A plot reproducing The Gift of the Magi, where two people buy gifts for each other, but the gifts each complement something another person has... and they each had to sell their respective complements to pay for their gifts. This plot has shown up numerous times, usually in a Sitcom, with the exact gifts changed to suit the characters; in every case, everyone involved gives up the thing that makes the gift they receive worthwhile. For a more encouraging ending, sometimes the characters will manage to get their original possessions back as well, often as a gift from a third party.