Jim's Teapot Note in 'The Office's Christmas Episode Paid Off 8 Years Later Actorsvaultpro

The Office, which ran for nine seasons and 201 episodes, has plenty of memorable, hilarious moments. Audiences followed Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), Michael Scott (Steve Carell), and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin crew through the series’ highs and lows — from the somewhat divisive first season, through its golden age, to the admittedly disappointing final two seasons.

While the entire cast was great, the love story between Jim and Pam, which began in Season 1, is easily one of the best parts of the series. Though it took a few seasons for the coworkers to end up together, one Christmas-themed episode played a key role. Season 2, Episode 10, “Christmas Party,” is not only one of the best episodes of the mockumentary but also features a storyline that pays off eight years later in the penultimate episode of the series.

The First Christmas-Themed Episode of ‘The Office’

“We are going to sell that to charity. That’s what Christmas is all about.” — Michael Scott

“Christmas Party,” which aired on December 6, 2005, showcases The Office at its best. After a first season that’s generally considered rocky, Season 2 hit its stride from the start with an excellent premiere in “The Dundies.” Nine episodes later, “Christmas Party” fires on all cylinders as Dunder Mifflin hosts its annual holiday party with a planned Secret Santa. We soon learn the pairings, with Jim responsible for Pam’s gift. He plans to gift her a teapot filled with inside jokes, including his high school yearbook photo, a hot sauce packet, a pencil, and a card, because “Christmas is the time to tell people how you really feel.”

At this point, the romantic tension between Pam and Jim had been building for a season and a half, and though it had yet to reach its peak, it certainly felt as though this would be the episode where a breakthrough happened. Unfortunately for Jim, the Secret Santa plans soon fell through. After receiving a used flannel from Creed, who forgot to buy him a gift, Pam opens her teapot. After Michael gets a handmade oven mitt from Phyllis, he decides to turn Secret Santa into a Yankee Swap (or white elephant) game. Meredith takes the teapot from Pam, and Pam takes an iPod from Ryan. By the end of the game, Dwight receives the teapot and plans to use it to clear his sinuses.

Luckily, later in the episode, Pam trades Dwight for the teapot, telling Jim that she realizes he went through a lot of trouble to get it for her. He reveals the “bonus gifts,” but sneaks the card he planned to give her into his back pocket. The audience isn’t told what the card says, and it’s largely forgotten for eight years until the final season of The Office.

Jim’s Note Finally Returns in Season 9, Episode 22, “A.A.R.M.”

NBC

By Season 9, the Scranton Dunder Mifflin branch is far different. Michael is long gone, Andy (Ed Helms) is auditioning for America’s Next A Cappella Sensation, Dwight is the manager and getting married, and the documentary that has encompassed the entire series is finally preparing to air. Oh, and Jim and Pam are married with two kids.

Jim asks the documentary crew (which has since seen a bit of actual screentime, with Chris Diamantopoulos playing Brian, the boom mic operator) to help him with something special. The couple is in a rough patch following Jim’s temporary decision to relocate to Philadelphia for his new business.

With the help of the doc crew, Jim creates a touching montage of their best moments from The Office. Near the end, the teapot and bonus gifts return, allowing Pam to finally see Jim taking the card. “Everything you’ll ever need to know is in that note,” he tells her. It’s a beautiful moment that took eight long years to come full circle, but ultimately helped make “A.A.R.M” one of the best episodes of the season, if not the series.

What Jim’s Teapot Note Really Said in ‘The Office’

The Office cast sitting on haybells at Dwight's wedding in the Finale

Unfortunately for audiences, we never get to see what’s in that note, and are only left to speculate. However, in an episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosted by Fischer alongside Angela Kinsey, the actress finally let the audience in on the secret. “I’m the only one who knows, and John knows,” Fischer explained. “In that episode in season nine, I believe (The Office writer and producer) Greg (Daniels) suggested to John that he write a personal message from himself to me just saying what our time together on The Office meant to him.”

“We were wrapping up the series, and we were all so emotional at that time. And so, that was his goodbye.”

The scene wasn’t easy for Fischer, who said, “I’m on camera, and I open up this note that John’s written me, and I just start crying. I just start bawling. The first take was probably not usable.” Unfortunately, while we have an idea of what John wrote on the card, we will never get the word-for-word reveal. “It was the sweetest note. And on camera, Pam says, ‘I’ll never say what it said, but just know it was perfect.’ Well, I’ll never say exactly what John wrote, but I will say just know it was perfect.”

Of course, The Office would wrap up its story in a beautiful way with the final episode, “Finale,” in which Jim and Pam leave Dunder Mifflin. Pam secretly puts their house on the market, and it sells quickly, allowing the couple to move to Austin, where his sports start-up, Athlead, is now headquartered. It’s a happy ending for the workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and an excellent ending to one of the best relationships in sitcom history. The Office is available to stream on Peacock.