Della
- Wants
- Give Jim a Christmas present worthy of him, despite having little money.
- Chooses
- Sells her hair to buy a chain for his watch.
She sells her hair to buy his watch chain
It is Christmas Eve. Della has $1.87 for Jim’s present. She sells her long hair to buy a chain for his treasured watch, then waits to see how he will react.
YOUR TURN, IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT
How would you write it?
How could Jim’s gift make Della’s sacrifice both practically useless and emotionally meaningful? Think about what each person values—and what each could give up.
SPOILERS AHEADSee the original design & why it works
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE WORKTHE DESIGN, TAKEN APART TAKE IT TO YOUR OWN PAGE
Jim has sold his watch to buy the combs Della admired. Her chain has no watch to hold, and his combs cannot yet be used in her shortened hair. Each has given up a prized possession to honor the other.
Make each person give up the thing that the other person’s gift needs.
CueShelf’s reading of the choices that make this story work.
Jim
- Wants
- Give Della the combs she has admired.
- Chooses
- Sells his watch to pay for them.
Where the conflict lives
They both want to give a worthy Christmas present and cannot afford one. Della’s solution removes the hair Jim’s combs need; Jim’s solution removes the watch Della’s chain needs. Neither knows the other’s plan.
Who knows what — and when
The reader watches Della sell her hair and buy the chain. We do not see Jim sell his watch. His reaction to her haircut creates a question; the combs explain that reaction, and his final explanation reveals why the chain cannot be used either.
How the design unfolds
Establish what matters
The watch and the hair are introduced as the couple’s two prized possessions.
Make generosity costly
Della gives up her hair; buying the chain becomes a choice with a visible price.
Reveal the matching choice
The combs arrive, and Jim explains that he sold his watch to buy them.
Change the measure of success
The gifts cannot serve their intended uses now, but each sacrifice becomes evidence of care.
Works when…
- Show why each possession matters before anyone gives it up. Selling something disposable would not carry the same cost.
- Make the first gift’s intended use clear before revealing the second sacrifice, so the reader can recognize the collision.
- Give both people a credible reason to choose and buy separately; here each is preparing a Christmas surprise.
Watch for…
- If one person forces the other to sacrifice, the scene becomes coercion rather than a mutual gift.
- Showing both purchases in advance changes surprise into anticipation. Choose that deliberately.
- An unfortunate purchase is not enough: the loss should come from a choice the other person made for a reason.
An original variation
Original example: two friends run a small repair shop. One turns down a job away from town so the other will not have to run the shop alone. Meanwhile, the other signs the agreed lease surrender to free them both to leave. Their efforts to help have removed the future each expected. Establish who can end the lease, the deadline, and why they act before speaking; then write their next decision together.
Your writing exercise
Choose two people who each want to help the other. Finish two sentences: “A gives up ___ so B can ___” and “B gives up ___ so A can ___.” Check that each gift needs what the other gives up. Write their meeting in 250 words, reveal the second decision through an object or document, and end with what they decide to do now.
Check the original: 3 reading notes
These are plot observations in our words. The locations below help you check them in the linked edition.
- “The Gift of the Magi” in The Four Million: the two possessions, before Della visits Madame Sofronie.
The narrator identifies Jim’s inherited watch and Della’s hair as their prized possessions.
- Della’s visit to Madame Sofronie and the shopping scene immediately afterward.
Della sells her hair and chooses a watch chain for Jim.
- The final exchange: the combs are unwrapped, then Jim explains his purchase.
Jim has sold his watch to buy the combs; the narrator values their generosity despite the impractical gifts.
Our interpretation concerns this story’s choices and reveal, not a claim about O. Henry’s stated intention. Do not rely on two people refusing an obvious conversation: give their separate decisions a believable occasion and deadline.
The Four Million, “The Gift of the Magi”; the exchange of Christmas gifts near the ending.
Read the source at www.gutenberg.org ↗
The design study includes its source evidence, community references and adaptation license. Observations are paraphrased; no original artwork is reproduced.
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