Other than some baked good or other kitchen treats and a few crafted items, nothing :-)

My family has been moving away from the expected routine of Christmas gifts for a number of years. And now that I'm single again and the kids are grown, we've stopped altogther. It is a unnecessary expense and for those of us that have a few years under our belts, there's not much any of us need or have to have that we don't get for ourselves during the course of the year. I prefer to splurge on birthday gifts for family members and celebrate their own special day.

Unless you have small kids.....and Christmas is really all about the kids anyway.....to me the holiday season should be about togetherness and family gatherings, not material things. I do bump up any charitable activities at this time of year, as much as I can manage, and try to give to those who don't have much rather than spend unnecessarily on the family.

I certainly don't intend to criticize those who do follow the gift giving tradition -- heck, I hope you are at least stimulating the economy by doing so -- but it's become an unnecessary tradition that is easily ignored in my family.

My kids are now all adults though they are students. Any money they spend is really our money. So we are not encouraging any lavish gifts. Our son has said before, the fact that he will not graduate in debt is the biggest gift he could ask for.

Plus, it can be a lot of pressure to find a "perfect" gift: I remember that particular stress from Christmas gifts exchanged in my small office. Our boss would always get us something amazing (not expensive, just "perfect"): it set the bar too high for us peons. I loved everyone there but IÂm glad I donÂt have to deal with that anymore.

I accumulate an Amazon wish list over the year: and keep adding to it. Any family member can just check that list and know they are getting me a book or CD I really want. Sometimes I make it even easier on them and order it myself! Since I have maybe 20 items on there I have no idea ahead of time what they might pick: keeps the surprise element.

My husband had always been the hardest person to buy for. But he wore out 2 pairs of shoes this fallÂgreat timing! He is starting a new job with a long walk from the commuter rail station: hat and gloves! My digital camera just bit the dustÂgreat timing again (no, I did NOT drop it on purpose).

Our son wants an "interview" suit. He needs it anyway, but chose to ask for this for Christmas. He has always worn his DadÂs: but they are not the same size, itÂs time he had his own. So we will make a day of it and all go as a family to choose it together.

Our daughter is still at an age where she wants a lot, but doesnÂt trust us to select it. She send an e-mail with specificsÂthings she thought we couldnÂt mess up! Both "kids" will get various fun, inexpensive surprises in their stockings. Colorful notepads, decks of cards, makeup for daughter.

Gardengal, some of the excitement of Christmas seems to wear off a little as time goes by, but feeling like a kid again, is what I look forward to about Christmas. My Mom, even in her eighties, just loved Christmas. [g] We have always made a big deal of it every year. Yes, we do look forward to new memories and spending time together, traditions of picking out the tree, listening to Christmas music, etc., but the gift giving remains an exciting part of the festivities for us. Our kids are all adult but still need lots of things every year that they might not always find easy to get for themselves, so I am always very happy to try to get them at least the major gift from their list. I don't do much gift giving the rest of the year.

Linnea...I've just discovered Amazon this year. Wow, I am impressed with the convenience and their ability to make it easy. I just started a wish list. I'm having fun. [g]

I dropped my camera this year too and replaced it already. We are in the same boat with our DD too. [g] We all have a lot of fun with the stockings. Some perennial favorites...Dunkin Donuts coffee, car wash booklets. I like your idea of colorful notepads and playing cards.

It's a secret; can't tell but it's probably going to be the color green!