The Two Christmas Boxes: A Play for Girls

"The Two Christmas Boxes: A Play for Girls" by Elsie Duncan Yale is a play that follows a group of women from a church group getting ready to send Christmas boxes to a missionary family. The play explores themes of giving and helping others, bringing attention to the different lives of the characters and the funny situations that come from mistakes made. The story takes place in three parts, showing the Ladies' Aid Society gathering goods for the boxes. First, Mrs. Banks and Mrs. Jenkins are shown packing their box, making jokes about what they are giving. In the second part, Mrs. Ruth Brown and her daughter Dorothy get the box meant for them, happy with the kind, even though not perfect, gifts they find. The final scene is opposite, as Mrs. Worthington and her daughter Gladys open their box and are shocked by what’s inside, thinking the items aren't good enough for them. In the end, the wrong labels cause them to understand the value that the gifts hold as the missionary family accepts the boxes, which brings attention to kindness and seeing things differently. The play ends with the Ladies’ Aid Society promising to be more mindful of these acts of charity.