Our family is very small and we have a rule that we give gifts to the children who have not yet graduated high school...once graduated they are considered an adult. LOL However, now that we all have grands, it is getting tedious. We have also done the Dirty Santa where we picked an anonymous wrapped gift and then each take a turn either taking "away" an opened gift or choosing an unopened gift. One a gift has been "taken' 3 times it is frozen!
There are only 4 siblings and since our parents passed, 2 of the sisters would buy my brother and I small gifts even though we had agreed beforehand to only do the Dirty Santa. It always made my brother and I feel badly even though the gifts were very inexpensive. So, of course, it developed that each sibling started buying for each other and then the $ of the gift went up. Since half of the "children" did not want to participate in the Dirty Santa, it ends up being us four with just a couple of the children involved. Last year we weren't all able to get together but the siblings still bought gifts for each other and the grands.
This year with the economy, it's going to be very hard. There is no such thing as a $5.00 toy anymore except junk that breaks before they get home with it. Urggggg. Since we have several pre-teens and teens, they want gift cards so it's really not any fun to "shop" for them. I think we will agree this year to just buy for our immediate family. Although my brother is single and has no children so we always feel he gets "left out" of the gift giving.
Oh well, we will all get thru Christmas this year, too!! Hopefully....