saying, We didn’t get it.

Jenna [00:18:21] When that talking head came up, I laughed so hard, like a guttural laugh that came all the way from deep in my belly. I had to pause because I forgot that talking head. It made me laugh.

Angela [00:18:33] I just like Dwight running at the camera, too.

Jenna [00:18:36] It was all great.

Angela [00:18:37] Well, this episode is going to open, and we are going to see a incredibly decorated office bullpen.

Jenna [00:18:44] Thank you.

Angela [00:18:46] You’re welcome, Pam. I had to break it down. Little decoration breakdown.

Jenna [00:18:51] Okay.

Angela [00:18:53] At one minute, 53 seconds, I saw something new.

Jenna [00:18:56] What was that?

Angela [00:18:57] Angela has a Christmas village by her desk.

Jenna [00:18:59] Oh!

Angela [00:19:00] Yeah.

Jenna [00:19:01] Was that based on your real life Christmas village that you like to put out?

Angela [00:19:05] I don’t think so. But Jenna is correct. I put one out every year. The kids and I love it. We add to it each year. I have a Christmas village and then I have like a little nook that’s all little mini Christmas trees, because my mom makes little trees every year.

Jenna [00:19:18] Mmhmm. I have a couple of your mom’s mini Christmas trees.

Angela [00:19:21] I know, they’re fantastic. All right, here’s what I saw and what we’re going to call the traditional Christmas.

Jenna [00:19:27] Okay?

Angela [00:19:28] We saw Christmas lights around the perimeter. Like all multi-colored lights, a big Christmas tree, a few miniature Christmas trees around the office. There’s garland on the computers. Ornaments hanging all over the place. Red poinsettia plants, Christmas stockings at reception, a Merry Christmas banner, and lots of little decorative items like bears with Santa hats and an angel on Pam’s desk, and a giant nutcracker.

Jenna [00:19:55] Well, as Pam says in her talking head, in her role as office administrator, she automatically becomes head of the party planning committee. And her first order of business was to shut it down.

Angela [00:20:06] Mm hmm. It was basically a toxic political club used to make others feel miserable and left out. Did you notice the giant box that Angela hands Pam? She’s very sad to hand it over to her.

Jenna [00:20:18] The one that Pam throws in the dumpster?

Angela [00:20:20] Yes. On the side it says, Party planning committee minutes and notes.

Jenna [00:20:25] Wow.

Angela [00:20:26] What I would give to read some of those notes.

Jenna [00:20:30] Well, that day that I threw away the box and I’m wearing a coat and I’m again pretending like I’m cold, that was the same day that we did the picture outside. It was 93 degrees.

Angela [00:20:40] We were just a bunch of sweaty folks. Well, I couldn’t help but notice Pam’s adorable sweater. It’s like this cardigan with reindeer, and it’s kind of a maroon ish red. It’s so cute.

Jenna [00:20:51] Oh, lady, tell me about it. I loved that sweater. I wanted that sweater. I begged to keep that sweater.

Angela [00:20:58] And you couldn’t have it?

Jenna [00:20:59] No. It was a rental from universal costumes. Alysia said it was one of a kind, and we had to give it back. You can’t buy it anywhere.

Angela [00:21:06] Oh, I know, because I was going to surprise you. I was going to find it. But you can’t. It’s not on the Internet and there’s like some kind of knockoff versions, but they don’t look anything like it.

Jenna [00:21:16] It fit perfectly, too. And I loved the little pink button down that she had me wear underneath it. Yeah, the pink with the red. Oh, my gosh.

Angela [00:21:25] So cute. Well, here’s a holiday outfit break down for you guys. We’re going to have lots of different outfits this episode, but we have Christmas ties, vests, sweaters, suspenders, bow ties, and lots and lots of Christmas pins.

Jenna [00:21:41] Yeah, you have on a Christmas tree Christmas pin. And then later, Pam has one for her second Christmas outfit.

Angela [00:21:49] That’s right. Did you notice Gabe wears a Santa pin?

Jenna [00:21:54] I did not.

Angela [00:21:55] Phyllis has a bejeweled kind of snowflake pin. Erin has a wreath. Meredith has a pin. Everyone is all decked out for the holidays except for one person. Did you notice?

Jenna [00:22:08] No, I didn’t notice anyone not wearing a Christmas item.

Angela [00:22:12] For a traditional Christmas, there is one person who did not dress up at all.

Jenna [00:22:17] Who?

Angela [00:22:18] Darryl. He is in a beige button down shirt and a beige T-shirt underneath.

Jenna [00:22:25] What’s up, Darryl?

Angela [00:22:26] Don’t know. Zero festive ness. He comes around later, though.

Jenna [00:22:30] I’ll tell you what. I wear a pin and Christmas earring combo every Christmas Eve.

Angela [00:22:37] Hmm.

Jenna [00:22:37] It’s a must in my family.

Angela [00:22:40] We wear Christmas pajamas.

Jenna [00:22:42] I see.

Angela [00:22:43] Yeah. We get all decked out in our jammies.

Jenna [00:22:46] Speaking of ties, we had a fan question from Katie P in London. Is the tie that Jim is wearing in this episode the same one that Kevin wears in Benihana Christmas?

Angela [00:22:58] I don’t think so.

Jenna [00:22:59] It is not. But they are almost identical.

Angela [00:23:02] They’re very similar. It’s sad that I knew that immediately.

Jenna [00:23:05] I know. I had to do a whole side by side.

Angela [00:23:08] No, they both were blue and they both have like the snowman on the bottom. But they were different.

Jenna [00:23:13] This is correct. They also have, like, white snow falling.

Angela [00:23:17] Little snowflakes. Yeah.

Jenna [00:23:17] And then when you get to the very bottom, there’s a snowman.

Angela [00:23:20] Right. But isn’t Kevin’s snowman kind of just like a jolly snowman, but like Jim’s snowman is doing some kind of action?

Jenna [00:23:26] Well, both snowman are just holding brooms, but they’re totally different brooms. Jim’s snowman has a top hat and a red and white scarf. And Kevin’s from Benihana Christmas has a top hat and a blue tie. And I have a picture of them side by side. So if you want a visual, you need to head over to Office Ladies pod. Guys.

Angela [00:23:48] Give it to me, I’ll post it.

Jenna [00:23:49] Every week, on Wednesdays, Angela painstakingly builds these amazing visual stories to go along with our podcast. Go subscribe to Office Ladies Pod so that you see this stuff. I mean, if you need to see these ties side by side, you can over on Office Ladies Pod Instagram.

Angela [00:24:11] Thanks, lady. I don’t know why I enjoy it so much, but I really do.

Jenna [00:24:16] Well, you do a great job.

Angela [00:24:17] Well, thanks.

Jenna [00:24:18] And people should know about it.

Angela [00:24:20] I had a few favorite outfits in this traditional Christmas party. One, obviously Pam’s sweater. But I thought Kelly looked fantastic. She had that red silk blouse and then sort of a bejeweled necklace, and then this black and white tweed skirt. And I thought, I want that outfit.

Jenna [00:24:36] Yeah, I kind of want to steal that for my next Christmas party.

Angela [00:24:40] Well, one of the things I loved about doing our Christmas episodes was you would walk on set and it would be just instantly Christmas, even though it was summertime, usually. And I loved the Christmas tree. Every year they put it in the exact same spot. And I like that because we do that at home. The tree has its spot. And I thought this tree looked amazing. They really decorated it a lot. They got the lights the right size. Sorry, Phyllis. Jim is very impressed. And he says, How does this fake tree smell like a real tree? And Pam has a little fake tree hack.

Jenna [00:25:12] Yeah, she has a pine scented air freshener, like the kind that you hang from your rearview mirror in your car.

Angela [00:25:19] She’s, like, tucked it inside.

Jenna [00:25:21] Smart.

Angela [00:25:22] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:25:23] We got a fan question from Javon L in Trinidad. I can’t wait for the deep dive on the little tree car freshener.

Angela [00:25:31] Oh, wow.

Jenna [00:25:32] Well, Javon. This is the deep dive I was talking about earlier, and I will not let you down, because it was actually quite fascinating when I looked into it.

Angela [00:25:41] I can’t wait. I’m gonna settle back with my cup of tea.

Jenna [00:25:44] The little trees car air freshener that Pam hangs on the tree was invented by Julius Sämann in 1952. He was a German-Jewish chemist and businessman who fled the Nazis, and he went on in his life to make many inventions. The inspiration for this air freshener came from a milk truck driver who was talking with Julius about how stinky the smell of his cab was because of spilled milk.

Angela [00:26:14] Oh, I bet that was real stinky.

Jenna [00:26:16] Yeah. So Julius went in his laboratory and he came up with the tree, and he decided to shape it like an evergreen tree in honor of his time spent in Canada’s pine forests, where he would extract aromatic oils.

Angela [00:26:31] Wow.

Jenna [00:26:32] I don’t know what that involves.

Angela [00:26:34] This is what I envision. I envision some kind of spigot you stab into a tree, and you suck stuff out.

Jenna [00:26:39] That feels like it’s based on a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Angela [00:26:42] I know.

Jenna [00:26:46] Is that true?

Angela [00:26:46] I don’t know.

Jenna [00:26:46] Can you spigot a tree and stuff comes out?

Angela [00:26:48] I think you can. I think you can get like, someone? Sap out of a tree like that? Someone? Anyone? Cassi is just working on the clacky balls this whole this whole time.

Sam [00:26:59] She’s got her her phone light on. I don’t know if you can see.

Angela [00:27:01] Oh, my gosh, Sam, take a picture.

Sam [00:27:03] I did. Yeah, she’s going hard.

Jenna [00:27:04] So.

Angela [00:27:06] If you get it in the first try, Cassi, wow.

Jenna [00:27:09] Cassi cannot research spigoting a tree because she’s busy with the clacky balls. But I don’t know.

Angela [00:27:16] I don’t know. That’s what I pictured when you said it. Okay, continue your deep dive.

Jenna [00:27:19] Julius is very passionate about the quality of his products. He insists on rigorous testing and quality control procedures to ensure that they meet his very high standards for fragrance strength and longevity. To this day, the company is known for pursuing lawsuits to protect its trademark, to protect the brand. And here is some very exciting news, Angela.

Angela [00:27:42] What?

Jenna [00:27:43] The little trees car air fresheners are manufactured in the United States by the Car Freshener Corporation at factories in Watertown, New York and DeWitt, Iowa. Do I see a factory tour in our future, my friend?

Angela [00:27:56] Yes, you do!

Jenna [00:27:58] Car air freshener factory tour.

Angela [00:28:00] Please.

Jenna [00:28:01] Put it on the list.

Angela [00:28:02] Put it on the list. I tell you, I mean, almost every time I talk to my mom, she’s like, when are you guys going to do your factory tour? She can’t wait.

Jenna [00:28:10] You know, I want to go to Iowa. And see the factory tour.

Angela [00:28:12] And I want to go to Sass Shoes in San Antonio.

Jenna [00:28:17] It’s going to happen.

Angela [00:28:19] Well, ho, ho, ho. Santa has arrived. Michael’s so happy to be Santa. And guess what? It’s all going so great. He can’t believe it. There’s no Christmas drama.

Jenna [00:28:30] Nothing. Stanley is not grumpy because Pam got his sugar free cookies.

Angela [00:28:35] Angela’s excited about the party. As excited as Angela gets. Michael says his kids are growing up.

Jenna [00:28:42] I can’t tell if Michael is happy that there’s no drama.

Angela [00:28:45] He’s clearly bummed out. He clearly needs drama and he’s going to make his own coming up.

Jenna [00:28:50] He sure is.

Angela [00:28:52] Gabe and Kelly are going to pass out Christmas presents from Sabre.

Jenna [00:28:56] Kelly was in charge this year. As part of the minority executive trainee program, she was chosen to give out the gifts. Finally, something you can do, Kelly.

Angela [00:29:07] Guess what she picked out?

Jenna [00:29:09] Yes.

Angela [00:29:10] A Hello Kitty hot pink laptop sleeve.

Jenna [00:29:14] Yeah. Nashua got Mp3 players.

Angela [00:29:18] Mm hmm. The season was longer. And in deleted scenes, you find out what everyone got last year. And Stanley was not happy about that either.

Jenna [00:29:27] Oh?

Angela [00:29:28] Let’s hear it.

Phyllis [00:29:29] I don’t even have a laptop.

Kelly [00:29:31] Well, you can use them for other stuff, like jewelry or birth control or makeup.

Kevin [00:29:36] I don’t even use birth control.

Kelly [00:29:38] Anyway, we can all agree that these are much better than that stupid donation to charity that they gave us last year. Right?

Stanley [00:29:44] Don’t even get me started. (TALKING HEAD) Do not make a donation in my name. I do not want some redwood tree in Oregon named Stanley Hudson or whatever. I don’t know that tree. I want a Relax the Back gift card. How hard is that?

Jenna [00:29:59] Oh, my gosh.

Angela [00:30:02] That cracked me up. He is like, don’t even think about making a donation in my name.

Jenna [00:30:07] Oh, Stanley.

Angela [00:30:08] I know. Also, Kelly’s like, you can use it to store birth control? Or, like, a what is it? Like a purse? Like, what is she talking about?

Jenna [00:30:16] I don’t know. I have some Hello Kitty facts and some interesting info from Randy Cordray. What would you like first?

Angela [00:30:24] Ooh, Hello Kitty facts.

Jenna [00:30:27] All right. Do you know Hello Kitty’s full name?

Angela [00:30:30] No.

Jenna [00:30:31] Kitty White. Did you know that Hello Kitty has a twin sister named Mimi who wears a yellow bow?

Angela [00:30:37] No.

Jenna [00:30:37] Did you know their birthday is November 1st?

Angela [00:30:40] No.

Jenna [00:30:40] All right. Hello Kitty, I’m very familiar with because we had a Hello Kitty and friends pop up book when my daughter was little, and it was one of her favorite books. We read it all the time. So Hello Kitty and her sister Mimi were created first. And then this whole world of characters, it has expanded.

Angela [00:30:58] We have a few Hello Kittys. We even got one when we went to England. She has a little Union Jack dress.

Jenna [00:31:04] Yes! They were created by Yuko Shimizu in 1974, which means. Hello Kitty is my same age! They are owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. And according to her back story, Kitty White is a perpetual third grade student who lives outside of London. This tracks with your Hello Kitty, Angela. By 2014, Hello Kitty turned 40 years old, as I did in 2014, and she was worth about $8 billion a year.

Angela [00:31:35] Dang.

Jenna [00:31:36] Right? Making Hello Kitty one of the highest grossing media franchises of all time. Which leads me into the facts about what Randy said. Would you think, given that information, that it was easy or difficult for us to get Hello Kitty on our show?

Angela [00:31:53] I’m going to say difficult.

Jenna [00:31:55] Randy said getting to use the Hello Kitty laptop sleeves was one of the easiest placements he’s ever had to clear.

Angela [00:32:03] You know why? Because they’re like, We got so much money, we don’t have to worry about nothing. You want to use our image? Go for it.

Jenna [00:32:09] He said Sanrio provided Phil Shea with, quote, More laptop sleeves than we could possibly use.

Angela [00:32:15] Uh huh. My theory is correct.

Jenna [00:32:18] NBC sales had no problem because it didn’t compete with any other advertising on the network. And Mindy Kaling said in an interview that she kept one of the sleeves.

Angela [00:32:27] As she should.

Jenna [00:32:28] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:32:29] What about the lip flap? Anything from standards and practices?

Jenna [00:32:32] I don’t think there was a lip flap issue in this scene. Nothing there. No lip flap problems.

Angela [00:32:38] No lip flap. Well, one person is very excited about the Hello Kitty laptop sleeve, and it’s Darryl because he gets Christmas with his daughter Jada this year. And he’s so excited. I do have an old tech alert.

Jenna [00:32:51] TiVo?

Angela [00:32:52] He TiVoed her favorite shows. Remember TiVo, everybody?

Jenna [00:32:57] Bloop, bloop, bloop.

Angela [00:32:58] Mm hmm. And guess what?

Jenna [00:33:01] What?

Angela [00:33:01] It started snowing.

Jenna [00:33:02] It did. You know how it started snowing?

Angela [00:33:06] Are you going to tell me the behind the scenes of how we made it snow? Did we call Snow Business?

Jenna [00:33:12] We did not call Snow Business. Not for the inside snow at least.

Angela [00:33:16] Right. Right.

Jenna [00:33:17] Actually, we didn’t call Snow Business at all.

Angela [00:33:19] We didn’t call Snow Business?

Jenna [00:33:19] No, I’m so sorry.

Angela [00:33:21] They’re my favorite business.

Jenna [00:33:22] I know. There’s snow business like Snow Business.

Angela [00:33:25] Snow Business.

Jenna [00:33:26] No. In order to make the fake snow that Jim sees through the window when he’s talking to Dwight, we had these shaker boxes mounted above the outside set windows in between the window and the scrim that showed our fakey outside. They were set up by Ron Nary from A&A Special Effects and operated by our on set special effects tech. Mike Thompson. Guess what it was made out of?

Angela [00:33:51] Soap.

Jenna [00:33:52] No.

Angela [00:33:55] Ummm.

Jenna [00:33:55] You’re never going to guess it.

Angela [00:33:56] Wax.

Jenna [00:33:57] Nope.

Angela [00:33:58] Cardboard they had to paint white.

Jenna [00:34:00] Very close.

Angela [00:34:01] Paper?

Jenna [00:34:02] Yes!

Angela [00:34:02] Paper!

Jenna [00:34:03] It was shredded white paper, which Randy said was very easy to clean up and was also biodegradable.

Angela [00:34:09] Hey. Well, Dwight’s going to make fun of Jim because Jim is excited about the first snow of Christmas, and he says it’s not even real snow, it’s just a dusting.

Jenna [00:34:20] But remember when Dwight cried over snow in a previous episode? Remember that? It was New Year’s Eve or something? And he was watching a movie with Michael. And then they went outside and it started snowing. Am I making this up? Am I remembering this correctly?

Angela [00:34:36] I think you are remembering that correctly. I always thought he was tearing up because he got to be with Michael.

Jenna [00:34:41] I thought something about the snow made him very sentimental. But. Okay, so Dwight’s being a big poop about the snow this episode.

Angela [00:34:50] Yeah, but of course, this is going to give Jim an idea. He’s going to go outside and form a snowball, which really just looked like packed ice. That looked like a pretty hard snowball. He’s going to go in. And then, Jenna, I remember this so clearly. I don’t think John meant to hit Rainn square in the mouth, but that’s where he hit him. Hard. And you see everyone’s reaction, and we’re all like, Oh, dang! If you go to 5 minutes, 49 seconds, you can see that Rainn’s nose and lip chin area are still red from the impact.

Jenna [00:35:24] I think we only did one take of the impact, if I remember correctly, because it hit him, like you said, square in the face. And Rainn didn’t break.

Angela [00:35:33] Nope.

Jenna [00:35:34] He was also directing this episode, so he probably knew, I need to hold it together. Yeah, I remember that too.

Angela [00:35:41] Phyllis’s reaction is just so honest. She’s like, Ohh.

Jenna [00:35:45] We had a fan question from Hannah L in California who said, It looks like Pam disagreed with Jim throwing the snowball at Dwight’s face. Jenna, was this an acting choice or direction from the script? Well, Hannah, thank you for asking. I made a choice here.

Angela [00:36:01] Oh, Hannah, she’s so delighted. I wish you could see her face right now.

Jenna [00:36:05] She picked up on something here. It was not a scripted reaction. I decided that Pam has planned this amazing party. We have established that there is no drama. And I didn’t feel like Pam was pleased with this move by Jim.

Angela [00:36:20] Mm hm. I like that reasoning.

Jenna [00:36:22] Yeah. She was disappointed in these antics.

Angela [00:36:25] They’re going to go on to have what I’m calling, I don’t know, a handshake fight?

Jenna [00:36:29] Yes.

Angela [00:36:30] Where they won’t let go of each other’s hand, which I think Jim also instigated. At 6 minutes, 14 seconds, though, you get a little shot into Michael’s office. And in the corner he has a hat tree. And on top of his hat tree is his Santa hat. I thought it was really cute.

Jenna [00:36:45] Aww. That’s a cute detail. Well, over in accounting, Kevin asked Angela if she’s bringing her new boyfriend to the Christmas party.

Angela [00:36:54] She’s like, I don’t know. He’s very busy.

Jenna [00:36:57] Yeah. Oscar needs to point out that he’s a state senator.

Angela [00:37:01] Of course he does. And then Angela has this line that says that they went to a picnic thrown by the comptroller’s wife. She’s bragging about this. Kevin doesn’t know what it is. They threw so many different alts at me for that line. Like, whatever this ridiculous thing is that Angela is trying to brag about. Here was one of my favorites. It’s in the candy bag alts. How many turnpike dedications have you been to?

Jenna [00:37:27] Well, I loved that they picked comptroller and that Kevin didn’t know what a comptroller is.

Angela [00:37:32] But that Oscar did.

Jenna [00:37:33] They should both know what a comptroller is because it is basically your state accountant.

Angela [00:37:39] That’s why Oscar’s like, Mm, okay.

Jenna [00:37:41] You know I love voting, Angela. You know I make a whole chart.

Angela [00:37:45] I know you do.

Jenna [00:37:46] I research everything. And I recently had to research what a comptroller was.

Angela [00:37:52] I did, too. I had to Google it. I was like, What the heck?

Jenna [00:37:54] I didn’t know. Now I know.

Angela [00:37:56] Now you know. Well, Angela is going to have a talking head, which I love doing. She says, Do you have any idea how many photographers there are at a ribbon cutting ceremony? I do. Two. Angela over here. Click, click, click. Angela, over here. That was so much fun. But, I again, I had a whole bunch of candy bag alts. Here was one that I did. It’s very lonely dating someone in the public arena. I feel like the people around me can’t relate to me in the same way they used to think they could. She is a loving this title of state senator girlfriend!

Jenna [00:38:33] Well, you know what this talking head made me think of?

Angela [00:38:35] What?

Jenna [00:38:36] When we went to Paws for Style.

Angela [00:38:38] Oh, and there were only two people taking our picture?

Jenna [00:38:41] I mean, there might have been like three or four. But there were not many.

Angela [00:38:45] No.

Jenna [00:38:46] Well, maybe we should take a break, because when we come back, Pam is going to be in the conference room and she’s going to be laying out some rules.

Angela [00:38:52] She has one of my favorite speeches in the whole episode.

Jenna [00:38:56] Same.

Sam [00:38:56] And I have the answer to your burning question from earlier.

Angela [00:38:59] The spigot in the tree?

Sam [00:39:00] Oh, yeah.

Angela [00:39:01] Woohoo!

Jenna [00:39:02] We better go to break and get back fast. All right, we’re back. Sam?

Angela [00:39:09] Please give us the tree and spigot.

Jenna [00:39:09] Can you spigot a tree?

Angela [00:39:11] Can you spigot?

Sam [00:39:12] Let’s find out.

Angela [00:39:13] I think you can.

Sam [00:39:15] You sure can.

Angela [00:39:15] What?

Jenna [00:39:16] Oh my gosh!

Angela [00:39:17] Look at that. Tapping water from trees.

Sam [00:39:19] Jenna, will you read the highlighted part in blue?

Jenna [00:39:21] A few species that can be tapped for sap and water are maple, that’s the most common. And that’s actually how we get syrup. The maple for maple syrup. Wow.

Angela [00:39:37] Okay. So when I said I think you put a spigot in the tree and you’re like, what are you, Bugs Bunny? I need you to go on record of saying, Angela, you were correct.

Jenna [00:39:49] Angela. You. Were. Correct.

Angela [00:39:53] Thank you.

Jenna [00:39:54] And there’s even more information. If you are ever trapped in the wild in California- because we don’t have maple trees in California- it says here that you can put a tap in a birch, walnut, or hickory tree and you can get drinking liquid.

Angela [00:40:10] So, you know.

Jenna [00:40:10] There you go.

Angela [00:40:11] Keep a spigot in your pocket if you’re out in the woods.

Jenna [00:40:15] Yeah. Keep a spigot in your pocket. Since we are off topic, can we get an update from Cassi on the clacky balls? How are they going? Did you give up?

Cassi [00:40:24] I haven’t given up.

Angela [00:40:26] I notice some tools. I noticed you have.

Cassi [00:40:28] I have a tool.

Sam [00:40:29] About 5 minutes, I looked over and I go, Any progress? And she very softly goes, I don’t know.

Angela [00:40:34] It has broken several people. Can you undo what a four year old did in under a minute?

Jenna [00:40:41] All right. Back to the show. Pam’s in the conference room.

Angela [00:40:45] She’s going to give a few announcements about her Christmas party she’s planned. First of all, she says, A party is not an excuse to get really drunk or confront someone or have a cathartic experience of any kind. Several hands go up. And she’s like, What? There’s questions to that? Okay, no questions.

Jenna [00:41:02] Listen, try telling that rule to The Real Housewives of anywhere. That is the only thing a party is for.

Angela [00:41:08] Is just a knock down drunken fight?

Jenna [00:41:11] Just a releasing of how I really feel about blank. Your earrings. How you treated me last week at lunch. Your car. I don’t know. They’ll find anything to become very honest about.

Angela [00:41:21] But it’s coming out at the party.

Jenna [00:41:24] Yes. And, you know, Real Housewives of Salt Lake is back on. And in the previews, it looks like there’s going to be a party where they’re all dressed as various forms of maybe it’s Marilyn Monroe, maybe it’s Madonna. I can’t tell. They’re all in different like blonde wigs, having a huge argument.

Angela [00:41:43] I have never seen the show. You know, I was in Hot Wives of Orlando.

Jenna [00:41:46] Yeah.

Angela [00:41:47] With Casey and Danielle. And the cast is phenomenal. So if you guys listen to Bitch Sesh.

Jenna [00:41:53] Which is all about breaking down Real Housewives.

Angela [00:41:55] But before we did the series, Danielle would send me links of episodes so that I would understand. And I remember we had an episode that we were going to have a seance and people had too much to drink and then there was a seance. And I was like, Guys, this wouldn’t happen. And they were like, Oh, yes. Yes it would.

Jenna [00:42:16] Well, Toby has a big announcement in this conference room scene. This is when he’s going to tell us that he has to take a leave of absence because he’s been selected as a juror in a very high profile case. But that’s all he can say.

Angela [00:42:31] Yeah.

Jenna [00:42:32] But he’s rubbing his neck.

Angela [00:42:33] People are peppering him with questions.

Jenna [00:42:36] Mm hmm. We had a fan question from Sarah V in Lubbock, Texas. When Toby makes his announcement, was it scripted for Michael to say, Hi, in a mocking way, or did Steve improvise it? Because I laughed so hard at this tiny detail. Also, was the back and forth between Toby and Michael at this moment scripted or did they improvise? Well, I remember this.

Angela [00:42:59] And I went to the shooting draft.

Jenna [00:43:01] The hi is not scripted.

Angela [00:43:03] Not at all.

Jenna [00:43:04] But all the rest of it is.

Angela [00:43:05] Yes.

Jenna [00:43:06] But I remember that hi. It made me laugh.

Angela [00:43:08] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:43:09] Because Steve just took that idea that Michael was going to interrupt Toby. Even at hi. Toby’s like, Hi. Hiii.

Angela [00:43:17] Yeah. And Michael is going to continue to mess with Toby until he hears the news that changes everything.

Jenna [00:43:24] I got chills.

Angela [00:43:25] Holly is coming back. Holly is going to be Toby’s replacement!

Jenna [00:43:30] Mm hmm. We got a fan question from Elise P in Ontario. If Toby is leaving temporarily for a trial and leaving Scranton without an H. R rep, and that is such a problem, wouldn’t having Holly come from Nashua cause the same problem in Nashua?

Angela [00:43:47] I can’t do that math. I just have to let it go and just receive the fact that Holly is coming and delight in that. I can’t. I cannot go to the chalkboard and do that equation.

Jenna [00:43:57] Elise, that was my same response, which is, we have to let this happen.

Angela [00:44:01] We have to let it happen, Elise.

Jenna [00:44:01] We can’t think too hard on this one.

Angela [00:44:03] We can’t. I mean, you’re not wrong. But we can’t think about it.

Jenna [00:44:06] Yes.

Angela [00:44:07] I loved when Erin said, Guys, who’s Holly? And Michael says, That is a great question, Erin. How do you describe somebody who is at the same time an old friend and was a lover and was a complicated part of my past and maybe, just maybe, a part of my future? I have a question for you, Jenna.

Jenna [00:44:26] Yes.

Angela [00:44:26] Michael and Holly did a whole show up on stage at the company picnic.

Jenna [00:44:33] Yeah.

Angela [00:44:33] Yeah. Everybody saw Holly.

Jenna [00:44:36] Mm hmm. Including Erin.

Angela [00:44:37] That’s right.

Jenna [00:44:38] Yes. You would be very good friends with Mandy A from Inwood, West Virginia.

Angela [00:44:42] Oh, Mandy. Yes.

Jenna [00:44:43] Who wrote in to point that out.

Angela [00:44:45] Again, I’ve let it go.

Jenna [00:44:47] Yes.

Angela [00:44:47] I’ve let it go. I looked in the script to see if there was more to the sort of Erin not liking Holly. All it said was from the beginning Erin is skeptical. That’s all it says. She’s skeptical. It doesn’t say anything more.

Jenna [00:45:01] Interesting.

Angela [00:45:02] But I think it goes to their father daughter kind of relationship where there’s a new gal in town.

Jenna [00:45:08] That’s what I took it as.

Angela [00:45:09] Mm hmm. And she’s not so sure about this sort of step mom figure.

Jenna [00:45:13] Yes, I felt the same way. Well, Michael looks around and he says, We cannot have this Christmas party today. We have to cancel it. We’re going to have our Christmas party the day that Holly comes.

Angela [00:45:26] Yeah. And it’s going to be classy. We’re going to have a classy Christmas.

Jenna [00:45:30] Yeah. He starts throwing everything away. Napkins that haven’t even been opened. Still in the package.

Angela [00:45:36] Platters of food!

Jenna [00:45:37] Yes. You know how Andy is trying to wrestle the cookies away from Michael as Michael’s putting them in the trash can? That was not scripted. They just did that in the moment. And Mindy said that it was Rainn’s idea to drag the Christmas tree in the background when Michael cancels Christmas.

Angela [00:45:54] I did notice that Jim managed to get a cookie and is eating it.

Jenna [00:45:58] I did not see that. That is a great detail.

Angela [00:46:01] That wasn’t scripted. But both our lines, Jenna, as Pam and Angela react to him shoving things in the trash, they were scripted. So now we have a whole second party. When we talked to Randy about this, he’s the one that labeled them traditional party and classy Christmas.

Jenna [00:46:16] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:46:17] We have new decorations for Classy Christmas. It’s a silver and white kind of theme. We have silver and white wreaths, white twinkly little icicle lights, snowflakes are everywhere, white poinsettias. And there’s silver garland. There’s white candles. I mean, Holly is going to comment it looks like a fancy limousine driver’s party.

Jenna [00:46:38] Yes.

Angela [00:46:39] I had to know, what did it cost to host these parties? What would Dunder Mifflin have spent on two full parties?

Jenna [00:46:46] This is always your question.

Angela [00:46:47] I know.

Jenna [00:46:48] What is our party budget?

Angela [00:46:50] I always wonder. Per Randy, this party set decorating budget was around $6,000.

Jenna [00:46:57] Wow.

Angela [00:46:58] For both parties. And they had to be ready for duplicates because they were jumping around so much in the schedule. We would go traditional Christmas to classy Christmas to traditional Christmas. He even gave us the continuity pictures that our art department had to have, so they made sure they set everything up perfectly.

Jenna [00:47:15] So I got the call sheets from this, and I noticed exactly what you’re talking about. Not only, though, were we shooting these Christmas episodes with traditional and classy Christmas, we were also shooting the episode Ultimatum.

Angela [00:47:30] We were cross boarding?

Jenna [00:47:32] Yes. At the same time. This was because of Amy Ryan’s schedule. So we had to group all of her work together. In one day we would go from traditional Christmas to classy Christmas to regular bullpen with no Christmas and then back to a Christmas again.

Angela [00:47:48] Oh my gosh.

Jenna [00:47:49] And there would be little lines that would say, change over, change over to classy Christmas, and we’d go off to the parking lot or something.

Angela [00:47:55] And they would have to redecorate all of that.

Jenna [00:47:58] Yes. Like four times in one day. It was bonkers.

Angela [00:48:02] Wow. Geez. See, those are those things we talk about that goes on behind the scenes. That’s just like it just happens.

Jenna [00:48:08] It just happens.

Angela [00:48:10] I do have a question for you all, Jenna, Sam, and Cassi. Are you traditional Christmas or are you classy Christmas in your decorating?

Jenna [00:48:18] I am traditional Christmas.

Sam [00:48:21] Sorry, Cassi said traditional. Didn’t have the mic on. I need a ruling from you guys. The past decade, every year I do a big pink Dolly Parton tree.

Jenna [00:48:29] You’re retro Christmas.

Angela [00:48:31] You’re retro Christmas. Yeah.

Sam [00:48:32] Is that what it is?

Jenna [00:48:33] Yeah. 100%.

Angela [00:48:32] Yeah. I love your pink tree.

Sam [00:48:35] Thank you.

Angela [00:48:35] Yes, I am traditional Christmas as well, but I love a bonus tree. Like a little extra little tree. Like I have a miniature hot pink tree. You know, maybe I’m a combo. But I’m not classy Christmas. I’m not like white feathers and silver balls and things. What? You know what I’m talking about. Come on! You know, stop it. I am.

Jenna [00:49:04] I do know what you’re talking about it. I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s just fluffernutter all over again.

Angela [00:49:09] Oh, well, anyway, I guess we have three traditional Christmas here and one retro Christmas.

Jenna [00:49:17] Next, we have a scene that I have as a question mark for several reasons.

Angela [00:49:23] Okay.

Jenna [00:49:23] It’s a big long talking head from Michael. He’s in his new snazzy Santa outfit.

Angela [00:49:31] I’m calling it Sassy Santa.

Jenna [00:49:33] Okay. And while he’s delivering this talking head, it is slowly revealed that Angela is hemming his pants. It was not in our original shooting draft.

Angela [00:49:43] I know. I think it was added because I found it in later pages in a blue revised. I think they added this scene. This scene was so much fun. First of all, I love it whenever Michael’s in his office and then we reveal someone else has been there all along. And I thought Steve did such a great job of selling the “ouch!” and then panning down to me.

Jenna [00:50:02] Well, Angela, we have a fan question from Cara P in New Zealand who would like to know if you improvised your last line where you say, Yes, he is. Because Cara says, On my millionth rewatch, it stood out to me as sounding like an Angela Kinsey improv, which always make me laugh.

Angela [00:50:20] Thanks, Cara. Well, actually, Steve and I improvised quite a bit in this scene. So we did the scene as scripted, but kind of loosely, but the whole end of it was improv. So as scripted, Michael said, Could he help us with some parking tickets? And then we improvised the following. Angela says, I don’t think that’s appropriate. And Michael says, Well, then he’s not a senator. And then I said, Yes, he is. And Michael said, Okay. So we improvised the whole end of the scene.

Jenna [00:50:47] Nice.

Angela [00:50:47] But it was really fun.

Jenna [00:50:49] Well, I feel like this is a big character reveal moment as well, which is that you’re apparently a good seamstress.

Angela [00:50:54] Yes, I sew. I believe that, though.

Jenna [00:50:57] I do, too.

Angela [00:50:57] I think Angela made all of her cat Halloween costumes.

Jenna [00:50:59] Yes.

Angela [00:51:00] Yeah.

Jenna [00:51:01] Well, now we’re going to move to the kitchen and we’re going to find out that Jim and Pam are going to exchange some presents today. At the party.

Angela [00:51:08] Yeah.

Jenna [00:51:09] Now, I don’t know if you noticed, but Jim is wearing an almost identical tie.

Angela [00:51:15] I did.

Jenna [00:51:16] It is that same blue on top with the white snow falling. But at the bottom, you see a Santa going into a chimney.

Angela [00:51:23] Yes. Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:51:25] Mmhmm. Is this a very popular Christmas tie motif? The blue with snow on top, leading to something?

Angela [00:51:32] I feel like it is. I feel like I’ve seen this tie with a penguin like sliding in some snow at the bottom.

Jenna [00:51:38] Yes. Exactly. Hmm.

Angela [00:51:40] Well, in this scene with Jim and Pam, Pam kind of plays off like, okay, I didn’t have time to really do anything for your present, which clearly means she did something big. We find out in her talking head, she’s been working on this for a really long time. And she has made a comic book starring Jim. He’s a mild mannered paper salesman who gets bit by a radioactive bear and becomes Bearman.

Jenna [00:52:02] And Angela, I have all the details about the making of that comic book, but I’m going to wait. I’m going to share about it next week.

Angela [00:52:09] Okay. Well, Jim has returned to his desk and there’s a little sticky note.

Jenna [00:52:14] “Safety meeting. We will be burning a sticky note. There is a bucket under the desk with water.”

Angela [00:52:24] This is what our safety meetings were like. Also, there would be a whole speech. “There will be an open flame”.

Jenna [00:52:30] Mm hmm.

Angela [00:52:31] Mm hmm. I always wondered what safety meetings are like when there’s real stuff. Like there’s going to be a car crash. Like what?

Jenna [00:52:39] It’s true. I don’t know if you noticed, as Jim is walking to his desk to find the sticky note, it’s at 12 minutes and 17 seconds. He walks past the conference room window and the background scrim out the window, first of all, it’s not snowing. And the scrim did not represent a snowy day. It was a little catch.

Angela [00:53:02] We were juggling a few episodes.

Jenna [00:53:04] We were. I think we had up maybe that was the Ultimatum scrim.

Angela [00:53:09] Michael is pacing. He’s waiting for Holly. He is so anxious about her arrival. And then he realizes, Oh my God, there is a fake Christmas tree. And you can’t have a fake Christmas tree at Classy Christmas.

Jenna [00:53:21] And especially not for someone who is from New Hampshire.

Angela [00:53:24] Good Lord, get rid of that tree.

Jenna [00:53:27] So he’s going to give Pam some money and send her out immediately for a real tree.

Angela [00:53:32] And now to up the classy notch on this Christmas party, Michael has hired a bassist.

Jenna [00:53:38] Yes, he has hired one bassist for the entire day rather than an entire orchestra for 30 minutes. He is maybe regretting his choice. The bass player was Jonathan Pintoff. I went to his IMDB, Angela, and this is the only thing that Jonathan has ever appeared in is this one episode of The Office. So I reached out to Randy Cordray to get some more information on him, and I will share that next week in Classy Christmas part two.

Angela [00:54:05] I look forward to it. I have a busted catch.

Jenna [00:54:09] What’s that?

Angela [00:54:10] 13 minutes, 16 seconds, when Pam asks if anyone wants to buy a Christmas tree with her, John Krasinski is not in character. I think he’s chatting across the bullpen to Brian Baumgartner.

Jenna [00:54:22] Really?

Angela [00:54:23] They’re probably talking fantasy football or something. He’s animated. He’s talking to someone off camera. I’ll put it in stories. In fact, I have a double whammy here on J.K., because then at 13 minutes, 34 seconds, when Andy says, M’brid, you know, instead of his hybrid, my ‘brid, the tree won’t fit into my ‘brid, every time he said my ‘brid, John would break. And you can see John trying not to laugh.

Jenna [00:54:49] Well, Andy is going to volunteer to go get a tree with Pam, but they need a pickup truck because of his ‘brid. They’re going to go ask Darryl.

Angela [00:54:57] Yeah, but it’s not a good time to ask Darryl because he’s on the phone with Jada, his daughter’s mom. And it’s not going well.

Jenna [00:55:04] Yes, at 14 minutes and one second, Darryl is speaking to Justine, who was played by Erica Phillips. We brought her in just for this day, set her up on an off stage microphone. She is an amazing comedy actress. She’s been on Veep, Arrested Development, Stepbrothers, Superbad, The 40 year old Virgin, and This Is 40. And she will appear as Justine in season eight. We’ll get to meet her.

Angela [00:55:32] Andy’s really going to lay it on thick. He’s like, Come on, Darryl will be fun. We can do donuts in the snow.

Jenna [00:55:38] I have a catch from this scene of Pam and Andy going into Darryl’s office. It’s at 14 minutes and 30 seconds. Pam enters, holding her coat, and she’s wearing around her neck a black and tan winter scarf.

Angela [00:55:51] Mm hmm.

Jenna [00:55:52] I just realized I took that scarf when we wrapped.

Angela [00:55:55] You have it?

Jenna [00:55:56] Yeah, because I was just cleaning out my coat closet for the fall winter season and I found it in our scarf bin.

Angela [00:56:03] Aww.

Jenna [00:56:03] So just add that to the list of things that I clearly randomly swiped from the set.

Angela [00:56:10] Toby has made it to the party. Michael is pissed off. He doesn’t want Toby at the party. But Toby has had recess from the court. Everyone gathers around him.

Jenna [00:56:20] They are hanging on his every word.

Angela [00:56:23] Toby is so delighted by this attention. The scene was longer. It’s been deleted scenes. Michael gets so jealous of him. We got to hear it.

Kevin [00:56:32] Does he ever look at you and be like, Don’t you say another word or you’re next? Does he do that?

Toby [00:56:39] It can get really tense, you know? Yeah. I feel like I’m in an episode of Law and Order. Well, the second half. Right?

Oscar [00:56:48] That’s pretty good, Toby. Hey, I’m proud of you. This is a great thing you’re doing for this county.

Kevin [00:56:53] Yes. Yeah.

Toby [00:56:54] Oh, thanks, Oscar. It’s hard not to talk about that.

Michael [00:57:01] If you say another word to anyone about this trial, I will kill you. And good luck finding a jury for that, because no one will be impartial… Okay?

Jenna [00:57:13] Oh, my gosh!

Angela [00:57:14] I know! Michael is so jealous. This continues on to a talking head that aired where Toby says he knows they’re only talking to him because of the trial. But you know what? One day maybe they’ll just be talking, right? I had to go to candy bag alts because I knew they would have some delicious ones for Toby. Here’s one of them. Toby: I never know what to say to people in social situations. I usually take a shot of Jägermeister that I keep in my glove compartment. And then it says he’s trying hard to make a joke. Glove compartment? More like Jäger compartment! Then he gets depressed. See? That’s the kind of thing I would normally say. But jury duty. That’s like my Jäger shot.

Jenna [00:57:58] Oh.

Angela [00:58:01] Our candy bag alts sometimes were so random. So up next, Jim is going to be waiting for Dwight in the parking lot. I rewatched this episode with my daughter, and she was like, Mom, the doors are locked! She noticed the doors are chained. Jim gets this call. There’s a weird snowman behind him. And, oh, my God.

Jenna [00:58:23] So here is my question. Because Dwight is going to bust out of this snowman and start pelting Jim with snowballs until Jim is in the fetal position on the ground. Who chained the doors?

Angela [00:58:37] Who built the snowman around him? You have to think he has an accomplice. Nate.

Jenna [00:58:41] Nate.

Angela [00:58:42] Yes.

Jenna [00:58:42] It must be. We had a fan question from Bennett H in Salt Lake City, Utah. How did you guys film the scene with Rainn in the snowman? Was he actually in the snowman? Yes, Bennett. Rainn was in the snowman.

Angela [00:58:57] Isn’t that amazing?

Jenna [00:58:58] But let me back up. I’m going to start by saying that Rainn shared that it was in the high nineties during this scene and blindingly sunny the day that we shot all this stuff. In post-production, they changed the color tone to look more gray, but it was just blistering heat. Randy said that because of the heat, creating this entire outdoor winter snow was a huge undertaking, including these snowmen. Randy said they had to bring in an ice truck from union ice, an 18 wheeler tractor trailer. And then they ran ice through giant ice chippers to make all the snow. He said that it kept melting and they were constantly replacing the snow to keep the parking lot covered in snow. He said it was a very slow process, very labor intensive. Rainn added that they had to give the entire crew UV protectant sunglasses to cut down on the glare from the snow and the sun from snow blindness. A set medic was on set and the call sheet had this special note on it. It said, quote, All crew, you will be working today in snow. Please wear appropriate shoes. The weather forecast is for bright skies and hot weather. You will wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare on the snow.

Angela [01:00:25] You would think they were probably just working in slush most of the day.

Jenna [01:00:28] I mean, if you look carefully, there are a lot of puddles of water out there as well. I mean, they were really fighting it. You know, we shot these episodes over two weeks’ time. We shot all of this the first week. The second week when we were shooting basically all indoors.

Angela [01:00:47] Was it cooler?

Jenna [01:00:48] It was 72 degrees.

Angela [01:00:49] Oh, my gosh.

Jenna [01:00:50] Yeah, we really should have flipped it. But now let me get back to the snowmen. Here’s how they did those. It was amazing. Randy Cordray sent us a video of how they made this snowman. And Angela will be putting that over on the Office Ladies Pod Instagram.

Angela [01:01:06] Randy, I always loved the little nuggets you give me.

Jenna [01:01:10] They were built using a frame of metal wire mesh that could quickly be filled with chipped ice and they made a hollowed out snowman. But they were partially open in the back, which is why we only shot it from the front, so Rainn could get inside. They never fully enclosed him in snow. There was always a way for him to exit. But they could make one in less than 10 minutes.

Angela [01:01:35] Wow!

Jenna [01:01:36] It was truly brilliant. The engineering of that. Which was important because, you know, we had to do multiple takes.

Angela [01:01:43] Right. Dwight is going to have a talking head that says he lacks the feeling in his fingers and penis, but he thought it was worth it. There was a candy bag alt.

Jenna [01:01:52] Oh tell.

Angela [01:01:54] Oh, it’s so good. I really had a lot of fun with these candy bag alts this episode. Here it is. Dwight: Everything I build has a compartment for me to burst out of; my linen closet: false wall. My grandfather clock: could fit a grandfather. And my coffin? You’re going to want to be at that wake. Isn’t that so good?

Jenna [01:02:15] I love it.

Angela [01:02:17] We’re now going to see Jim. He’s bloodied. He’s in the kitchen. And he’s just said he just kept throwing and throwing them at him. And then he gets a text from Dwight. How about icing it? Lol.

Jenna [01:02:29] Well, listen, the time has arrived. Holly is here. She’s carrying a couple of boxes. She asks Erin for some help, but Erin is not available. She’s waiting for her boss’ pretty friend to arrive. Erin.

Angela [01:02:43] Erin. When Michael sees Holly, it is so pure. It is so sweet. And if any of you guys have doubted that these two were meant for each other, I need you to hear how they greet one another. We have to hear it.

Michael [01:02:58] Hello.

Holly [01:02:59] Well, well, well. It isn’t Michael Scott, you old bastard.

Michael [01:03:06] Well, I never thought I’d see your face around these parts, you old bastard.

Holly [01:03:10] Well, I did show my face around these parts, you old bastard.

Michael [01:03:13] Well, you some sort of wise guy, huh?

Holly [01:03:15] I most certainly am!

Michael and Holly [01:03:19] (THREE STOOGES NOISES)

Jim [01:03:21] Okay. Holly’s back.

Michael [01:03:25] Hi. Hi.

Jenna [01:03:28] There’s still the hug monster, too.

Angela [01:03:28] The monster happens. In the script it said that Holly immediately starts talking to him as Clint Eastwood. And Michael then switches them to the Three Stooges. And then they go to Homer and Bart Simpson.

Jenna [01:03:41] We got a fan question from Carlos L in Tacoma, Washington. Why does Holly bring an entire box of her plaques and desk stuff and even put stuff on the wall if she’s only going to be there for a week?

Angela [01:03:52] Oh, that’s such a good point.

Jenna [01:03:55] It is. But Carlos, I would bring two boxes of stuff for a one week job. I would do that. I would fully decorate my desk. If I had a temp job, and I had many.

Angela [01:04:04] Mm hmm.

Jenna [01:04:05] I like a homey desk.

Angela [01:04:07] I like a homey desk, too. I think two boxes is a little ambitious.

Jenna [01:04:11] Well, one box is work, and the other box is decor. I think it works.

Angela [01:04:15] Okay, well, Kevin is going to ask Holly if she brought them anything from Nashua. She says she brought them some maple candy, but ate some of it on the drive. Please go to 17 minutes, 52 seconds, because Kevin’s look to camera when Holly says she ate most of the candy is so good.

Jenna [01:04:34] Well, later, she tells Erin that she can put some of the candy out. And Erin goes, So six pieces for the whole office?

Angela [01:04:41] Yeah.

Jenna [01:04:42] Mm hmm. Little Erin sass.

Angela [01:04:44] Michael can’t get enough for Holly. They walk back to her desk together, they’re chatting away. And this is when Michael finds out that Holly is still with A.J.. He’s given her a Woody doll. He put it on her bed. Michael’s like, That’s kind of creepy. And then she’s like, Well, what do you mean? We live together. Oh, my gosh. Heartbreak in Human Resources.

Jenna [01:05:07] Yeah. Major. We had a fan question from Natasha C in Dallas, Texas. Did you guys have to get special permission to use the Disney Woody doll? And did you have to pay to use the Disney character? Remember how easy it was for us to get clearance for Hello Kitty?

Angela [01:05:24] I’m going to say, not this time.

Jenna [01:05:26] Not so much on the Woody doll. It was not a problem with Disney. They gave us permission to use the doll for free. But NBCUniversal forbid us from featuring it. They did not want to promote merchandise from another studio. So Greg and Mindy called our NBC studio creative liaison, Lauren Anderson, who got involved. Lauren took up the case with legal and sales, and eventually we got permission to use it. I just love how Greg would always fight for the creative idea. Because I think I would so easily think, Oh, I guess we have to change it.

Angela [01:06:04] Yeah, I’ll pick something else.

Jenna [01:06:06] Yeah.

Angela [01:06:07] Yeah. He always rallied behind his writers.

Jenna [01:06:09] Yeah.

Angela [01:06:10] Cassi, are you still working on the clacky balls?

Cassi [01:06:13] I’m making progress. I don’t know if it’ll be done by the end of the episode though.

Jenna [01:06:17] Have you freed a ball?

Cassi [01:06:18] I haven’t freed a ball, but the knot is so much looser. I think I’m now at the point of what the four year old did, and I’m just trying to, like, untangle.

Angela [01:06:28] Okay.

Jenna [01:06:29] Wow.

Cassi [01:06:30] But I don’t know.

Angela [01:06:30] Well I will leave it with you. Of all the people that have tried, you are showing the most passion and dedication.

Cassi [01:06:36] Well, I’m not hanging out at your house. I’m listening to a podcast.

Angela [01:06:39] Yeah. Pam, Andy and Darryl are at the Christmas tree lot, and Darryl is continuing to argue with his ex. And Pam really decides she’s going to make this Christmas special for Darryl and Jada. She’s going to step in.

Jenna [01:06:51] Yeah, she says, Why don’t you bring her to the party? It’ll be fun. There’ll be Santa and music, and it’ll be great. You’ll be able to dazzle her.

Angela [01:07:01] Jenna, I have a location question for you.

Jenna [01:07:03] Yes?

Angela [01:07:04] Where was this tree lot?

Jenna [01:07:05] Angela, when I watched this episode, my memory was that this tree lot was built in our parking lot.

Angela [01:07:12] Yes! I remember them moving cars and stuff.

Jenna [01:07:15] Yeah. I asked Randy, is my memory correct? And he said it is. He also told me that we rented all of those trees from that company, Green Set. Remember the people who put a fake iceberg in your lawn for you?

Angela [01:07:28] Yes. Mm hmm.

Jenna [01:07:29] Yeah. That’s where we got all the trees. So I did not have to go far to go on this tree lot.

Angela [01:07:34] Well, they’re going to arrive back to the bullpen.

Jenna [01:07:37] They’ve picked up Jada, I guess.

Angela [01:07:38] Yeah, and guess what?

Jenna [01:07:40] What?

Angela [01:07:41] There’s no Jolly Santa. There’s just snarky, sad, sassy Santa.

Jenna [01:07:46] Yes. I want to give a shout out to Taylor Holloman, who played Jada. She was with us for three episodes of The Office, and she also appeared on Community and New Girl. She was great.

Angela [01:07:57] I mean, the thing that’s crazy is when you see all of the actors that were kids and see them now, that’s when I really feel old.

Jenna [01:08:04] I know.

Angela [01:08:06] Well, the ladies have decided to chat Holly up. They want the DTR, as we used to call it in college.

Jenna [01:08:13] What’s the DTR?

Angela [01:08:15] Define the relationship.

Jenna [01:08:16] Oh. I’ve never heard that.

Angela [01:08:19] Have you had the DTR? That means have you locked it down? What are the labels? We need to know.

Jenna [01:08:25] Well, we find out that A.J. has not proposed, even though maybe Holly would like him to?

Angela [01:08:33] I think she would. That’s what I feel like she’s hinting at. They’ve moved in. She wants to have kids. They’ve been together a year.

Jenna [01:08:39] Kelly says, You need to give him an ultimatum.

Angela [01:08:42] And Pam’s like, Wait, wait, wait, guys. I don’t know if we should be giving her relationship advice. But Holly takes it.

Jenna [01:08:49] I don’t know if you notice, but I’m freezing in this scene, because I had to take off my sweater.

Angela [01:08:55] Oh, yeah. You’re in the tank top.

Jenna [01:08:56] Mm hmm.

Angela [01:08:57] To set up Dwight.

Jenna [01:08:58] Yes. I mean, when I watched this scene, I could see that I was freezing. I have my arms crossed across the front of my body. I’m holding my hands in a fist. I think you can see goosebumps on my arms. I was so cold. I got cold watching the scene just from the memory of how cold I was.

Angela [01:09:17] I can’t imagine being in a tank top on that set. So I know you were cold. Holly would have had a talking head here. It was in the shooting draft, but was deleted. And there were also several candy bag alts for it. I’d like to read one of them.

Jenna [01:09:31] Please.

Angela [01:09:33] Holly: It’s not really an ultimatum. It’s just a deadline with consequences. I loved that. I’m not giving you an ultimatum, but I am giving you a deadline with big consequences.

Jenna [01:09:44] You know, that sounds like healthy boundaries to me.

Angela [01:09:47] Hmm.

Jenna [01:09:48] I like that framing. Pam’s going to walk back to her desk, which is very confusing to Jim, because he was pretty sure that she was sitting at her desk. But it’s not her. It’s Dwight in a Pam wig wearing Pam’s sweater. And he starts pelting Jim with snowballs.

Angela [01:10:03] Yeah, we find out, I guess, that Dwight has wigs for every person in the office because you just never know.

Jenna [01:10:08] Mm hmm.

Angela [01:10:09] I have a question for you.

Jenna [01:10:10] What is it?

Angela [01:10:11] Was that really Pam’s sweater or did they get him another sweater?

Jenna [01:10:14] No, they squeezed him into my sweater.

Angela [01:10:17] Okay.

Jenna [01:10:17] Yes. The arms were very, very tight on him. Both Mindy and Kim Ferry talked about this wig sequence on OfficeTally.com. Mindy said, When I was writing this episode, I just thought how funny Rainn would look in a Meredith wig. And my stage direction for him was he, quote, Whips around like a dramatic hamster. She said, The Stanley is probably my favorite because of the way Rainn held up the crossword puzzle with so much seriousness. Kim Ferry said that the direction she was given was that these wigs should not be perfect because Dwight would have made them himself on the farm. So they’re a little bit off, but a close match. She also said that we did all those shots in really quick order, and that she and Sherri Perry would rush in and put a new wig on, get the shot, and then do the next one. It was all really fast. I think we were on a deadline.

Angela [01:11:11] Well, you’ll see some great reactions of everyone because we were just reacting as ourselves. Again, watch Phyllis’s face as John gets pelted. And Jenna, I’m just going to need to know for future reference, what is a dramatic hamster?

Jenna [01:11:26] I think it’s what you saw.

Angela [01:11:27] Is that a meme or something?

Jenna [01:11:29] Dramatic hamster.

Angela [01:11:30] I feel like I have to Google that.

Jenna [01:11:32] Well, speaking of throwing snowballs, Jim has a plan. He’s got out his lacrosse stick, and he is looking in the conference room, waiting for his moment to pelt Dwight.

Angela [01:11:44] And he’s doing, like, a little back and forth swatty move. Swatty move swat, swat. It’s like a prep move.

Jenna [01:11:49] It begs the question, why does Jim have a lacrosse stick and how did he get a hold of one on such short notice?

Angela [01:11:57] Maybe he keeps it in the trunk of his car. Maybe he plays like adult lacrosse on the weekends.

Jenna [01:12:02] That’s what I’m saying. I think it’s weird that he has this on hand. But what he’s going to do is he’s going to put a snowball in this lacrosse stick. He’s going to whip it at Dwight. He’s going to miss and he’s going to break the window. Which is, for next week, going to make the party miserable because now the whole office is cold. We had a fan question from Jennifer M in Orlando. My husband and I have debated for years about what Jim throws at Dwight. I say he threw a snowball, but my husband thinks he threw a lacrosse ball, because a snowball wouldn’t be strong enough to break the windows. Can you tell me, what did Jim throw at Dwight? Well, Jennifer, you are correct. It was scripted as a snowball. It said, Jim sees a shot. He flings the snowball. He misses and it hits the glass window, which pops out of frame and falls out. People scream. But they changed it to break the window. Randy said we used that old timey candy glass, breakaway glass. He said we had four panels ready to go, but John nailed it on the first take.

Angela [01:13:04] Hmm.

Jenna [01:13:05] Mm hmm.

Angela [01:13:06] And so it was a snowball.

Jenna [01:13:07] Yes. It was both scripted as a snowball. And it was a snowball.

Angela [01:13:11] A real snowball.

Jenna [01:13:11] I mean, we packed it tight. It was it was an ice ball. But it was not a lacrosse ball.

Angela [01:13:17] Right. Well, this episode is going to end with Michael. He’s pretty sad, you guys. He says, I guess there’s some people you stay together with when you transfer and some people you don’t. And he can be mature about that. And then he pours a whole cup of coffee onto Woody in the trash.

Jenna [01:13:33] I was horrified by this. I was so upset.

Angela [01:13:37] Were you really?

Jenna [01:13:38] Yes. I do not believe in, what would you call that? Vandalizing.

Angela [01:13:45] Other people’s property?

Jenna [01:13:46] An ex. You know, I would never. I would never go key someone’s car or, you know, set their clothes on fire or.

Angela [01:13:54] Well of course not.

Jenna [01:13:54] Pee on their clothes. I don’t know. You hear about people doing this stuff. Don’t do that, people. Come on, now.

Angela [01:14:00] Come on, now.

Jenna [01:14:01] I didn’t care for it.

Angela [01:14:02] Yeah, I mean, it’s very petty. Super petty. And you know what? Holly is going to be ticked off about it, and rightly so.

Jenna [01:14:10] That’s for next week.

Angela [01:14:12] That’s right. Classy Christmas Two. Don’t mess with my Woody.

Jenna [01:14:16] Oh, wow! And on that note, Cassi?

Angela [01:14:22] Any luck with the balls?

Cassi [01:14:24] Uh, it’s still tangled.

Jenna [01:14:26] It’s tangled, but it’s hanging lower. It really is. We’ll have you work on that again next week.

Angela [01:14:32] Cassi, good luck with the balls. We’ll check in next week.

Sam [01:14:34] Before we go, would you like to see what they’re referencing to the hamster?

Angela [01:14:38] Oh, the dramatic hamster! Yes!

Jenna [01:14:39] It’s a thing?

Sam [01:14:40] Yes, it’s classic old Internet. It’s just this. (PLAYS CLIP).

Jenna [01:14:46] Oh yes! Yes, I remember this guy!

Sam [01:14:47] There you go. You remember this guy.

Angela [01:14:49] That’s exactly what Dwight does! Oh, that’s so funny.

Jenna [01:14:53] You have to do that side by side on Instagram, Ange.

Angela [01:14:54] Oh, yeah. Will you send that to me?

Sam [01:14:55] I sure will.

Jenna [01:14:56] Well, guys, that was Classy Christmas Part One. A big thanks to Randy Cordray for all of his amazing information. And also, I want to thank Jenny Tan over at Office Tally for gathering these great interviews with our writers, our directors, our crew.

Angela [01:15:12] I know. Jenny was the best.

Jenna [01:15:14] Yeah. Thank you. Such a great source of information now, as we break down the podcast, too.

Angela [01:15:19] Thank you guys so much for listening in. We hope you have a great rest of the week and we will see you a next Wednesday with Classy Christmas Part Two.

Jenna [01:15:26] See you then. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fischer, and Angela Kinsey. Our show is executive produced by Codi Fischer. Our producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our sound engineer is Sam Kieffer. And our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico.

Angela [01:15:48] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. For Ad free versions of Office Ladies, go to Stitcher Premium dot com. For a free one month trial at Stitcher Premium, use code “office”.