This. My dad and I have a tradition: We exchange fancy bottles of bourbon once a year at Christmas. Works out well for both of us.
My parents renew my subscription to AAA Gold every year. Sometimes they give me a gas or grocery gift card, or a Visa gift card. Last year my mom bought me some Cleveland Browns slippers because she felt like she HAD to get us something. I actually wear them 
When my brother got married, about when I was 30, I started getting really pissed at the idea of me having to buy them (bro and SIL) 2 gifts and them buying me one. And my aunts and uncles were all broke so I hated having to do a gift exchange where people with no money had to buy me something I didn’t want. And I also hated the idea of me buying stuff for my parents that I knew they didn’t want. So I said I was out of doing gifts, we weren’t doing a family gift exchange anymore. For one year we did play a game and the winner got to donate a $100 pot to the charity of their choice. But we got over that in a hurry.
I spend the entire day at my parents’ house in my pajamas, and watch any movie dad wants to watch and help mom with the cooking and cleaning. This is all way better than any gift exchanging we could do.
After all the kids attained majority we did white elephants for awhile then those got boring and we just quit. We get together and eat drink and talk on Christmas Day. I am always very groggy because I sing at Midnight Mass (first to arrive, last to leave). If there were actual children that would be different.
My family:
- books.
- music.
- food. Gummy bears count as food. A tin full of gummy bears counts as “food” and “storage”. Three tins of different sizes, one inside the other, each filled with a different type of the receiver’s favorite candy, counts as “food”, “storage” and a laugh
- specific, requested clothing. Not “that particular pair of gloves” (we had to train a SiL out of that one) but “a pair of black leather gloves, size 4”.
We have a specific “no pongos” rule. A pongo (“I place”) is a decorative object that you buy or get as a gift and when you get home you say “now where the heck do I place this…”
Purchase something they probably would like, but wouldn’t purchase for themselves … Harry and David Fruit baskets come to mind …
different fruit every month for a year keeps them remembering how nice you really are to care or even a nice cruise vacation would
be great too (if you can afford it that is).