Alright, I guess I need to give more detail.

It started with emails from a sister wanting to restrict gift giving to ONLY the exchange gifts and nothing else. If anyone wanted to give a gift that was not part of the exchange, they were to do so in secret, as if ashamed of being generous. We weren't even allowed to by little token gifts like candy for the kids or perfume/cologne for adults. That's the problem.

But everybody's missing the point here. I was venting my frustration over people who try to impose ridiculous restrictions, just giving my opinion. This isn't just me coming out of the clear blue sky to lecture people at Christmas. I wasn't after a big intellectual debate on gift exchanges in general.

So I'm sorry I ever posted anything personal here. Just forget it.