There can be no Christmas without Charles Dicken’s iconic short story about the cold-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge who finds the true meaning of Christmas through a journey in his past, present and future. The story has been repeatedly adapted into films and has never ceased to bring out the good in people.

The following video is an abridged version of the story for A2 to B1 students. Text and audio: Opportunities Pre-Intermediate, Longman.

One of my favourite Christmas stories is “The Gift of the Magi” by O’ Henry. It is a romantic short story, about a young married couple and their struggle to buy each other a worthy Christmas gift with little money. Its twist ending is generally considered an example of comic irony, making the story highly entertaining and adequately festive.

The version presented here is abridged, accompanied by an audio file from  manythings.org/.