A Christmas Carol and The Gift of the Magi - Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843. It has become a Christmas classic and has been continuously in print since its first release, as well as being made into numerous plays and movies. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. It explores themes about the treatment of the poor and the ability of people to reform themselves. It is worth reading every Christmas.

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story, written by O. Henry, born William Sydney Porter, about a young husband and wife buying secret Christmas presents for each other. It is a wonderful Christmas story about gift-giving and sacrifice. It was initially published in 1905 in the New York Sunday World and later in the book The Four Million.