Christmas Wishes

"Christmas Wishes" is the tenth episode of the eighth season and the show's 162nd episode overall. It aired on December 8, 2011. It was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Ed Helms. The episode was viewed by 5.79 million people.

Plot
Andy attempts to make everyone's Christmas wishes come true. At a conference meeting, he vows to keep his promise to make wishes and asks the office members to also be nice to his new girlfriend Jessica. An emotionally confused Erin tries to be nice to Jessica, but ends up drinking too much at the party. In a drunken stupor, she tells Andy that her Christmas wish is for Jessica to die. Kelly does her part as a friend of Erin's by being mean to Jessica. Andy becomes concerned about Erin's behavior, not least because Robert has revealed that his marriage is ending and spends a good deal of the party hanging out with Erin. When Andy has to drive a drunken Meredith home, he sees Erin getting into Robert's car and he follows them with a look of panic on his face. However, he covertly witnesses Robert being a gentleman and sending Erin off to her apartment with a hug and words of encouragement, and drives away with a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Dwight and Jim's pranking has caused Kathy to ask Andy to move her to a different desk. In turn, Andy sternly tells Dwight and Jim to quit their childish behavior. He tells them that the next one to pull a prank will lose their Christmas bonus, and the target of the prank will get the prankster's share. Unfortunately, Andy's plan backfires, as both Dwight and Jim attempt to frame the other. Jim loudly releases his credit card information hoping Dwight will steal it and buy something ridiculous. However, Dwight orders a $200 dollar bouquet of flowers for Pam. Dwight then proceeds to put a porcupine in his desk and blame Jim. However, a verbal slip-up causes him to inadvertently reveal his intentions. Jim, in retaliation, defaces a picture of his daughter, Cece, and blames Dwight. After Andy mentions that defacing a picture is a fireable offense, Jim admits he staged the crime. Andy admits to Jim that he's nixing the bonus-loss plan, he just wants their behavior to not interfere with their job performances. Jim promises Andy to tone the jokes down and tells him he will tell Dwight. Meanwhile, Dwight continues to deface his own property, writing "Jim is awesome" on his car and "Idiot" on his forehead. Jim, smirking, tells the camera that he needed to tell Dwight something, but can't quite remember.

Deleted scenes

 * Robert asks for a drink, but Andy tells him the alcohol doesn't come out until 11 o'clock. Robert, upset, says he'll just eat a cookie until 11.
 * In a talking head interview, Robert uses strange words to describe his mood.
 * Meredith offers Robert a drink and suggests they go back to her place. Robert is disgusted.
 * Andy announces that an unnamed person wants to move desks due to constant pranking between Jim and Dwight, but refuses to name her.
 * Kathy moves to Andy's old desk, and Dwight tries to make small talk.
 * A drunk Erin tries to throw a package to Jim's desk, but it hits Kathy. Kathy thinks Jim threw it.
 * Dwight mixes several disgusting materials in a bucket he stole from Jim's garage and puts it on top of a door so it can fall on himself. However the bucket falls on Kathy when she walks into the room.
 * Andy explains his plan to grant everyone their wish. He may not have a flying sled, but he does have a Prius and a heart of gold. And an American Express green card.
 * Ryan wished for ten sick days. Andy goes even further and gets Ryan health insurance, but notes that "with great perks come great responsibility", and he expects more from Ryan now. Ryan is disappointed.

Christmas gifts

 * Meredith gives Jim a pamphlet on vasectomies.
 * Ryan and/or Kelly give Angela a maternity shirt that says "Ask, then touch."
 * Oscar gives Kevin a cookie jar that is a bust of a sexy woman.

Connections to previous episodes

 * Stanley mentions different themes for past office Christmas parties: Honolulu Christmas,  Christmas, Muslim Christmas (ironic as Muslims don't celebrate Christmas), Moroccan Christmas (from the eponymous episode), and Christmas.
 * Kevin mentions Robert's wife leaving him which happened in "Mrs. California".
 * Dwight says that two separate times Jim has set him up to believe that he was being recruited by the CIA ("A Benihana Christmas"). Jim says it's been three times.
 * It is revealed Meredith is a hoarder. This is another form of addiction like her cigarette smoking, nymphomania, and alcoholism. She may also have a drug addiction.
 * This is yet another occasion that Andy publicly mentions his penis in the presence of Erin.
 * Erin does an impression of Stanley.  Stanley is the most-often-imitated member of the staff.

Amusing details

 * Erin says she had scoliosis. Phyllis also had scoliosis as a young girl and thought she might have been Erin's mother at the end of the seventh season.
 * Oddly enough, Andy's attempt to quell the prank war between Dwight and Jim launches a self-prank war that is bigger than their usual prank war.
 * Robert California's observation that The Black Eyed Peas are "rock for people who don't like rock, rap for people who don't like rap, pop for people who don't like pop" gets a genuinely appreciative nod from hipster Ryan.
 * Nate starts out playing air keyboard with both hands, but partway through, switches his left hand to air drums while continuing to play air keyboard with his right hand.

Trivia

 * Jenna Fischer (Pam Halpert) is credited but does not appear in this episode.
 * Dwight's pet porcupine is named Henrietta.

Cultural references

 * One previous Christmas party theme is the Quentin Tarantino movie . This theme was probably due to Michael's love of movies.
 * Another previous Christmas party theme was the ' Christmas. Mo Rocca is a comedian and writer. Rocca and Steve Carell worked together as correspondents on the comedy news show '.
 * Jim regrets getting Stanley tickets to see stand-up comedian, whose comedic style is to go on angry rants.
 * Out of your league is slang for someone or something significantly superior, against which one has little to no chance of success. It is most often applied to dating.
 * Stanley's rant mentions (which celebrates African-American culture) and a  (a toy associated with the Jewish holiday of ). Both holidays occur in late December alongside Christmas.
 * Andy promises Dwight "beachfront" property on the  on the moon. The lunar feature was given the name "sea" by early astronomers who believed there to be water. There is no water.
 * Andy reminds everyone, "mistletoe is not an excuse for sexual assault." is a plant traditionally hung decoratively at Christmas under which lovers are expected to kiss.
 * Robert wishes Kelly a "Happy ," a five-day Hindu festival in December. Kelly is bewildered first, because she is very unaware of her Hindu background (as shown in Diwali), and because not all Hindus celebrate all Hindu festivals.
 * Robert says he's tired of , a musical group.
 * Andy announces that he's switching to being a "hard-ass", a slang term for someone who is tough and combative. Andy puts on a novelty hat to emphasize the point.
 * And tells Jim and Dwight they should be "walking on eggshells", an idiom for "trying very hard not to upset someone."
 * Jessica is an assistant coach at , a women's college in nearby Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
 * Erin says that she had, a spine curvature condition that typically afflicts young people just before puberty.
 * Nate says, "You had me at clookies," a reference to the widely-quoted line "You had me at hello" from the movie . It means "I was convinced the moment you said..."
 * Erin asks for Kirkland brand cola. Kirkland is the house brand of big-box store, named after , home to their corporate headquarters at the time.
 * Erin exclaims, "Jiminy Christmas", a substituting for "Jesus Christ". It is quite old-fashioned. Erin's use of it highlights her sheltered upbringing.
 * Darryl tells Val she usually dresses like a and Val says that now she's dressed like a contestant on the reality show .
 * Erin is shown dancing to by Taio Cruz.
 * Midway through the party, Dwight enters the conference room and sets up his own speaker system to play, a heavy metal medley of traditional Christmas songs performed by and the.
 * The song Dwight turns off is by, famously from .
 * Ryan tells Kelly that her computer has viruses because she clicks on a lot of links.
 * Oscar says he used to be a mixologist and says he needs a mortar and pestle, a and chocolate shavings.
 * When Darryl shows up in a tuxedo, Creed says he looks like a "real ", referring to the Supreme Court justice, and its only African-American member.
 * In the back of Meredith's van is a homemade "Justice for Caylee" sign. The widely-covered 2011 trial of Casey Anthony for the resulted in a not-guilty verdict, outraging many.

Main cast

 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard
 * Ed Helms as Andy Bernard
 * James Spader as Robert California

Supporting cast

 * Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
 * Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
 * Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
 * Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
 * Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
 * Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon
 * Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin-Lipton
 * Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
 * Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
 * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance
 * Zach Woods as Gabe Lewis

Recurring cast

 * Lindsey Broad as Cathy Simms
 * Ameenah Kaplan as Val
 * Mark Proksch as Nate

Guest cast

 * Eleanor Seigler as Jessica