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"What was the price did Father Christmas's sleigh cost? Zero, it was on the house."

This quip is greeted with groans that resonate through a warehouse in the capital.

We're at a joke-testing session with a firm that produces products for gatherings. Its repertoire features festive crackers.

The firm's owner grins, almost apologetically at the joke. But the joke has been selected and will feature in upcoming crackers.

"The success is gauged by the gag by the volume of groans and the intensity of the groans at the table," she explains.

The secret to a great holiday cracker pun is not the same as a stand-up gag in itself. It is entirely about the context - in this case, the shared laughter of the Christmas meal with grandparents, children and possibly friends.

"The goal is for the gag to be a thing that unites the child together with the 80-year-old," she states.

The Neuroscience Of Communal Amusement

Gathering to experience shared amusement is not only ancient, scientists say, it is probably to be older than humanity.

"So when you are chuckling with others around the Christmas dinner you are dropping into what's very likely a really ancient mammalian play vocalisation," says a professor.

Communal amusement, she says, aids in forge and strengthen social connections between people.

Scientists have discovered that a lack of such social exchanges can significantly damage mental and physical well-being.

"Those you converse with, and laugh with, it leads to enhanced amounts of endorphin uptake," the professor continues.

Endorphins are the brain's "feel-good compounds" and are released both to reduce tension and discomfort and in reaction to enjoyable experiences, such as laughing with loved ones over a particularly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just chuckling at a silly joke with a holiday cracker," she states. "You are in fact performing a lot of the really important work of making, maintaining the connections you have with those you care about."

What Happens In the Brain?

But what is actually happening within the mind when we listen to a gag?

An awful lot occurs in reaction to comedy, it turns out.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a kind of brain scanner which shows which areas of the mind are more active, scientists have been able to map the areas that get more blood flow.

The research entails imaging the brains of volunteer participants and then exposing them to a database of funny words, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or recorded chuckles.

"In the scanner we got a really fascinating activation pattern of activation," notes the neuroscientist.

A gag activates not just the areas of the mind responsible for auditory processing and interpreting speech, but also neural areas associated with both preparation and initiating motion and those linked to vision and recall.

Put all of this together, and people listening to a joke have a sophisticated set of neural responses that support the laughter we hear.

The Contagious Power of Chuckles

Researchers found that when a humorous phrase is paired with laughter there is a greater reaction in the brain than the same word when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in areas of the brain that you would employ to contort your expression into a smile or a chuckle," the professor explains.

It indicates people are not just responding to humorous jokes, they are reacting to the laughter that accompanies them.

Laughter, says the professor, can be contagious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles heard at a holiday gathering?

"People laugh more when you are familiar with people," she says, "and you laugh more when you are fond of them or care for them."

When it comes to Christmas cracker jokes, she says, the feel-good factor is more probable to be triggered not by the joke itself, but from the response to it.

"The laughter is key. The joke is the dreadful holiday cracker joke, and it's just a reason to chuckle together."

The Search for the Perfect Festive Pun

Will we ever discover the ultimate joke?

Probably not, but that has not stopped researchers from attempting to.

Years ago, a psychologist set up a research project for the planet's funniest gag.

Over tens of thousands of gags submitted, with ratings provided by hundreds of thousands of participants around the world, he has a better understanding than many as to what succeeds and what fails.

The ideal Christmas cracker joke must be short, he says.

"They must also be bad jokes, puns that cause us to groan," he adds.

The increasingly "awful" the joke, he states the more effective.

"This is because if nobody finds it funny – it's the gag's shortcoming, not your own.

"What's interesting about the Christmas cracker puns is that not one person find them funny.

"It creates a common moment at the gathering and I think it's lovely."