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

This one-liner is greeted with groans that resonate through a storage facility in the capital.

We're at a joke-testing meeting with a firm that produces supplies for social events. Its repertoire includes festive crackers.

The firm's founder grins, almost sheepishly at the joke. But the pun 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," the founder says.

The key to a good holiday cracker joke is not the identical as a stand-up joke per se. It is entirely about the setting - in this instance, the shared amusement of the Christmas meal with grandparents, children and potentially friends.

"You want the gag to be something that unites the eight-year-old together with the 80-year-old," she states.

The Science Behind Communal Amusement

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

"So when you are chuckling with others around the holiday table you are dropping into what's very likely a really primordial mammal social sound," says a professor.

Communal amusement, she says, aids in make and maintain social bonds between individuals.

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

"The people you talk to, and share laughter with, it results in increased amounts of 'happy chemical' release," the professor continues.

These natural chemicals are the body's "happy chemicals" and are released both to reduce tension and discomfort and in reaction to pleasurable activities, such as chuckling with loved ones over a truly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just chuckling at a silly joke with a holiday cracker," the expert says. "You are actually doing a lot of the really vital task of building, preserving the social bonds you have with those you love."

What Occurs Inside the Brain?

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

An awful lot occurs in reaction to humour, it transpires.

Employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a type of neural imager which indicates which parts of the brain are working harder, researchers have been able to map the areas that receive more blood flow.

Testing involves scanning the minds of healthy participants and then exposing them to a collection of funny phrases, paired with either a neutral sound, or pre-recorded laughter.

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

A joke stimulates not just the parts of the brain responsible for auditory processing and understanding language, but also brain areas involved in both planning and initiating motion and those linked to sight and recall.

Put these elements together, and people hearing a pun have a sophisticated series of brain reactions that support the laughter we experience.

The Contagious Power of Chuckles

Researchers discovered that when a funny phrase is paired with chuckles there is a greater response in the mind than the same phrase when accompanied by a non-emotional sound.

"This activation occurred in parts of the mind that you would use to move your expression into a grin or a laugh," she explains.

It indicates we are not just responding to funny words, they are responding to the amusement that accompanies them.

Amusement, says the expert, can be infectious.

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 like them or love them."

When it comes to festive cracker jokes, she explains, the positive effect is more likely to be caused not by the joke in itself, but from the reaction to it.

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

The Search for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Is it possible to find the perfect joke?

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

In 2001, a psychologist set up a research search for the world's funniest gag.

Over tens of thousands of gags submitted, with ratings provided by hundreds of thousands of people globally, he has a clearer idea than most as to what works and what fails.

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

"They must also need to be bad gags, jokes that make us groan," he continues.

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

"This is because if no-one finds it funny – it's the joke's shortcoming, not your own.

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

"It creates a common experience at the gathering and I think it's wonderful."