My family is funny. They insist, that Christmas is not about presents, but about the Christian belief and the message of love.
OK, sounds good to me. But, why do we have to make each other presents?! One year, we "agreed" upon not to do so and what happened? Yes, you guessed right, somebody didn't keep word and the other party -- that would be me -- was feeling pretty stupid.
So, why do they insist on presents? For the surprise? They even ask me, what I want for Christmas. There is no surprise. Personally, I'd prefer to get a present once in a year not because of some date (like brithday, Christmas, whatever), but because somebody "tripped over" some nice affordable gift and thinks spontaneously: "Hey, this thing just screams 'DJ'! I have to make it a gift for him."
The two of us only want presents for both of us together. Every household (there are 4 besides ours) may make exactly one present.