Structure

The structure of the short story “The Christmas Tin” by Amanda Craig is simple and includes narrative techniques such as the use of relatable characters, backstory, and foreshadowing. 

Title

The title of the short story “The Christmas Tin” indicates that the story revolves around an object, specifically a tin that is used to give presents in. However, the title has both a literal and a symbolic meaning. In the literal sense, it refers to the red tin that Polly finds at the Christmas fête (in Britain, fêtes are traditional fundraising events held outdoors) at her son’s school. It is meant for charity to support the troops in Afghanistan.

The tin has multiple symbolic meanings –it is a gift meant to show that those back home are thinking about the soldiers: “ ‘It means such a lot to them, to know they’re supported,’ the woman said” (l. 26). However, the tins remain unopened until the end of the war, when local children throw away the useful objects and eat the sweets (ll. 162-165). This reveals another symbolic meaning of the tins – by sending the tins, those at home feel comforted because they feel they are somehow helping the soldiers, but they do not necessarily end up helping at all.

The tin also plays a symbolic role in the main character’s life. At first, it reminds Polly of the times when her children were small and she would give to charity by sending shoeboxes of children’s toys and sweets to children who were victims of war (ll. 67-69). Back then, Christmas had also regained its magic for Polly because her young children enjoyed it (ll. 113-117).

Polly feels disconnected from her family and herself – she is aging and her children do not need her as much as they did w...