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"What was the price did Father Christmas's sled cost? Nothing, it was on the house."

This one-liner is met by moans that echo through a warehouse in London.

This describes a humor-evaluation session with a firm that produces supplies for social events. Its repertoire features festive crackers.

The firm's founder smiles, almost sheepishly at the joke. But the pun has been selected and will feature in upcoming crackers.

"You measure the gag by the number of groans and the intensity of the groans at the table," the founder explains.

The key to a great Christmas cracker pun is not the same as a stand-up gag per se. It is all about the context - in this instance, the communal laughter of the holiday dinner table with grandparents, kids and possibly friends.

"You want the gag to be a thing that unites the eight-year-old together with the 80-year-old," she adds.

The Science Behind Shared Amusement

Gathering to enjoy communal laughter is not only ancient, scientists argue, it is probably to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are laughing with people around the Christmas table you are dropping into what's very likely a really ancient mammalian play sound," explains a professor.

Shared amusement, she explains, helps make and maintain social connections between individuals.

Scientists have discovered that a lack of such interactions can seriously harm both psychological and bodily well-being.

"Those you talk to, and laugh with, it results in enhanced levels of endorphin release," the professor adds.

Endorphins are the brain's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to alleviate tension and discomfort and in response to enjoyable experiences, such as chuckling with loved ones over a truly awful festive cracker gag.

"It's not simply chuckling at a foolish pun with a Christmas cracker," the expert states. "You are actually performing a lot of the really important work of building, preserving the social bonds you have with those you care about."

Which Happens In the Brain?

But what is truly taking place inside the mind when we listen to a gag?

A tremendous amount occurs in reaction to comedy, it turns out.

Using brain scanning technology, a type of neural imager which indicates which parts of the mind are working harder, researchers have been able to map the areas that get more blood flow.

The research involves imaging the minds of volunteer subjects and then exposing them to a database of funny words, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded laughter.

"During the study we observed a really fascinating activation pattern of activation," says the professor.

A gag activates not just the areas of the brain responsible for hearing and understanding language, but also neural areas involved in both preparation and starting motion and those linked to vision and memory.

Combine these elements together, and people hearing a pun have a sophisticated series of neural responses that underpin the amusement we hear.

The Contagious Nature of Chuckles

Scientists found that when a humorous phrase is combined with chuckles there is a greater response in the brain than the same phrase when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in areas of the mind that you would use to contort your face into a smile or a chuckle," she explains.

It means we are not just reacting to humorous jokes, they are reacting to the amusement that accompanies them.

Amusement, according to the professor, can be contagious.

So what does this imply for the chuckles heard at a Christmas gathering?

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

When it comes to festive cracker puns, she says, the feel-good factor is more likely to be caused not by the gag in itself, but from the reaction to it.

"It's the laughter. The joke is the terrible holiday cracker pun, and it's just a pretext to laugh as a group."

The Quest for the Ideal Festive Pun

Is it possible to find the perfect joke?

Likely not, but that has not stopped experts from attempting to.

In 2001, a psychologist set up a research project for the planet's most humorous gag.

Over 40,000 jokes submitted, with ratings lodged by 350,000 people around the world, he has a better understanding than most as to what works and what fails.

The perfect festive cracker joke needs to be short, he says.

"But they also be bad gags, jokes that cause us to groan," he continues.

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

"The reason is that if no-one finds it funny – it's the gag's fault, not yours.

"The fascinating part about the Christmas cracker jokes is that not one person considers them funny.

"That's a common experience around the table and I think it's wonderful."