This speaks to my hatred for disposable consumption most eloquently
Maybe it shouldn't - but this article made me feel better about the basic and logical approach we have tried to take to christmas (read: kinda broke - so christmas is a good excuse to buy stuff I would have purchased anyway). Bike for one kid, jeans and a book for another. headphones for me (since my last pair broke), a gift card to a restaurant I would eat at anyway. Those kinds of gifts and only a few. I'd like to think I'd still do Christmas this way even if I could afford more.
It's certainly an easy trap to fall into - and then five years go buy and you realize you have no more room in your garage to hold all the crap that you never use. I've been actively trying to get rid of things I don't actually use in my life... makes it easier. Though I still can't fit everything I have into a duffle bag. Maybe one day.
I think birthday gifts tend to be more thoughtful actually. Christmas presents seem to much more likely be disposable, just because you have to give _something_ to everyone around you. Birthday presents allow you to focus on one person and figure out what they actually need or want.
We celebrated Christmas early with my wife's side of the family. As a "stocking stuffer", I was given a "hillbilly flashlight". It was a long handle with a single match at the end of it. It was slightly amusing at first, but definitely something I'm not likely to keep around the house. I recall an episode of Seinfeld when the character Elaine was given a single rose on a date. Her internal dialogue said, "oh great, how long do I have to carry this around"? I think that sums it up pretty well.They seem amusing on the first day of Christmas, daft on the second, embarrassing on the third. By the twelfth they’re in landfill.