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

This quip is met by groans that echo through a warehouse in London.

We're at a joke-testing meeting with a company that makes supplies for social events. Its repertoire includes Christmas crackers.

The company's founder smiles, nearly apologetically at the gag. But the pun has been selected and will appear in future crackers.

"The success is gauged by the joke by the number of groans and the loudness of the groans around the table," she explains.

The key to a good holiday cracker pun is not the identical as a stand-up joke per se. It is all about the context - in this case, the communal amusement of the holiday meal with elders, children and possibly friends.

"The goal is for the gag to be something that unites the child in harmony with the 80-year-old," she adds.

The Science Of Shared Amusement

Coming together to enjoy communal amusement is not only ancient, scientists say, it is probably to be pre-human.

"So when you are chuckling with people around the holiday dinner you are engaging in what's almost certainly a truly ancient mammalian social vocalisation," says a neuroscience expert.

Shared amusement, she explains, aids in make and maintain social bonds between individuals.

Scientists have discovered that a absence of these interactions can significantly damage mental and physical health.

"Those you talk to, and share laughter with, it results in enhanced levels of endorphin uptake," the professor continues.

Endorphins are the body's "feel-good compounds" and are produced both to reduce tension and discomfort and in response to pleasurable experiences, such as laughing with loved ones over a truly awful Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just chuckling at a foolish pun with a holiday cracker," she says. "You are in fact performing a lot of the really important work of building, preserving the social bonds you have with those you care about."

What Happens Inside the Mind?

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

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

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

Testing involves imaging the brains of healthy subjects and then exposing them to a collection of humorous words, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or recorded laughter.

"During the study we got a really interesting pattern of neural activity," notes the professor.

A gag stimulates not just the parts of the brain responsible for hearing and understanding language, but also brain areas involved in both preparation and starting movement and those involved in vision and recall.

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

The Infectious Nature of Chuckles

Scientists discovered that when a humorous word is paired with chuckles there is a greater response in the brain than the identical word when followed by a neutral sound.

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

It indicates we are not just responding to humorous jokes, they are responding to the laughter that follows them.

Amusement, says the professor, can be infectious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles found at a Christmas gathering?

"People laugh more when you know people," she says, "and laughter increases further when you are fond of them or love them."

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

"The laughter is key. The gag is the terrible holiday cracker pun, and it's just a pretext to chuckle together."

The Quest for the Ideal Festive Pun

Is it possible to find the ultimate joke?

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

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

Over 40,000 jokes submitted, with ratings provided by hundreds of thousands of participants globally, he has a clearer understanding than most as to what succeeds and what fails.

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

"But they also need to be bad gags, jokes that make us groan," he adds.

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

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

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

"It creates a shared moment around the gathering and I believe it's wonderful."