‘The Office’: Jenna Fischer Finally Reveals What Was Written in the Teapot Note
One of the biggest mysteries that The Office fans have wanted to know has finally been revealed — what was written in the note that was in the teapot gift from Jim to Pam in the “Christmas Party” episode? Jenna Fischer is finally revealing the contents of the letter and it’s so touching, she started crying a bit as she shared the details.
Inside the ‘Christmas Party’ episode
During the Feb. 19 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer and Angela Kinsey dive into The Office Season 2, Episode 10, titled “Christmas Party,” which happens to be their first Christmas episode of the series.
The co-stars gave a rundown of the plot of the episode, which involved a Secret Santa exchange that turned into an out of control Yankee Swap. A highlight for fans of The Office, of course, is the thoughtful gift Jim gets for his Secret Santa recipient, Pam — a teapot that’s full of special items specifically for her — but it gets shuffled away from her during the Yankee Swap. Of course, part of the gift is a card that Jim wrote to Pam, as he explained that “Christmas is the time to tell people how you feel.”
The teapot eventually finds its way to Pam, but Jim swipes the letter he wrote her, something that Pam eventually gets to read in season 9, but which fans never know the contents of.
The teapot was a challenging item for the writers
During the podcast, Fischer revealed that the writers had a hard time landing on a teapot as the gift that Jim would give to Pam. For the parameters of the Secret Santa, it had to be an item under $20, be something Pam would want and also something that Dwight would want when things shift to the Yankee Swap.
It also had to be an item that could contain other treasures that Jim tucks inside for Pam that are significant to them. Many fans have wondered about the pencil she finds inside and Fischer noted there’s a deleted scene that references how she threw the pencil at him during mini golf. That was baffling to the star because she wondered when they ever would have played mini golf together.
Pam didn’t know what was inside initially
When Pam first receives the teapot from her Secret Santa, Dwight rushes the process along and she doesn’t find out there are other items inside. Then things shift to a Yankee Swap and the teapot is no longer hers, as she ends up with an iPod.
Jim has to get the teapot from Dwight, who wants to use it as a neti pot, to keep it for himself so that no one discovers what’s inside.
Pam decides to trade her iPod and get the teapot and the scene where she discovers what’s inside, as Jim grabs the note and puts it in his pocket, is “charming and sweet and she is so delighted,” Fischer shares.
What is written in the teapot note?
Fischer said that most of the fan questions about this episode have to do with what was written in the teapot card that Jim decided not to give to Pam.
It’s assumed for some time that no one will ever know, but the note returns in season 9, beautifully, when Jim gets the documentary crew to put together footage of their relationship and he gives her the card to read. Again, fans didn’t know what it said, but Pam’s emotional reaction provided enough of a clue that what he wrote to her years ago was special.
Fischer finally explained what the note said… “sort of.” She shared, “I’m going to say something that I’ve never said before, I also feel like I’m maybe going to cry… I’m the only one who knows and John knows [what the card said].” During season 9, John was told to write a personal message from himself to Fischer “saying what our time together on The Office meant to him because we were wrapping up filming,” she shared. “We were wrapping up the series and we were all so emotional at that time, you know? … And so that was his goodbye.”
Her reaction was so real, she explained. “So I’m on camera and I open up this note that John’s written me and I just start crying, I just start bawling… It was the sweetest note and you know on camera, Pam says, ‘I’ll never say what it said but just know it was perfect.’ Well I’ll never say exactly what John wrote, but I will say just know it was perfect.”
