We stopped the list thing a few years ago. It just seemed to our family that if you wrote down what you wanted and I wrote down what I wanted then you might as well go buy what you wrote down for yourself and skip all the wrapping and gift giving period.
I refused to have a Christmas that seem more like a chore than a heartfelt gift. If you do not know that person well enough to know their interest and taste then buy something generic...gloves, scarf,a puzzle, a best seller book, something of value to you. But...if you really do not know them that well, why are you buying them a gift? Obligation I suppose.
Our family has done it with no list for several years and it works but this year we are only giving gifts to the young children. Everyone is broke and we decided to just skip presents this year.
