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.