Last year at Christmas, which was the first Christmas I'd spend away from my family, my mom gave me NOTHING.
I came home a bit before Christmas with presents I'd picked out for the entire family. I even bought something for my mom's boyfriend.
HE, the boyfriend, gave me much-appreciated cash. (I was about to spent 6 months living and working in New Zealand, which is why I wasn't going to be home for Christmas.) NOBODY else in my family gave me any gifts. My brothers, being younger (one's only 15), are excused. But my own mother?!
The worst part was, she made me use her credit card (we have the same name, so it's easy to do that) to buy my brother a $400 ipod touch and her boyfriend $300 sunglasses.
Them -- $700 worth of stuff. Me -- nothing.
So to all you who have funky sweaters, etc... something is better than nothing. (Unless, maybe, it's an iron or cooking lessons! LOL, what funny/awful stories.)