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

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

We're at a humor-evaluation meeting with a company that produces supplies for social events. Its catalogue includes festive crackers.

The company's founder smiles, nearly sheepishly at the joke. But the pun has made the cut and will feature in future crackers.

"You measure the joke by the volume of groans and the intensity of the groans around the table," she says.

The key to a great Christmas cracker pun is not the identical as a stand-up joke in itself. It is entirely about the setting - in this instance, the shared laughter of the Christmas dinner table with elders, kids and potentially neighbours.

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

The Science Behind Communal Laughter

Coming together to enjoy communal amusement is not only ancient, experts argue, it is probably to be older than humanity.

"Therefore when you are chuckling with others around the Christmas dinner you are engaging in what's very likely a really ancient mammal social sound," says a neuroscience expert.

Communal laughter, she says, aids in make and maintain social connections between people.

Researchers have found that a absence of these social exchanges can seriously damage both psychological and bodily well-being.

"Those you talk to, and laugh with, it leads to enhanced levels of 'happy chemical' release," the professor adds.

Endorphins are the body's "happy chemicals" and are released both to alleviate tension and discomfort and in response to pleasurable experiences, such as chuckling with loved ones over a truly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"You're not just chuckling at a foolish pun with a Christmas cracker," the expert states. "You are actually doing a lot of the really important work of building, preserving the connections you have with those you care about."

What Happens In the Brain?

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

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

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a kind of neural imager which shows which areas of the brain are more active, researchers have been able to chart the areas that get more blood.

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

"During the study we observed a very fascinating activation pattern of neural activity," notes the neuroscientist.

A joke activates not just the areas of the brain in charge of auditory processing and understanding speech, but also brain regions associated with both planning and initiating movement and those involved in vision and memory.

Combine these elements as a whole, and individuals listening to a pun have a sophisticated series of neural responses that support the laughter we hear.

The Infectious Power of Laughter

Scientists found that when a funny word is paired with chuckles there is a stronger response in the brain than the identical word when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This was in areas of the mind that you would use to contort your face into a grin or a chuckle," she says.

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

Laughter, says the professor, can be infectious.

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

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

When it comes to Christmas cracker puns, she says, the feel-good effect is more probable to be caused not by the joke 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 as a group."

The Quest for the Perfect Cracker Joke

Is it possible to find the ultimate gag?

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

Years ago, a psychologist set up a scientific project for the planet's most humorous gag.

More than tens of thousands of jokes submitted, with ratings provided by hundreds of thousands of participants around the world, he has a better idea than many as to what works and what does not.

The perfect Christmas cracker joke needs to be brief, he says.

"They must also need to be poor gags, puns that cause us to groan," he adds.

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

"This is because if no-one laughs – it's the gag's fault, not your own.

"What's interesting about the Christmas cracker jokes is that none of us find them funny.

"It creates a shared moment at the gathering and I think it's lovely."