Noizette:

Spot on! We sort of started to see some movement along these lines in the 1970s, but it pretty much became invisible (though did not entirely go away) during the Reagan years. We're due for a comeback to this way of thinking and doing.

For our household, we focus on gifts of NEEDED clothing and other useful stuff that we would have otherwise had to buy anyway. Thus, we're not spending any more than we would have anyway, just wrapping it up and making a little bit of a celebration out of it. We also set a spending limit which isn't very extravagant by US standards.

Speaking for myself, I would be just as happy to dispense with the gifts entirely. I think it has distorted the entire holiday into something grotesque. Christmas has morphed into "Gift-showering day" and Thanksgiving has morphed into "Turkey day". In the one case, the focus is on the promotion of sales of massive amounts of stuff that people don't need and can't afford, and in the other case the focus is on the promotion of sales of massive amounts of food that people don't need and can't afford. Hypercapitalism run rampant and transformed into something truly grotesque.

Noizzette...on top of the unnecessary items given (mostly to kids), there is indeed a health-factor risk this year (i.e., Aquadots, lead paint in toys). There have been many articles in newspapers here in the States recently reminiscing about the days when you made Xmas present or buying books, music, etc. in lieu of Chinese made junk.

I have a 5-year old that received Aquadots for his last birthday from his grandparents. He had been playing with them for about 2 months now when the bad news broke. My wife and I said perhaps we just need to make corn-husk and wood toys for the boys this year (half-joking).