Object

Office Novelty Award — 'Best Gift Valued Over $25' (S1E04 'Five Votes Down')

A small, novelty office award used as a comedic prop: lightweight and tongue-in-cheek in appearance, emblazoned with language declaring it for the “best gift valued over twenty-five dollars.” Characters hold and brandish it briefly as a gag—Donna proffers or names the winner while staff react with teasing laughter—its presence punctuates banter rather than serving a durable practical use.

3 appearances

Purpose

To function as a symbolic, humorous recognition given during staff banter to single out the ‘best’ disclosure gift over a $25 valuation; serves as a prop to provoke teasing and highlight character relationships.

Significance

Serves as a comic beat that humanizes the West Wing staff, undercuts high-stakes political strategy with domestic absurdity, and reveals interpersonal dynamics—Donna’s teasing, Josh’s embarrassment/pride, and the culture of mock rituals among aides.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S1E4 · Five Votes Down

Josh Declares Hardball

The novelty 'award for best gift over twenty‑five dollars' is used by Donna to lampoon Josh—an office joke that deflates political tension and emphasizes staff intimacy and culture.

Before: Likely on Donna's desk or in hand as a gag prop prepared for bullpen banter.

After: Carried off by Donna after the joke; remains a symbolic prop in the bullpen's social economy.

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S1E4 · Five Votes Down

Toby Pulls Sam Aside — Policy Talk Collides with Personal Crisis

The novelty 'award' is used as a gag to puncture tension: Donna announces Josh as winner for best gift over twenty-five dollars, converting a formal disclosure into office humor and underlining the staff's coping rituals.

Before: Held or brandished by Donna as she teases Josh.

After: Put down or carried off by Donna after the joke; its narrative function completed as levity.

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S1E4 · Five Votes Down

Anniversary Panic: Leo's Domestic Distraction During the Vote Crisis

The tongue-in-cheek 'Award for Best Gift Valued Over Twenty-Five Dollars' is brandished conversationally by Donna to tease Josh about costly gifts on his disclosure, serving as a comic counterpoint to the scene's tension and exposing informal office culture.

Before: Sitting as a prop or previously prepared gag in the bullpen, available for Donna to use as a joke.

After: Put away or left where Donna carried it off; its purpose as comic punctuation fulfilled and not instrumental to decisions.

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