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I have another family member who buys all his gifts at the gas station the night before and usually uses the brown bag as wrapping. But, he will have a tantrum if he doesn't get the exact designer brand, color, cut and style clothing he requested - and he's 45!
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Perhaps it's uncharitable of me, but I just don't get gifts for people like that. Not worth the time, money or effort, and I'm not shy of telling them why either. On the other hand, people who don't really care if they get gifts, I'll go out of my way to find out what they want and get it, regardless of the cost in time or money.
In about 75%, roughly, of cultures throughout history that I'm familiar with, there's some kind of mid-winter gift-giving holiday. It's only recently that it became about _receiving_ the best gift. Used to be, even when it was competitive, it was about who could _give_ the better gift. It was a mark of prestige if you could appear to afford the time and money for lavish gifts while expecting nothing in return. I think the problem is part and parcel of the "the universe revolves around me" epidemic in our modern society.
Something else that's sort of traditional for me is to pick someone I know for a fact isn't getting me a present and isn't expecting one from me. Then I get or make them something. Sometimes, I don't own up to having gotten it, depending on the person. I love the way people react to true surprises.
