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

This joke is greeted with groans that resonate through a storage facility in London.

This describes a humor-evaluation session with a company that makes supplies for social events. Its repertoire includes festive crackers.

The company's owner smiles, almost sheepishly at the gag. But the joke has made the cut and will feature in upcoming crackers.

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

The secret to a great Christmas cracker joke is not the identical as a good gag per se. It is entirely about the setting - in this instance, the shared amusement of the Christmas dinner table with elders, kids and possibly friends.

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

The Neuroscience Behind Communal Amusement

Gathering to enjoy communal laughter is not only ancient, scientists say, it is probably to be pre-human.

"So when you are chuckling with others at the Christmas dinner you are engaging in what's very likely a truly ancient mammal social vocalisation," says a neuroscience expert.

Communal amusement, she explains, helps forge and strengthen social bonds between people.

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

"Those you talk to, and laugh with, it leads to increased amounts of 'happy chemical' release," the professor continues.

Endorphins are the body's "happy chemicals" and are produced both to reduce stress and pain and in reaction to enjoyable experiences, such as laughing with friends over a truly terrible Christmas cracker gag.

"It's not simply laughing at a silly pun with a holiday cracker," the expert says. "You are in fact doing a lot of the truly vital work of building, preserving the connections you have with the people you love."

What Occurs Inside the Mind?

But what is truly happening inside the mind when we hear a gag?

A tremendous amount happens in response to humour, it transpires.

Using brain scanning technology, a type of brain scanner which shows which parts of the brain are more active, researchers have been able to chart the areas that get more blood flow.

Testing involves scanning the minds of volunteer subjects and then subjecting them to a collection of humorous words, paired with either a non-emotional sound, or pre-recorded chuckles.

"During the study we observed a really interesting pattern of activation," notes the neuroscientist.

A gag activates not just the areas of the mind responsible for auditory processing and interpreting speech, but also brain areas associated with both preparation and initiating motion and those linked to vision and memory.

Put these elements as a whole, and people listening to a joke have a complex set of brain responses that support the laughter we experience.

The Infectious Nature of Chuckles

Researchers discovered that when a funny word is paired with chuckles there is a greater response in the mind than the same phrase when followed by a neutral sound.

"This was in parts of the mind that you would use to move your expression into a smile or a chuckle," she says.

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

Laughter, according to the expert, can be contagious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles heard at a holiday gathering?

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

When it comes to festive cracker jokes, she says, the positive factor is more likely to be caused not by the gag itself, but from the reaction to it.

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

The Quest for the Ideal Festive Pun

Is it possible to find the perfect joke?

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

In 2001, a professor set up a research search for the planet's most humorous gag.

More than 40,000 gags submitted, with ratings lodged by 350,000 participants around the world, he has a clearer understanding than many as to what succeeds and what does not.

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

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

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

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

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

"That's a common experience at the table and I think it's lovely."