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"What was the price did Father Christmas's sleigh cost? Nothing, it was on the house."

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

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

The firm's owner grins, nearly apologetically at the gag. But the joke has been selected and will feature in upcoming crackers.

"The success is gauged by the gag by the volume of moans and the loudness of the groans at the table," the founder explains.

The secret to a great Christmas cracker pun is not the identical as a stand-up joke per se. It is entirely about the context - in this case, the communal laughter of the Christmas dinner table with grandparents, kids and potentially neighbours.

"The goal is for the gag to be something that brings the child in harmony with the grandparent," she adds.

The Science Behind Shared Amusement

Coming together to enjoy shared laughter is not only nothing new, scientists say, it is probably to be pre-human.

"So when you are laughing with people around the holiday table you are dropping into what's almost certainly a truly ancient mammalian social sound," says a neuroscience expert.

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

Researchers have discovered that a lack of these interactions can seriously damage both psychological and bodily health.

"Those you converse with, and laugh with, it results in increased levels of endorphin release," she continues.

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

"It's not simply chuckling at a silly joke with a holiday cracker," the expert states. "You are actually doing a lot of the really vital task of making, maintaining the social bonds you have with the people you care about."

What Occurs In the Brain?

But what is actually happening within the brain when we listen to a gag?

An awful lot happens in reaction to humour, it turns out.

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

Testing involves scanning the brains of healthy participants and then exposing them to a database of humorous words, accompanied by either a neutral sound, or pre-recorded laughter.

"In the scanner we got a really interesting pattern of activation," notes the neuroscientist.

A gag activates not just the areas of the mind responsible for auditory processing and understanding language, but also brain areas associated with both planning and initiating motion and those involved in vision and recall.

Put all of this together, and individuals listening to a pun have a sophisticated set of neural responses that underpin the amusement we experience.

The Contagious Nature of Chuckles

Researchers found that when a funny word is combined with chuckles there is a stronger reaction in the mind than the identical phrase when followed by a non-emotional sound.

"This was in areas of the mind that you would employ to contort your expression into a smile or a laugh," the professor explains.

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

Laughter, according to the expert, can be contagious.

So what does this mean for the chuckles found around a holiday table?

"People laugh harder when you are familiar with others," she says, "and laughter increases more when you are fond of them or care for them."

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

"The laughter is key. The joke is the terrible Christmas cracker pun, and it's just a pretext to laugh as a group."

The Quest for the Ideal Cracker Joke

Is it possible to find the perfect joke?

Probably not, but that has not prevented experts from trying to.

In 2001, a psychologist set up a scientific search for the world's funniest joke.

Over 40,000 jokes later, with scores provided by hundreds of thousands of people globally, he has a better idea than many as to what succeeds and what does not.

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

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

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

"The reason is that if nobody finds it funny – it's the joke's shortcoming, not yours.

"What's interesting about the holiday cracker puns is that not one person considers them humorous.

"That's a shared experience around the gathering and I think it's wonderful."