Office Ladies - Classy Christmas, Part 2

Episode Date: November 9, 2022

This week we finish breaking down “Classy Christmas.” Holly has arrived to Pam’s new Classy Christmas party and Michael is disappointed to discover Holly is still dating AJ. Meanwhile Pam gives ...Jim the comic book she made for him, “The Adventures of Jimmy Halpert.” Jenna breaks down the comic book made by artist Tone Rodriguez. Angela with the help of her husband Josh creates Ryan’s fictional cocktail, F Train to Brooklyn, and serves it to the Office Ladies team. We also have a visit from Santa-kins and there’s an update on Cassi untangling of the clacky balls. Please enjoy this episode and remember, in the end, the greatest snowball isn’t a snowball at all, it’s fear. To get a copy of Tone Rodriguez’s comic book “The Adventures of Jimmy Halpert”, email manageink.art@gmail.com Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestionFollow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPodCheck out Office Ladies Merch at Podswag: https://www.podswag.com/collections/office-ladies

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Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together. And we're best friends. And now we're doing the Ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you. 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. We're The Office, ladies. Hello. Ho, ho, ho. Oh, you're really bringing it for classy Christmas part two. I am looking at my sweatshirt. Angela is wearing her Christmas sweatshirt, her sprinkles. Yes, it's a Christmas sweatshirt. It's my Christmas sprinkles sweatshirt. Which is available for purchase over at OfficeLadies.com, I believe. That's right. I love to dress for theme. You
Starting point is 00:00:44 too. This is true. Well, today is season seven, episode 12. It was written by Mindy Kaling, directed by Rainn Wilson. It is part two of what we started last week. Since this episode is a continuation, I thought everyone might appreciate a little update on my legs. Oh, I thought you were going to update us on where we were at in the episode, but no. Oh, I will. Oh, yeah, we'll get to that. Don't you want to know about my legs if they're shaved or not? Did I get a razor in the mail like you suggested? Can I get a touch test? Well, I mean, you can see it. Let's see it. Hey, look at them shine of games. Yep. Just in time for fall weather. Oh yeah, just in time for short skirts. Gary being sarcastic. I am.
Starting point is 00:01:37 Second update, I think we're going to need to make sure that Cassie is still working on the clacky balls. Oh yes, the clacky balls that Toddler destroyed. The set up she has in here with the lamp, and it's the most focused I've ever seen her. Well, Cassie, if you untangle the balls, you need to break in immediately to the podcast. Don't wait. We want to know right away. It's a special announcement. Now that we got that out of the way, here's your summary. Remember Michael forced Pam to redo the Christmas party for Holly's return? Yeah, he wanted a classy Christmas. But he learned that Holly is still dating AJ. They live together. Yeah. Also, Jim and Dwight got in an epic snowball fight. Well, that's not going to quit.
Starting point is 00:02:19 Daryl brought his daughter Jada to the Christmas party, and he's struggling to keep her entertained. In this episode, Angela's boyfriend, the senator, is going to show up at the party. Yes, he is. She's very proud. She's so smug about it. Except Oscar's pretty sure he's gay. Yeah. And then AJ is going to arrive to surprise Holly. That's what's going on. And you thought there wouldn't be any drama at the Christmas party? I know. Well, there wouldn't have been any drama at the first Christmas party. That's true. Fast fact number one, we had a fan mail flurry. It was all about that amazing comic book that Pam makes for Jim. You know the one, The Adventures of Jimmy Halpert.
Starting point is 00:03:04 Yeah. He's the bear man. The bear man. In last week's episode, she showed it to Ryan, who didn't have a lot of nice things to say about it. No. This episode, she shows it to Phyllis. I titled that scene Phyllis Snark. We'll get to it. Yeah. But then she finally gives it to Jim. Yeah. The fan mail flurry was all about who created this comic book. Some people wanted to know, did I draw it? They had heard that I did used to do comic book art. You did comic book art. I have a little doodle you gave me. I saved all those years ago. You drew it on the set. You're very good. I got really into autobiographical comics for a period of time. Joe Matt was one of my favorites. And then I started kind of drawing
Starting point is 00:03:49 out basically almost like diary entries. So I had a little myself. I had a little you. Yeah. You had whoever. Yeah. Yeah. For this comic book, I will say I did not draw this. I'm not this good. You know, you see glimpses of it in the episode. It's very, very good. To find someone to do this comic book, Phil Shea reached out to a comic book shop called DJ's Universal Comics. And a woman there named Kat suggested that he reach out to a local comic book artist named Tone Rodriguez. Tone had been working on the Simpsons comics for several years, and she thought he might be a good choice. We reached out to Tone. Yes. And he told us his whole story. It is amazing. And I cannot wait to share. So Tone said one day, Phil just called
Starting point is 00:04:38 him out of the blue. It was a Wednesday. And Phil said, I need a comic book drawn up. And Tone said, well, when do you need it by? And Phil said Monday. And Tone didn't think he could do it. Yeah. He sort of said, I can't turn it around that quickly. But Phil said, why don't you come down to set so I can better explain what we need? Phil didn't tell him what show it was. So Tone didn't know. He knew he was drawing something for a TV show, but he didn't know what one. He said he got to the studio. Nobody was there. He said, there's no security. It was a weird part of town. Yeah. He said he just walked past the gate. And he started basically just wandering around. That sounds about right. Yeah, he was just asking, does anyone know someone named Phil?
Starting point is 00:05:25 Phil. Finally, he made it to Phil's prop trailer where he got introduced to Paul Lieberstein. They started to explain what we needed. But then they said, you know what? This is really Mindy's episode. She wrote it. So we should check with her. Tone said by this point, he realized the show was called The Office, but he'd never seen it. He said he doesn't watch much TV because if he starts watching something, it really distracts him from his art. He has to focus. And so he doesn't get into television shows. Wow. I know, right? So they walk him on set to meet Mindy. And here's what he said. He said, I'll be 100% honest here. We were on set waiting for Mindy to give us a heads up on what she wanted for the
Starting point is 00:06:05 comic. And when she walked up to the three of us, I swear I have no recollection of what she had to say. Nothing. She walked up to us and it was like the scene in Wayne's world where Garth sees the woman in the donut shop, the light radiating from behind her, and you're hearing Dream Weaver by Gary Wright. Mindy was stunning. That's all I can say. She had me absolutely speechless and I have no idea what she might have said. I had never seen the show. Maybe if I had, I would not have been as surprised by her, but I was. Again, she was stunning. Oh my gosh, Mindy. So he says she explained everything she needed. And at the end of the encounter, she said, did you get that? And he said, yeah. And she said, all right. And she turned and walked away. And at that point, he said,
Starting point is 00:06:53 Phil and Paul turned to him and said, did you get that? And he said, I have no idea what she said. He was honest? Yes. And he said, they must have seen the effects she had on idiots like me before. Because at this point, they both said, yeah, we know, we wrote it down for you. Aw. And he said, that's a 100% true story. And then he said, my wife hates that story, huh? Mindy is someone, when you meet her, she just, she's a captivating person. Yes. I mean, she's beautiful and she has kind of an aura and she's confident. She's smart. Yes. I know. She's a force. She's a force. So I asked Tone, how many pages did you illustrate? And he said that he drew the cover and two interior pages. He said a full comic book is usually 22 pages. So that's why
Starting point is 00:07:47 he panicked when Phil said they needed it in a few days, because he couldn't do 22 pages. Right, right. But he said, after they explained what Mindy wanted, they said just two pages would be fine. And they would just duplicate them a couple of times to make it look like a full comic book. Tone said everything in the comic book is hand drawn, including the logo on the front. And he said all of the lettering inside was done by his buddy, Tony Fleece. And he said, people just, you didn't do it digitally back then. Everything was done by hand. By hand. Wow. And he said that the script inside all the words he took directly from the note that Phil and Paul had handed him after his meeting with Mindy. So that's it.
Starting point is 00:08:25 I love that story. You guys, a few years ago, I was at a comic convention in Philadelphia and I saw the comic book, The Adventures of Jimmy Hilpert. I was so excited by it that the vendor gave me two. I saved him. I brought him home. I gave one to Jenna. So Jenna has one and I have one. And I don't know if they're originals. I'm guessing they're not, right? Yeah. Tone said people come up to him all the time and tell him that they purchased one of the original props. And he said, I hate to disappoint people, but there were only eight of them that were made for the show. He said he has one. He gave two to one of his friends in Stockton, California. One to a fan in Bakersfield. He said there's maybe three original copies out there, but he does make replicas
Starting point is 00:09:09 of the book and he makes them available to different vendors at shows. Oh, that's fantastic. We'll have to share that in stories. Yes. He says there's an email you can use to contact him about getting one. We can put that in the show notes. He said they're limited, but you should but you should contact Jacob at that email address. It's manageink.art at gmail.com. But we'll put it in show notes. We will. But thank you, Tone, so much. Yes, Tone. Thank you. Thank you. I always love hearing stories like that. Me too. Well, fast fact number two comes to us from Stose B in Washington, D.C. This is a piece of fan mail that just absolutely warned my heart and it's episode specific and I can't wait to share it. Oh, Stose said, in all capitals,
Starting point is 00:09:58 my daughter was born to this episode of The Office. Oh my goodness. I've been waiting to tell this story since she was born on Christmas Eve in 2019. I went into labor with my first daughter on December 23rd and as soon as midnight on Christmas Eve hit, Comedy Central started playing The Office Christmas episodes on repeat. I kept them on all day and when the time came to push around 4 p.m., the nurses tried to turn the TV off, but I kept it on, using the episodes to keep me calm and focused for the next two hours. And the last thing I remember listening to is Oscar and Ryan's bit about bartending. It was truly the best way to bring my daughter into the world. Oh, I love that. That's hilarious and awesome. I love that she was like, no, you will not turn
Starting point is 00:10:48 that off. That's right. And now fast fact number three, Angela, is all you. You know, it's my favorite thing when you say, can I have a fast fact? Yes. And it actually pairs very nicely with Stose's story. Really? Yes. I'm intrigued. Well, my fast fact three is all about Ryan and his drink order of an F train to Brooklyn extra bidders. Okay. So you know, from that Office Tally interview, that was great, where Mindy said she made it up. Yeah, it was a made up drink, but she said BJ pitched the line with extra bidders. Yeah. So it got me curious if any component of this drink exists in the world, right? Okay. First thing, the F train is real. Oh, yeah. It goes to Brooklyn. That's right. It operates from 179th Street in Jamaica, Queens, all the way to Stillwell
Starting point is 00:11:38 Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn. I've taken it many times. I have a friend who lives in Brooklyn, and all I know is if I get on the F train, I'll make it there. In fact, it was the first train I ever took all by myself. It was the first subway ride I ever took solo, the F train. Secondly, there is a real cocktail called the Brooklyn. There's not one called the F train to Brooklyn, but there is a cocktail called the Brooklyn. In fact, Jenna, did you know that there are cocktails named after four of the five New York boroughs? Well, I know there's a Manhattan and I love it. Yes. The cool thing about these drinks too is they date back to so long ago. I got to nerd out a little bit over cocktails and when they were created and the first time they were ever printed and
Starting point is 00:12:24 all that stuff. So here goes. Here are all the cocktails from New York City's boroughs. You've mentioned the Manhattan, probably the most famous one. It's composed of whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters and typically served in a cocktail glass. Of the five drinks, it is the only one considered one of the quote, unforgettables on the IBA list of official cocktails. Oh, I see. Okay. The Manhattan is said to have originated at a banquet hosted by Lady Randolph Churchill at the Manhattan Club in the late 19th century. Oh, next up, there is a cocktail named the Bronx and the Bronx consists of gin, vermouth and orange juice. The Bronx was a pre-prohibition cocktail and it appears in the 1908 book, The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them. I'm intrigued. It sounds good. Next up, we have
Starting point is 00:13:16 the Brooklyn, which is why we're here today. A Brooklyn consists of rye whiskey, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur or maraschino cherries and a mere pecone. The Brooklyn first appeared in print in 1908 in Jacob A. Grohowski's book, Jack's Manual. Many cocktail experts, Jenna, feel like the Brooklyn fell out of favor because it has a fairly obscure component that's very hard to get in the United States. Is it the last thing you said? A mere pecone. It was a French aperitif. Oh, okay. I wonder if there's a substitute. I wonder what it tastes like. Well, people have substituted it with a different type of bitters, but it was very popular in the early 20th century and largely fell into obscurity after prohibition. I see. Next up, we have Queens, the cocktail.
Starting point is 00:14:06 A Queens consists of gin vermouth and pineapple juice. This drink dates back to 1930, appearing in Harry Crottick's Savoy Cocktail Book. Isn't gin and vermouth martini? Isn't that what you make a martini out of? Yes. Right. Okay, so we're making a martini and then we're throwing a little pineapple juice in it. That's the Queens. Lastly, Staten Island is the only borough without a cocktail. Staten Island. I know, but there is a Staten Island fairy cocktail. Oh. And it's named after the fairy that carries passengers between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island. It consists of Malibu rum and pineapple juice resembling a pina colada. And this is one of the things said about this drink. Its tropical flavoring is a satire on the fact that Staten
Starting point is 00:14:54 Island is an island, though far removed from the tropics. Oh my gosh. It's a little shade. A total disc drink. I know. So in doing all of this research, I discovered so many old, old books about the art of making cocktails, recipes, how to serve them. For example, the Brooklyn is featured in the book, Jack's Manual. If you go online and try to find it, there are a few original versions of this book. It's super old and they go for hundreds of dollars. I found one that was over $1,000 if you're a collector of these old mixology books. That's what I was going to say. What is Jack's Manual? Is it a drink manual? Yes. Cocktails. Cocktails. Oh, okay. I really wanted to see the original books and the pages
Starting point is 00:15:37 of the books. And I found a website that's so cool. It's called EUVS Vintage Cocktail Books. They have gone and found these super old books and they've put them online as the images appear in the book. You know what I mean? And you click a little button and it makes a little page turn noise. And it's like you're flipping through the old book, ye oldie books. It was so cool. I'll put it in stories. So I have Jack's Manual. I have the actual original Brooklyn recipe that was in this book that was printed in 1908. I'll put it all in stories. I geeked out over it, but you guys, I'm not done. You thought I was done. I did. I did think you were done. No. Some of you may or may not know this,
Starting point is 00:16:19 but my husband, Josh, used to bartend in his 20s and was a mixologist for a restaurant. Did he know any of these drinks? Has anyone walked in and said, give me a Brooklyn? No. He did not know the Brooklyn. He obviously knew the Manhattan, but I shared this whole story with him. He was part of this whole journey with me. And he said, you know, Ange, I would like to try a creating an F train to Brooklyn. Oh. With extra bitters. He took inspiration from the original Brooklyn recipe from 1908. Josh added his twist to it with a special ingredient, secret ingredient. He made the cocktail last night. I brought it here with me and I'm going to serve it to you.
Starting point is 00:16:57 This is Josh's F train to Brooklyn extra bitters. I'm so excited. Will you remind me what is in a Brooklyn? Yes. Rai Whiskey, Driver Mouth, Merchina LeCour, and Amer Pecone. I'm very excited. This is the one, this is the one outside of the Manhattan that I was most interested in. This is just the thing Cassie needs to get that extra push to get these balls untangled. Okay. Here's the thing, you guys. It's going to take a minute of assembly. I mean, when Josh made it, it was beautiful. I mean, I have the shaker, I have instructions from him, and I have pictures of him making it. I'll share in stories.
Starting point is 00:17:31 Well, maybe we should take a break and when we come back, we'll all have our cocktail and let you know how it is. Yeah. And I will put this recipe on Office Ladies Pod, but I'm not going to tell it to you yet because I want you to have the reveal of the secret ingredient. I am very excited for this day. We'll be right back. Okay, we are back. Okay, I- Sam and Cassie are here. Hello. I have made Josh's F-Train to Brooklyn extra bitters. I want you guys to know one of the reasons why he jumped in as I started this endeavor is
Starting point is 00:18:09 there's a special ingredient. It's the F ingredient. No, does this ingredient start with an F? Yes, it does. But I was starting to make this drink and Josh was like, that's going to be disgusting. I was doing my idea of it. He goes, you can't have another beet vodka. And I was like, wait, Sam liked the beet vodka. Very earthy. Very earthy. But anyway, so Josh was like, I'm going to step in. I'm going to have you try his version and then I'm going to tell you what my secret ingredient would have been. Okay, here you go. I want to say, I want to describe the drink. Yeah, remind me what's in it. It's very pretty. It's a sort of off pinkish color.
Starting point is 00:18:44 It looks sort of like a dirty cosmopolitan and you've put even a cherry on two toothpicks. Because I didn't have a long toothpick. I've tried to make it fancy. Well, and you're serving it in a martini glass. Yes, I am. I'm very excited. Okay, cheers, you guys. I've trained a Brooklyn extra bitters. All right. That is a great cocktail. That's fantastic. I would order that any time. That's really great. Right? Do you like it? Do you like it, Cassie? Yes, I'm trying to guess what the F is. Okay. I have a guess. I have a guess.
Starting point is 00:19:21 I have a guess. Okay. Well, first of all, Angela threw us out of the recording studio because she said she didn't want us to know the secret ingredient. Uh-huh. But it makes a sound and we heard. Oh, I gave it away. Oh, I gave it away. So we're each going to write down what we think the F ingredient is. The F ingredient. So this was Josh's idea. I did not really know this at all. So this was all his idea. All right. Ready? Yeah. We're going to hold them up. One, two, three. Okay. I have a Fanta. I have a Fresca and I have a Fanta. It is Fresca. Fresca. Sam got it. So, yes. Here is Josh's recipe, you guys. And it's really good. He did one and a half ounces of rye whiskey, half an ounce of driver mousse, one fourth ounce of maraschino cherry juice,
Starting point is 00:20:11 two to three drops of bitters, Fresca. And he garnished it with a maraschino cherry. It's fantastic. So it doesn't have that weird French liqueur in it? No, you can't get it. And even that French liqueur isn't even made the same way anymore. So that's why this is the F-trained to Brooklyn and not the Brooklyn. That's right. I think Josh has invented a drink. Yeah. Tell him great job. And great job to you as well. Thank you. Well, guess what? When he stepped in, I was going to infuse rye whiskey with a fig. I had cut in half. He was like, no, no, no, Angel, you can't do that to them. And I was like, what? It could work. And he goes, it won't work. I think it could have worked.
Starting point is 00:20:52 He said it would have to be a dried fig. I was just chopping into a fig. Oh, he said it would get real funky. When you first set it in the booth, I was like, oh, God, fish. Oh, that was my first tea. Anything F. Yeah. Isn't that a great drink? This is fantastic. It's a great drink. Yeah. Well, way to go, Josh. Way to go, both of you. Thank you. I hope we all finish ours. And by the end of this episode, it's another one where we're all like, I love you guys. I love you so much. I love this pad.
Starting point is 00:21:19 All right. Let's get back to the episode. Well, I'm very excited to break down this episode with my cocktail. I haven't even finished my cup of coffee yet. It's 10, 15 in the morning. You might have to do both. Okay. You might have to do caffeine and cocktail back and forth. Before we get into this episode, did you notice that the entire episode is only 18 minutes long? No. My daughter, Isabel, pointed it out to me. She said, Mom, that felt so short when we watched the second one. Okay. And I was like, it did. And she goes, Mom, can you see how long it was? Because I don't think it's as long as a regular episode. And I went and I checked and she was
Starting point is 00:21:59 right. It was 18 minutes. Hmm. So when it aired as one episode, obviously, it was a big episode. But when they split it in two, it wasn't quite enough for that full 22 minutes. It seems like maybe the first half ran a little longer. Yeah. They took up more time. I did notice that there's no traditional cold open here. We just pick up right where we left off in the last episode. Jim had broken the window and it's now been patched up with cardboard. It's still cold because everyone's had to put their coats on. I was so happy to stay filming.
Starting point is 00:22:31 I know. It was the one day we were actually warm. Oh, when they were like, you're going to wear a coat all day. I was like, woo-hoo! Woo! I noticed that the bass player is still there. Even after he was at a party where the window broke, he's going to keep playing the bass. I thought it was admirable. He's professional. Remember last week when I said he was played by Jonathan Pintoff, but that if you go to IMDB, this was his only credit? I asked Randy Cordray about that. He said that's because he wasn't an actor.
Starting point is 00:22:59 He was an actual accomplished professional bass player. He said we used our music contractor to hire someone to play the bass, and Jonathan worked with us for two days. He was so nice. I was stuck in the conference room for a lot of these scenes for those snowball fights were happening, and it was just really nice to get to know Jonathan and have a whole different energy on set, like a musician. You know, we also had a fan catch from Amelia G in New York for this scene. Amelia said, I love the details that go into each episode.
Starting point is 00:23:32 I noticed that the boxes that Holly used to carry in her things are the boxes they used to cover up the window after Jim throws a snowball into it. Oh my God. Yeah, I checked. Same boxes. That's a applause catch. I know. Applause. Very good. Very, very good. Well, Michael and Holly are going to come together despite all their tension,
Starting point is 00:23:52 and they're going to reprimand Jim and Dwight. Jen is taking a sip of her cocktail. That's very good. They're going to reprimand Jim and Dwight, and they need to knock it off, right, before someone really gets hurt. Did you catch at one minute, seven seconds, when Holly says, Dwight's right. What you did was dangerous and inappropriate. I'm really surprised at you guys.
Starting point is 00:24:14 Like, she's totally chastising Jim, but Jim is the one that has blood all over his shirt. Yes. Yes. And she's siding with Dwight. And then Michael makes up this whole elaborate story right on the spot. I couldn't believe how quickly he came up with the story. I felt like we needed to hear it, and then I need to share some candy bag alts for it. All this arguing reminds me of a very funny story.
Starting point is 00:24:41 You see this on my desk? You know who gave me this? My girlfriend, Tara, who lives in New York City. Wait, what girlfriend? I haven't told you about her. I find that unlikely you email me when you get a new zit. I'm a man in my mid-40s, and I still get zits. I think that's pretty interesting, but you know what?
Starting point is 00:24:59 I am not on trial here. The Scranton Strangler is. So anyway, we have this great weekend, and she drives me to the airport, and we get to JFK, but I am flying out of La Guardia. So we laugh and laugh and laugh, and then we spend the rest of the day walking around slow-mo, drinking latte, and at the end of the day, she gives me this, and she says, Michael, maybe next time, you should take a cab. I didn't know you had a girlfriend.
Starting point is 00:25:23 I do. She is. I loved that couplet at the end because he's answering two things. Holly says, Michael, I didn't know you had a girlfriend, and he says, I do, but he's also answering the imaginary question, is she real? She is. So I went to the Candy Bag Alts to see if they had anything different in their life. They weren't in the script during his big speech, and they did, and it all centered over one line. So the line was, and my ticket was for La Guardia, and we laughed and laughed,
Starting point is 00:25:58 and then he had three alts. Okay. Here's the first one. We laughed and laughed and spent the rest of the day eating hot dogs and Times Square. Okay. And we laughed and laughed and spent the rest of the day climbing the steps from Rocky. Okay. Which, by the way, different city.
Starting point is 00:26:17 It is? That's in Philadelphia. I didn't know that. Yeah. Oh my gosh, that's so funny. Next one. And we laughed and laughed and spent the rest of the day making love on the top of the Empire State Building. I love walking slow mo.
Starting point is 00:26:33 I do too. In the next scene, Pam is going to show Phyllis her comic book. Yeah, and I'm guessing if anyone ever starts a conversation by saying, so you went homemade this year, that is some sass. Phyllis gave Michael a homemade oven mitt. Does she not remember? It doesn't matter for Phyllis. She's going to judge you.
Starting point is 00:26:55 It doesn't matter. Also, she makes Ryan a homemade gift in this episode. Exactly. What's going on, Phyllis? I guess only your handmade gifts are worthwhile. Yeah. Well, the drama's going to crank up a notch because Holly's coming in wide open as my dad would say. Yeah, she's found her Woody doll.
Starting point is 00:27:16 Remember at the end of last week's episode, Michael threw it in the trash and poured coffee over it? Hot coffee. Yeah, because AJ gave her the Woody doll and he was all upset. Well, she's found it and she is demanding to know who defaced the Woody doll. Phyllis really quickly says, well, Aaron doesn't seem to like you and then Toby's like, it sounds like it was Michael. Angela also agrees. Yeah, it was probably Michael.
Starting point is 00:27:43 Kevin in classic Kevin form says, wait guys, toy story is all about toys that come to life when people aren't looking. You don't think it's not possible that Woody did this to himself? This cracked me up, but also reminded me how the writers said with each season, Kevin just got more ridiculous. Yes. Well, I had a very, I don't know, odd catch as I was watching the scene. I just observed the number of poinsettia that we had on the set.
Starting point is 00:28:15 They were all white. They were everywhere. Last week we had a bunch. They were red and it just got me curious about the poinsettia. Oh, you're about to break it down. I'm going to have a sip of my cocktail. Go. Oh, in my research, I found out that poinsettia come in red, white, pink, purple,
Starting point is 00:28:35 multicolor and salmon pink. Okay, I knew about salmon pink. I don't know how I knew that, but purple. Yeah, they are indigenous to Mexico and Central America. But here's the big thing. I always heard that if you have a cat, you can't have a poinsettia because they're poisonous. They're poisonous. Yes, I've heard that too.
Starting point is 00:28:57 Guess what? What? They are not poisonous. It is an urban legend, not poisonous, everybody. I guess that in the early 1900s, a boy was found dead in a wild poinsettia pasture. I don't know. And they assumed that he had eaten a leaf and it had poisoned him and he had died. And this just lived on in lore for years and years and years and years and years and years.
Starting point is 00:29:26 But according to poison.org, after many studies throughout history, no study has ever found the plant to actually be fatal. In fact, a study at Ohio State University showed that a 50-pound child would have to eat more than 500 poinsettia leaves to have any harmful effect at all. I mean, I feel like eating 500 leaves of most things would not be good. I think if you ate 500 daisies, you might not feel good, right? Here's what they said, quote, in most cases, exposure to any parts of the poinsettia plant in children or pets has very little,
Starting point is 00:30:04 if any, effect. If swallowed, it may cause mild irritation, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Touching it may cause a rash. There have been reports of gardeners who work with the plant frequently developing a rash from handling the plant. No death. No death for cats. No.
Starting point is 00:30:24 For anybody. For people or pets or anything. You might get, you know, a cat who has some diarrhea. This is going to change my decorating this year. That's what I thought. I have avoided the poinsettia of my whole cat owning life. Yeah. There you go.
Starting point is 00:30:43 There you go. I kept looking up various things because I was like, I don't want to get this wrong. You want to make sure. Don't put it out there. Poison.org and other websites. There you go. Right?
Starting point is 00:30:55 Yeah. Michael is going to fess up. He laughs. He's like, surprise. It was part of the party. Pretty funny, huh? Holly's like, you think this is funny? And then, oh my gosh, the groan factor.
Starting point is 00:31:11 Michael says, I don't. But someday, I think we will laugh about this. When we tell our kids, everyone is like, ugh, I had to know. What did it say in the script at this moment? Because Jim says, yikes. Kevin says, oh no, that's not happening. Dwight says, dear God in heaven. I'm like, was that scripted?
Starting point is 00:31:33 That sounds not scripted. So I went to the script and it just simply said, everyone groans. So John, Brian, and Reigns improvs made it in. Very well done. I love that Dwight is like, dear God in heaven. Michael's going to start to spiral. He does that thing, Jenna, where he has his huge confession of his relationship in front of everyone.
Starting point is 00:32:01 He's like, I threw this whole party for you, the whole thing. Yeah. He's going to storm off to his office. Erin will follow. I have a random background catch. What is it? And I need your help out there, folks. I need your help.
Starting point is 00:32:15 At five minutes, 34 seconds. Did you all notice that little white Christmas tree on Michael's desk? It has like a silver base and it looks like it lights up. It's tiny. My grandmother had one. My grandmother, Kenzie, had one that she would sit on her end table. I've always wanted one. I feel like it's something you would get at Jenna's pouring herself some coffee.
Starting point is 00:32:36 I'm sorry. I have had so much of the cocktail. I'm feeling it. It's so good. I can't stop sipping it. Cassie is nodding and laughing. How are you guys doing in the booth? Great.
Starting point is 00:32:49 Yeah. Honestly, doing great. Happy Wednesday, everybody. I mean, it's. Oh, no, it's Friday now. Oh, no, it's Thursday. I said, happy Wednesday. It's also, it's 10.45.
Starting point is 00:33:00 I said, happy Wednesday. It's so early. I'm sorry, Angela, to interrupt you. You want this Christmas tree, clearly. My grandmother had one and I can't find it. I do feel like it was like one of those Spencer Gifts kind of things, because I remember there was a little switch on the base and then it would all light up. There are two in this episode.
Starting point is 00:33:20 One on Michael's desk and where's the other one? I'm going to wait and reveal it. Oh, we're going to have to wait, folks. Michael's going to change out of his sassy Santa costume. Mm-hmm. Back into his street clothes. And Jim is going to find a gift on his desk. Two pickles from Swiss cheese.
Starting point is 00:33:40 Yeah, it says, hey, pickles, Merry Christmas. Open immediately. Love Swiss cheese. I mean, what the heck? Swiss cheese? We had a fan mail flurry, Angela. Amy L. from Burlington, Ontario, Canada, and many others said, when Jim opens what he thinks is a gift from Pam, he reads the card.
Starting point is 00:33:58 Mm-hmm. You know, hey, pickles, blah, blah, blah, love Swiss cheese. Mm-hmm. That immediately made me think of when Michael called Pam's mom pickle during the boardroom scene of The Lover. What? Given how Pam felt about that relationship, I was surprised to hear that Jim and Pam adopted that term of endearment for themselves.
Starting point is 00:34:17 However, one theory is that after hearing Michael call Helene pickle, they ironically called each other pickle as a joke. What do you think? Yeah, the pickle threw me. I'm not going to lie, Amy. I like your theory that it became a joke between the two of them. I'll tell you what Mindy Kaling said. Oh.
Starting point is 00:34:34 She said that when picking the names pickle and Swiss cheese, her requirements were, would I actually say this to a boyfriend? And is it nauseating to an outside person? Well, yes, to both, I guess. That's what she decided. That's how she was going to pick these pet names. It was not based on the Helene thing when Mindy was writing. I was very curious about pet names that you have for your significant other.
Starting point is 00:35:00 Josh and I call each other babe. Babe. Babe. Babe. Babe. We say babe a lot. Lee and I call each other lover. You say lover.
Starting point is 00:35:09 No, I'm teasing you because you hate it so much when people call each other lover. Well, listen, I did a show, Jenna knows that. I know. You shared it on the pod. Yeah, I did. Oh my God, it was so awkward. I would be sitting there on stage and they'd be like, lover, lover, you missed your lion lover.
Starting point is 00:35:26 I'd be like, oh my God, please get me out of here. I think we call each other babe. Okay, so you say babe. Cassie, Sam, pet names that you've had for significant others. I'm just a big hun. This is real simple. Yeah, Cassie. I'm not a big nickname person.
Starting point is 00:35:44 It's all business with Cassie. Well, yeah, it's all business or just shortening the name like Brian to Brie. Oh, I like that. That counts though. Actually, Brie counts. Okay. Lee sometimes calls me darlin' because he's from Texas. So I love it.
Starting point is 00:35:57 Oh, when we were dating and he would call me darlin', it was just, it would have melt my heart. Swoon, just taking another sip of her cocktail. I'm literally going between cocktail and coffee. I don't know what's happening to me today. Well, I was very curious about these pet names and I found a fascinating survey. Dr. Tibido, you would love this. There is so much data.
Starting point is 00:36:18 It was on a website called theblacktux.com and I'm quoting them. They wrote, we surveyed 100 couples in all 50 United States and asked them, what pet name for your partner do you use most often? We then broke down the trends of these 5,000 responses by state, region, gender, and generation. Oh, that is fascinating. Yeah. There were lots of maps, lots of like percentages.
Starting point is 00:36:47 You'd really like it. I'll put it in stories, Jenna. But here we go. In 41 out of the 50 states, the reigning most popular pet name in the United States is drumroll, babe or baby. Second contender for most popular pet name in the United States is honey, hun, or honey bunch? Sam.
Starting point is 00:37:11 Honey bunch. Honey bunch. And the third most popular is deer. They had so much data. It's really interesting. They had like Gen Z and the millennials. Like they had everybody, the boomers, like what they say. It was very interesting.
Starting point is 00:37:27 You know, something else happens in this scene. Jim opens the box and it is not a gift from Swiss cheese. It is a little mechanical catapult like snowball launcher. Yeah. Yeah. And it launches the snowball into Jim's face. This was another Phil Shea contraption where he had to hire the folks at hand prop room to create a tiny machine that didn't exist.
Starting point is 00:37:52 These guys were asked a couple weeks ago to make a toilet paper deep plier and now they're making a tiny snowball launcher. A little catapult machine. I have a question for you. Okay. Is today Toby's favorite day of his life? He's holding court. People are hanging on his every word.
Starting point is 00:38:12 I think it is his favorite day. I mean, why are you laughing so hard? Are you drunk? No, I'm not yet, but I'm laughing because you went, you became when I was glitchy up in there in my closet. What? When we would record from our closets and I would have a time lapse because my Wi-Fi was so bad.
Starting point is 00:38:34 You were just that but in real time. You went, is today Toby's favorite day? Like, no, I did not. It was really slow. You did a bit. It's that cocktail coffee combo. Oh, no. Oh, no.
Starting point is 00:38:50 You were traveling in the future and in the past through time. Oh, no. This is not good. We're not even halfway done. We might have to take a break and have some water. Yes, let us take a break. And have some water. And when we get back, we're going to,
Starting point is 00:39:10 I don't even know what we're going to do. Oh, we're going to go to the warehouse and meet a Grinch. We'll be right back. We are back. We have had water. We've had popcorn. We've had some veggie sticks, a cheese stick. Cassie got one ball free.
Starting point is 00:39:30 Oh, yeah, we have a big update over the break. Mm-hmm. One ball is free. One of five. So, Angela, what's happening? I thought you were doing better. What? I am.
Starting point is 00:39:48 Okay. Well, I'll tell you what's happening, Jenna. Yep. Jada is bored. And Daryl is scrambling, but Pam has an idea. And at six minutes, 41 seconds, as she walks into Daryl's office, there's another miniature white Christmas tree.
Starting point is 00:40:06 Where is it? On top of the water cooler. Oh, it's my grandmother's Christmas tree. Don't you wish you could just ask them if you could have it? They might have given it to you way back then, if you thought of it. I know, I know. Pam's idea is to lead Daryl and Jada down to the warehouse.
Starting point is 00:40:24 There is Christmas music playing. There's a little, I don't know what you would call it, a tiny maze. Yeah. But not really a maze, but there's kind of Christmas garland and things. Yeah, it looks like they made an obstacle course of some kind, with warehouse stuff.
Starting point is 00:40:42 And Andy comes around the corner of a stack of boxes, and he's got like, you know, a lot of coats on him. And he's done a makeshift Grinch costume, basically. And he says that someone has stolen the Christmas star. Yeah. Yeah, and maybe, maybe Jada can help find it. Yeah, she has to do a few challenges. Her face lights up.
Starting point is 00:41:07 She's so excited. This is what she's been waiting for. Yeah. And then Andy says, you must answer topical political questions. How many congressmen in the state of Pennsylvania are guaranteed? And what other state has the equal number? She does not know. This is a record scratch moment.
Starting point is 00:41:26 Mm-hmm. What are these challenges? I was curious. I looked in the shooting draft as the scene continues, Andy tries to hint to Jada what the other state is. He won't let it go. Really? Yeah. She's like, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:41:41 And he goes, come on. It starts with a I-E-L-E-I-L-I-N-I. And then Darrell's like, oh, man. And Andy is correct. I looked it up. Both Pennsylvania and Illinois have 18 congressional seats in the House of Representatives. I looked it up as well.
Starting point is 00:41:58 Oh, what you got? Well, I found out that California has the most. They have 53. Yes. I also learned that there are seven states that only have one. They are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. I found this very fascinating. It is fascinating.
Starting point is 00:42:20 You know, Pam says, maybe we could do this another way. Maybe Jada's going to look for it and you tell her if she's hot or cold. Yeah, that's a classic. Yeah. So he walks toward Jada and he says, you're getting warmer, warmer. You're red hot. It's right here in my coat. And the game's over.
Starting point is 00:42:41 That lasted all of maybe two minutes. You know that Christmas music we hear in the background of the scene? No. There's a little bit of Christmas music. It sounded like it was from the Nutcracker. I asked Randy. He said, we paid $0 for the music in this scene because we reached out to the Universal Music Supervisor who provided us with a list of public domain Christmas tunes.
Starting point is 00:43:04 And then Randy sent me the list. Here's what you can sing for free, everybody, or play. Deck the halls, away in a manger. God rest you, merry gentlemen. Jingle bells, joy to the world. Oh, Christmas tree, silent night. We wish you a merry Christmas. Lots of songs.
Starting point is 00:43:24 That's a lot. I think they were recordings of those songs that were public domain. Maybe I don't want to get anyone in trouble. You go singing things in a recording. But there was one song that I didn't recognize. Which one? It was called I Saw Three Ships. Did you look that up?
Starting point is 00:43:43 I did. And then I immediately recognized it as one of my favorite Christmas songs. And I'm going to play a clip for you. OK. Christmas day in the morning. Right? Yes. We love this song.
Starting point is 00:44:10 We love this song. It's exactly what I thought it was. What's it played? Exactly. Our guests are about to arrive. First up, Senator Robert Lipton. Yes. You need to go to eight minutes 34 seconds.
Starting point is 00:44:24 If you want to see the happiest, I think we've ever seen Angela Martin. Oscar's going to introduce himself. He's going to shake hands with the senator. And then he's going to have a talking head. Yeah. He's going to say, Robert seems great. He's very handsome, firm handshake. He's gay, good sense of humor.
Starting point is 00:44:41 And next, AJ is going to walk in the door. He's going to surprise Holly. Michael's going to come out. He's going to try to be the better man. He says, nice to see you again, AJ. Welcome. And he's like, good trip down. AJ's like, yeah, it was great.
Starting point is 00:44:56 Michael's like, good, good. Well, you know, have fun. Enjoy the partay. And then it cuts to Michael in his office. And he says, I am dead inside. That made me laugh so hard. I had to rewind it and watch it again. We had a fan question from Annie S. in Columbus, Ohio,
Starting point is 00:45:12 who said, AJ surprised us Holly by showing up at the office Christmas party. However, the party is supposed to be a surprise to impress Holly on the day she returns. How did AJ know about the party? He didn't seem to be surprised to walk into a belated Christmas party at all. I mean, don't you feel like she called him and said, things are going sideways here? Get over here.
Starting point is 00:45:34 Oh, but he surprised her. Oh, yeah. I mean, if he was going to see her the day she came in town, wouldn't he have just driven with her? Why didn't he drive with her, by the way? If you were relocating to another city that was just a couple of hours away, wouldn't Josh drive you there? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:45:49 Right? Yeah. I mean, we already know things aren't going that great with AJ. He's about to get an ultimatum. Things are finally going to turn around for Daryl. He takes Jada to the break room and it's full of vending machines. She can't believe it. It's so awesome.
Starting point is 00:46:06 He has an idea. He's going to let her get whatever she wants, as many things as she wants. And then they become Santa's helpers. I loved this plot line. When I saw this, this 100% reminded me of the time that my dad brought me to work with him. And I had the same reaction to this room full of vending machines. Kids love to put the coins in a vending machine and press the buttons and see the little swirly thing, release the item.
Starting point is 00:46:31 Yeah. So if I could have stood at a wall of vending machines with a bag of money and just gotten things out, amazing. Amazing. This tracked for me. It was very sweet. Everyone starts opening gifts as well. Kevin got Oscar Ugg boots for his feet.
Starting point is 00:46:48 I love that Kevin's like, they're for your feet. Phyllis made Ryan a knitted iPad sleeve. Angela gives Creed a multi-pack of deodorant. Aaron gives Andy a card to help him stop biting his nails. And Jenna, Sam and Cassie. It's time for Santa Kins. What is going on today? It's Santa Kins.
Starting point is 00:47:10 I don't know what this is, but. Santa Kins decided to get you guys gifts in two of the most unlikely places. Okay. CatCon and Martha Stewart. Wow. Yeah. A cocktail and presents. That's right, because it's classy Christmas.
Starting point is 00:47:30 All right. First of all, I went to CatCon. It's a convention for people who love cats. There's cats there. There's famous cats. There's every cat thing you could want. There's cat art. There's cat clothes.
Starting point is 00:47:41 People dress as cats. Cassie just lit up. Uh-huh. And also they sponsor a huge cat adoption center. And almost 200 cats were adopted this year. So a lot of good things happening. It's great fun. And I bought you all gifts there.
Starting point is 00:47:57 And I'm going to start with CatCon. And then I'm going to move on to Martha. Cassie, I'll go with you next year. Because when Angela was describing CatCon to me, I was like, I want to go next year. Oh, our son, Cade, wants to go every year now. So we'll just get a group. My daughter will want to go to this as well.
Starting point is 00:48:15 Yeah. And you dress up. I wore CatEars. Like you just go for it. I just want to make sure everybody understands that Angela was just a guest at CatCon. She wasn't speaking there. No.
Starting point is 00:48:27 Making any kind of professional appearance. No. This was not a work gig in any way. She was. We just wanted to go see cats. Yep. We did. And then I bought a lot of stuff.
Starting point is 00:48:37 All right. So Jenna, go first. All right. This is from an artist that all she does, you guys, for the most part, are cats and plants. So you know, I loved it. I had to get one that resembled Oreo and Jenna. It's Sunny Cat.
Starting point is 00:48:54 It's so cute. It's so cute. Oh, my God. It's an orange kitty cat laying in a box. Yes. I love it. So fond of this. And he barely fits.
Starting point is 00:49:02 So I feel like he's that hashtag, if I fits, I sits. Yes. And that's by this artist named Lisa. She was lovely. All right. Cassie, go. Okay. Cassie got a cat wallet.
Starting point is 00:49:17 It's so cute. It's really cute. Oh, my gosh. It's a little cat wallet. It's got little kitties all over it. It's very cute. And then Sam, you got the most random. But it's very, very funny.
Starting point is 00:49:30 Sam does not have a cat. Okay. You guys should know the Australian firefighters do a calendar every year where the hottest firefighters hold kittens. I met all of them. I got their calendar. Oh, my gosh.
Starting point is 00:49:49 I mean this without sarcasm. Sometimes when people enter my home, I think, how will they know I'm bisexual? No. It's a slam dunk. I know. They are so hot and they were so nice. When people ask my sexuality,
Starting point is 00:50:02 it's this calendar. So cute. The kittens are really cute. They raise money for kitten rescue. And then Sam, for your walks, I got you. And you can take it to a concert, Sam. Oh, because it's clear? Yes.
Starting point is 00:50:13 For everyone at home. It's a clear, shiny fanny pad. Yes, because if you go to a concert and I know you like to go, you have to have a clear bag. I learned that. We just went to one. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:50:22 I bumped into Cassie at the Killers downtown we're playing. And it was a, did you see the pile of purses outside the metal detector for people who didn't want to go back to their car? But look, Sam. I know. For a great cat.
Starting point is 00:50:33 This is the world's best cat litter. This will be attending some raves. And I will send you many pictures. Okay, great. So a few years ago, I went to a food festival. Martha Stewart was a key speaker. Everyone on her staff had to wear a puffer vest t-shirt. It's a t-shirt, but it's a puffer vest.
Starting point is 00:50:54 I don't understand. Martha loves them. They're part of her fall collection. I didn't understand either. She couldn't stop talking about them. She'd be like, have you all looked at my puffer vest on the t-shirt? Cecile over here is wearing maroon.
Starting point is 00:51:08 I think it looks amazing. I am in the green. That's my Martha. That's a really good- Spot on, Martha. Yeah, there you go. Yes. She also shared that she likes her hens to have
Starting point is 00:51:18 the eggs be a certain blue color. So she's like, I feed them blueberries. Okay. Now I had to, they sell out, you guys. These things sell out. I bought this months ago. You all get a Martha Stewart puffer t-shirt. What does that mean?
Starting point is 00:51:33 What is it? I got one for myself too. Here we go. Jenna, you got it in black. Uh-huh. You'll have to put them on. Cassie, you got a mercury color. It's called mercury.
Starting point is 00:51:48 Oh, mercury. Tim. Okay. You got, oh, silver. Thank you. Thank you. And I got navy. I understand now.
Starting point is 00:51:58 It's just a short sleeve puffer jacket. It's a puffer jacket that looks like a t-shirt when you put it on. Instead of being a long sleeve jacket or a vest, it is a short sleeve puffer jacket. All right, hold on. I'll put mine on. I love it.
Starting point is 00:52:13 There's pockets. There's pockets. Oh my God, Sam, you look amazing. Oh, and the pockets are like fleece. Oh, yeah. Ooh, comfy. Did I get the right sizes? You sure did.
Starting point is 00:52:24 Oh my God, you guys look amazing. All right. Happy holidays, everybody. Thank you, Santa Claus. You're welcome. Thanks for having me. Good. That was amazing.
Starting point is 00:52:37 Angela, you really brought it today. How'd you get all this stuff in here without me seeing it? I had to make two trips. How many bags of stuff did you bring in? I had to make two trips. I made one trip and hid stuff in our desk area. Okay. For a week.
Starting point is 00:52:51 And then I brought everything else today. There are some other people exchanging gifts. They are Jim and Pam. It's finally time. They're in the break room. Yes. I am calling this Christmas in the break room. You know, we had a fan question from Bill S.
Starting point is 00:53:07 in Meramech, New Hampshire, and many others who wrote in to say, Pam and Jim are married and have a child at home. They presumably give each other gifts at home on Christmas Day, like families do. So why do they give one another their most special presence at the office? This has never made sense to me. It's a valid question. And if I am sort of living in the world of the show,
Starting point is 00:53:31 Jim and Pam met at Dunder Mifflin, the first gift exchange they ever had that really meant something to the two of them for their relationship happened there. I could see it being sort of a very sweet couple tradition that they sneak away somewhere in the office and they give each other a gift. Because of that very first Christmas. Angela, that is exactly what John and I decided on set during this episode. Yay! We asked the same question.
Starting point is 00:53:58 We said, why would they give each other their big Christmas gift at work? Yeah. It's a little odd, and we talked about it as a group, and that is exactly what we said. And the other thing we said was that it's supposed to be a homemade gift. So each year, in the tradition of the teapot and all of that, that they're going to exchange a little homemade item at the office. Remember, there was that whole deleted runner, that one Christmas episode, where Pam and Jim are making gifts for one another from things that they found in the office?
Starting point is 00:54:28 Yes. So this is the tradition. That makes total sense. And then they might save other gifts for home, but at Dunder Mifflin, they give each other something they made. Yes. But of course, this year, Pam has really gone all out there, and she's made this comic book, and she's expecting that Jim has given her something.
Starting point is 00:54:46 He gives her a box, and she shakes it, and she says, oh, is it pebbles from the beach in Jamaica? I loved how hard you shook the box, and he's like, hey, hey, hey, hey. Well, she opens it, and it is a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet. That Pam is clearly not expecting. No. But Jim did have a good year. Mm-hmm.
Starting point is 00:55:07 We had a fan question from Michelle Q in Chicago. Is the bracelet Jim gives Pam the same one she's wearing in the finale? Yes, it is. We saved this. Like we told you how every character had a wardrobe, had a closet in the wardrobe trailer, Pam also had a jewelry box, and all of her most special things, her wedding rings, and her watch, and this bracelet would live there. And anytime there was an occasion to dress up, she would wear this bracelet.
Starting point is 00:55:38 I love that Pam had a jewelry box. Angela also had a jewelry box. Oh, yeah? Yeah. It mostly was cat earrings. And things like of that nature, things you might find at a cat con. Exactly. Pam is overwhelmed by this bracelet, moved to tears,
Starting point is 00:55:55 and now she is especially nervous about giving Jim her gift. But I mean, I don't know. But I mean, Jim loves it. He's speechless. Yeah. He loves her. I want to backtrack for one second. There is a scene I thought was so sweet.
Starting point is 00:56:13 Michael is giving Woody a bath in the bathroom sink. What that sounds. Hey now. Hey now, Jenna. The doll. He's giving the doll a bath at 10 minutes, 51 seconds. There's a little tiny clothesline that Michael has made. And Woody's clothes are hanging on it in his hat and it's the cutest thing.
Starting point is 00:56:37 I really loved Steve's performance in this little moment, I have to say. He just was doing it so earnestly and honestly, there wasn't a lot behind it. He was cleaning it. He was just trying to make something right. It was great. And then he's going to try to sneak out of the office without saying goodbye. Yeah. But Pam notices, she comes out after him and she says,
Starting point is 00:57:01 I shouldn't tell you this, but AJ won't commit to Holly. And she's going to give him an ultimatum. She sort of says, I don't know a lot of happy marriages that start off with an ultimatum. And she tells Michael to just be patient and he's like, yeah, I can do that. Yeah. And they're going to walk back in the gift. Oh, oh, oh, what? What?
Starting point is 00:57:24 It's scared the crap out of me. She did it. She did it. Oh my God. Cassie. Oh my God. She did it. Cassie.
Starting point is 00:57:35 Hold it up. Hold it up. It took two weeks. Cassie, get over here. Here it is, everybody. The clacky balls are free. Listen. Oh my gosh.
Starting point is 00:57:47 Cassie in two weeks undid what a toddler did in 30 seconds, but I've had this a year and no one who came to my house could undo it. Yay. I can't believe that. My kids are going to flip out. Cade is going to flip out. Cade has worked the hardest at it. Oh my gosh.
Starting point is 00:58:05 I didn't know it was going to happen and then it just, yeah, after a cocktail, it magically. After the F train to Brooklyn, it magically happened. It's a magic elixir. I mean, my kids are going to freak out. Like they are, they have tried so hard. One visit from Santa Kansan. I know. Wow.
Starting point is 00:58:23 What an episode. Woo. That scared the crap out of me. I know because Angela's back is to the door. So I didn't see Cassie. You're just screaming. Yeah, there was a Michael Myers element to it where she was behind you all of a sudden. Is someone going to attack me?
Starting point is 00:58:37 Okay. I don't know where we were. Well, I believe Michael was about to give Kelly her gift. Yes. Michael and Pam have come back into the party at 15 minutes, 12 seconds. We have a really hardcore, fakey bag. Oh, I can't believe I missed it. Oh, it's substantial.
Starting point is 00:58:58 But as Michael is trying to re-gift this Hello Kitty laptop sleeve, he overhears Holly and AJ. Yeah, AJ finds the Woody doll and he says it smells. What happened? And Holly makes up a total lie to protect Michael. She said it was her that spilled salad dressing on Woody. Blue cheese salad dressing. Yeah, stinko.
Starting point is 00:59:20 So Michael kind of smiles. He realizes, you know, she's protecting him. Yeah. Michael is going to come through for Jada. He dresses up as the original Santa from the first part of the Christmas party and he asks her, what do you want for Christmas? It's a very sweet moment. Holly clocks it.
Starting point is 00:59:39 It makes us all hopeful. And the episode is going to end with such a creepy scene. Yeah, Jim doesn't want to leave the office. Earlier, he tried to form a truce with Dwight. Dwight did not accept and he has to leave now and he's scared. Remember the last time he was down in the parking lot, Dwight hid in a snowman and pelted him with snowballs until his nose was bleeding? Yeah, right.
Starting point is 01:00:04 Pam is like, come on, it'll be fine. And then they step outside and there are like 20 snowmen, creepy snowmen staring at them. Jenna, it gave me major squid game vibes. Yeah, you're right. It's like some weird part of squid game where, you know, they're going to attack you. We had a fan question from Kaylee D in Montreal, Canada, who said, what were the snowmen made of in the parking lot scene? How do you do this in the LA temperatures?
Starting point is 01:00:34 Kaylee, we talked a lot about this last week because it was very warm the week we were filming this episode and these snowmen were made out of real snow. Oh, Rainn Wilson, who directed this episode, said that the snow effects for this episode required 100 tons of chipped ice. Wow. In order to make these snowmen, the special effects team had built the metal molds and they hand-packed them. But unlike the one in the previous episode where the back was open so that Dwight could get in,
Starting point is 01:01:06 you notice these are full snowmen. Because they run through them. And Jim, like, is attacking them with the umbrella and they're dense. Mindy said the snowmen took an entire day to build and they also took a lot of maintenance. And the biggest thing that they had to worry about were footprints. They had to make sure that the footprints were only one person. So, you know, even though it took many people to place all these snowmen,
Starting point is 01:01:33 it had to look like Dwight did it himself. Oh my gosh, that's attention to detail, folks. Randy Cordray said for this whole episode, labor, materials, real and fake snow, making all the snowmen, the special effects budget was over $65,000. Well, there was a lot. There was a lot. But guess what? What?
Starting point is 01:01:53 No one's going to pop out of these snowmen. Dwight is actually up on the roof. And he says, in the end, the greatest snowball is fear. Merry Christmas. And that's how the episode ends. Yeah. Pam and Jim are like just trying to make their way to their car. Jim starts attacking the snowmen.
Starting point is 01:02:12 We had a final fan question from Grace B. in Clinton, Arkansas. How did Jim and Pam get out of the parking lot? That was my question, because it's solid snowmen. They would have had to driven through it. Yeah. Grace said, this keeps me up at night. Yeah. Me too, Grace.
Starting point is 01:02:28 Grace, once I read your question and watched the scene, now it's all I can think of. I can't unsee it. Yeah, me too. Well, that was classy Christmas too, everyone. Next week, we're going to be back with Ultimatum. It is so good. A big thank you to Josh Snyder for this amazing F Train to Brooklyn drink. Thank you, Angela and Cade, for going to the CatCon and bringing us these lovely gifts.
Starting point is 01:02:51 And Martha Stewart, thank you. Thank you so much for designing a short sleeve puffer jacket that you call a puffer tee. Yes, because it looks like a t-shirt, but it's a puffer. But t-shirts don't have zippers down the front of them. This one does, Jenna. How dare you. Which is why it's not a t-shirt. We also would like to thank Randy Cordray every week.
Starting point is 01:03:12 He gives us the best behind the scenes details. We love you, Randy. And of course, Tonerad Riga, thank you so much for telling us about your comic book. And to Cassie for undoing the clacky balls. That was a big week. It was a big episode. You guys have a great week. We'll see you next time.
Starting point is 01:03:29 See you then. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fisher, and Angela Kinsey. Our show is executive produced by Cody Fisher. Our producer is Cassie Jerkins, our sound engineer is Sam Kiefer, and our associate producer is Ainsley Bubicoe. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. For ad-free versions of Office Ladies, go to stitropremium.com.
Starting point is 01:03:58 For a free one-month trial at Stitropremium, use code, Office.

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