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

This joke is met by groans that echo through a storage facility in the capital.

We're at a joke-testing session with a firm that produces supplies for social events. Its catalogue includes Christmas crackers.

The firm's owner smiles, nearly apologetically at the gag. But the pun has made the cut and will feature in upcoming crackers.

"The success is gauged by the gag by the number of moans and the intensity of the groans at the table," the founder says.

The key to a good holiday cracker joke is not the same as a good gag in itself. It is entirely about the context - in this instance, the communal laughter of the holiday meal with elders, kids and potentially neighbours.

"The goal is for the joke to be something that brings the eight-year-old together with the grandparent," she states.

The Neuroscience Behind Shared Amusement

Coming together to enjoy shared amusement is not only nothing new, experts argue, it is probably to be older than humanity.

"So when you are laughing with others around the Christmas dinner you are engaging in what's very likely a truly ancient mammalian play sound," explains a neuroscience expert.

Shared laughter, she says, aids in make and maintain social bonds between individuals.

Scientists have found that a absence of these social exchanges can seriously damage mental and physical well-being.

"Those you converse with, and laugh with, it leads to increased amounts of 'happy chemical' uptake," she adds.

These natural chemicals are the brain's "happy chemicals" and are produced both to reduce stress and pain and in response to enjoyable experiences, such as chuckling with loved ones over a truly awful Christmas cracker joke.

"It's not simply chuckling at a silly pun with a Christmas cracker," the expert says. "You are actually doing a lot of the truly important task of building, preserving the connections you have with those you care about."

What Happens In the Mind?

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

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

Using brain scanning technology, a kind of neural imager which indicates which areas of the mind are more active, researchers have been able to chart the regions that get more blood flow.

Testing entails imaging the minds of volunteer participants and then exposing them to a database of funny words, paired with either a neutral sound, or recorded laughter.

"In the scanner we observed a really fascinating pattern of activation," notes the professor.

A joke stimulates not just the areas of the brain in charge of hearing and interpreting speech, but also brain areas involved in both planning and initiating movement and those linked to sight and recall.

Combine these elements together, and individuals hearing a joke have a sophisticated set of neural reactions that underpin the amusement we hear.

The Infectious Power of Chuckles

Scientists discovered that when a funny word is paired with laughter there is a greater reaction in the brain than the identical word when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in areas of the mind that you would employ to contort your expression into a smile or a laugh," she says.

It means people are not just reacting to funny words, they are responding to the laughter that accompanies them.

Amusement, according to the expert, can be contagious.

So what does this imply for the laughter found at a Christmas gathering?

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

When it comes to Christmas cracker puns, she explains, the positive factor is more likely to be triggered not by the joke itself, but from the reaction to it.

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

The Quest for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Is it possible to discover the perfect gag?

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

In 2001, a professor established a research search for the world's most humorous joke.

Over tens of thousands of jokes submitted, with scores provided by 350,000 people around the world, he has a clearer understanding than many as to what succeeds and what fails.

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

"They must also be bad gags, jokes that cause us to moan," he continues.

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

"This is because if nobody laughs – it's the joke's fault, not yours.

"The fascinating part about the holiday cracker puns is that none of us considers them humorous.

"It creates a common moment around the gathering and I think it's wonderful."