So did I…but I had been bitching about my old one since September. It was actually a welcome gift.
We’re old enough that we’ve managed to basically opt out of most gifting over the years. My husband and I give ‘family’ gift cards to our sibs (regardless of whether they have children or not) to a restaurant we know they enjoy or maybe a new restaurant in a genre they like. And they do the same sort of thing for us, mostly either restaurant or movie passes. And this year hubby and I ‘gave’ each other a new refrigerator. Minimal shopping, no gift wrapping challenges. 
Outside of that the only present I gave was for an office Secret Santa. Fortunately I drew the name of a woman who is a major candy freak – always keeps a candy dish on her desk and indulges frequently – so a couple bags of some of her favorites and I was done. I got a pair of crazy patterned socks, which is fine by me.
The only ongoing ‘problem’ we’ve never settled in our minds: is it ‘fair’ to give his sister (with four kids) the same amount as my brother (who has none, and no wife either.) I always say yes – it’s the same relationship, sibhood, while, he says no, it’s going to be split over more people. We squabble a bit. Added factors: we live close to brother and see him more and (truthfully) like him more than his distant sister who (truthfully) is rather a bitch.
But I’m the one who does the selecting and mailing, so my views prevail in the end. 
Hey, if he wants her to get more, I’m not preventing him from picking out another present, wrapping, and mailing it. But he’s allergic to shopping.
You guys are lucky. In the Netherlands, it is a no-no to include a store’s receipt with a gift, yet, no store will allow you to return something without a receipt. So, all you can do with an unwanted gift is donate it too Goodwill. And you wont get a tax deduction either.
That makes gift giving much riskier.
That’s pretty much what I’ve been thinking, although it puzzles me that she’d bother to knit an entire sweater if she didn’t care enough to do a decent job. If she felt like knitting then it seems like a crappy scarf would have been much easier for her to make. And while I don’t really need another knitted scarf (I know enough knitters that I already have like 10 of them), I could at least theoretically tuck an ugly scarf inside my jacket so it would keep my neck warm without offending the eyes of passers-by.
This relative is kind of nuts though, so I am probably wasting my time trying to make sense of her behavior.
Shitty Christmas shitty shitty Christmas
Shitty Christmas shitty shitty Christmas
Shitty Christmas shitty shitty Christmas
Oh you pretty shitty Christmas pretty shitty Christmas we hate you
and with pretty shitty Christmas pretty shitty Christmas what to do
where, for, returning to the store, what a crappy time we’ll spend
Christmas, shitty shitty Christmas, from our fine but former friends
Christmas, shitty shitty Christmas, from our fine but former friends
I bought myself a new electric toothbrush with my Christmas munny.
No demeaning slight meant by me. You know how some people say that they could not be vegetarian or vegan because they could not give up tasty, tasty bacon? I guess wool socks are my bacon. I live in the frozen tundra and I hate cold feet.
A fruitcake with cheese inside, a half of a Slip’n’Slide
The frustration never ends.
A felt pen with dried-out ink, a plug for the kitchen sink
From people we thought were our friends.
Take it!
Are you just giving presents to your respective siblings, or to the nephews/nieces, too? If it’s just to the siblings, equal spending. If you include the nephews/nieces – still equal spending, for everyone.
I have no kids and am not married. My brother is married and has three kids. My parents have this insane zeal for giving the exact same amount to everyone. But, they count my nephews, niece, and SiL as part of my brother’s gifts. Which means they spend five times as much buying their impossibly crappy gifts for me as my brother has to suffer. To me, it is kinda insulting, as though my nephews, niece, and SiL aren’t quite “real” people. And under this crazy scheme, if I did have one kid, he or she would apparently be eligible for three times the loot as his or her cousins… which is a recipe for nothing good.
Of course, my own view is that while I love buying presents for the kids, the adults can go hang. If they want a present, they’ve got the money to buy it themselves. Token gifts to show appreciation would be much better than the crazy accounting scheme of presents my parents insist on.
Some franchise stores will give you a ‘gift’ receipt. It has no amount on it, just codes that the store can use for a return. Of course, if you completely return the gift, rather than swapping for a size that fits you, you find out what was spent; but if you don’t return it, you won’t know.
I’ve seen people give the receipt sealed in a festive envelope, although mostly when giving clothes to fast growing kids.
For those looking for a tacky gift for next year, you can get toasters that brown an image of Jesus onto your bread. The company has several standard images and can also produce a custom image if you email them a jpg.