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"How much did Father Christmas's sled cost? Zero, it was on the house."

This quip is met by moans that echo through a storage facility in London.

This describes a humor-evaluation meeting with a firm that produces products for social events. Its repertoire includes festive crackers.

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

"You measure the joke by the volume of groans and the loudness of the groans at the table," the founder says.

The secret to a great holiday cracker joke is not the identical as a good gag in itself. It is all about the context - in this case, the shared laughter of the Christmas meal with elders, kids and possibly neighbours.

"The goal is for the joke to be something that brings the child together with the grandparent," she states.

The Neuroscience Of Communal Laughter

Gathering to enjoy shared laughter is not only nothing new, scientists say, it is likely to be pre-human.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with others around the Christmas dinner you are dropping into what's almost certainly a really primordial mammal play sound," explains a neuroscience expert.

Communal laughter, she says, aids in forge and strengthen social bonds between individuals.

Scientists have discovered that a absence of such interactions can seriously harm mental and physical health.

"The people you talk to, and laugh with, it results in increased amounts of 'happy chemical' release," she continues.

These natural chemicals are the body's "happy chemicals" and are produced both to alleviate tension and discomfort and in response to pleasurable activities, such as chuckling with loved ones over a particularly awful Christmas cracker joke.

"You're not just laughing at a foolish joke with a holiday cracker," the expert states. "You are actually doing a lot of the really vital work of building, preserving the connections you have with the people you care about."

What Happens Inside the Brain?

But what is actually taking place inside the brain when we listen to a gag?

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

Using brain scanning technology, a kind of brain scanner which shows which areas of the mind are working harder, researchers have been able to chart the areas that receive more blood flow.

Testing entails scanning the brains of healthy participants and then subjecting them to a database of funny phrases, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded chuckles.

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

A joke activates not just the parts of the mind responsible for auditory processing and interpreting language, but also brain areas involved in both preparation and starting motion and those linked to sight and memory.

Combine all of this as a whole, and people hearing a pun have a complex series of brain responses that underpin the amusement we experience.

The Contagious Power of Laughter

Researchers found that when a humorous word is paired with laughter there is a stronger reaction in the brain than the identical phrase when followed by a neutral sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the brain that you would employ to move your expression into a smile or a chuckle," the professor says.

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

Amusement, says the expert, can be infectious.

So what does this imply for the chuckles found around a Christmas table?

"People laugh more when you know others," she says, "and you laugh more when you like them or care for them."

When it comes to Christmas cracker puns, she says, the positive effect is more probable to be triggered not by the joke in itself, but from the response to it.

"The laughter is key. The joke is the dreadful 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 joke?

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

In 2001, a psychologist established a research search for the world's most humorous gag.

More than 40,000 gags later, with scores provided by 350,000 participants globally, he has a better understanding than most as to what succeeds and what fails.

The ideal festive cracker joke needs to be short, he explains.

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

The more "terrible" the joke, he states the more effective.

"The reason is that if nobody laughs – it's the joke's fault, not your own.

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

"It creates a common moment at the table and I think it's wonderful."