Little Women is based on author Louisa May Alcott’s experiences growing up with three sisters as they face and overcome serious financial straits, life-threatening illness, and other heartaches. Little Men continues the story of Jo March as she and her husband, Professor Bhaer, open up their home to care for a group of young boys.
In «Bertie's Box» a family sits around the table putting the finishing touches on their Christmas present wrapping. A letter arrives from a poor widow asking for assistance in providing a Christmas present for her two children. Overhearing this, young Bertie sets about packing up some of his toys to send to the unfortunate mother.
In «A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True», Ten-year-old Effie lives a comfortable life and experiences Christmases filled with delicious treats and wonderful toys. One night she has a dream that forever changes the meaning of Christmas for her. Encountering a group of underprivileged children, she is inspired to give them a Christmas they will never forget.
In «Mrs. Podgers' Teapot», an old woman and her boarder take in an orphan on a cold winter's night. The child's natural spirit of generosity moves Mrs. Podgers, and helps her find true happiness at Christmas.
In «A Country Christmas», Louisa May Alcott tells the story of Sophie, a debutante from the city who travels to rural Vermont to spend Christmas with her cousins Saul and Ruth. Though apprehensive at first, Sophie learns that the charms of celebrating Christmas in the country are many.
In «Gwen's Adventure in the Snow», Gwen and her siblings set out on a winter evening's sleigh ride only to encounter bad weather. Taking shelter in their country house to wait out the snowstorm, the group builds a fire, makes a picnic from the house's reserves and shares stories to allay each other's fears.
A New Way to Spend Christmas describes a Christmas visit to Randall's Island in the East River, where orphaned and sick children are looked after. A charitable woman brings gifts and spreads «sunshine in that shady place» to the unfortunate children who live there.
In this Christmas story, a poor girl named Tilly finds an injured bird in the snow and takes it home to care for it, believing in the lessons her mother has taught her concerning the golden rule and Christ's commandment to love our neighbors. Although her friends think she shouldn't take care of the bird, her kindness is rewarded unexpectedly on Christmas Eve. This version of «Tilly's Christmas» is included as a part of Dreamscape's The Christmas Stories of Louisa May Alcott.