re: How much more awesome would Christmas be without the presents.

I agree with you that Christmas has become far too commercialized and that what I truly care about, now that I am older, is spending time with family, whom I do not get to see that often. However, I do have some fond memories from my childhood of Christmas morning, opening my NES system, or the 12 gauge my father bought me when I was a boy, or my first remote controlled car. It's one reason why I spend so much on my nieces and nephews... not that my sisters or my brother-in-laws get them shitty gifts, but I like being the cool uncle who buys them fun toys.

That said, my wife and I have friends who spend tons of money on each other (upwards of $1,000 each), have an combined income that is a good bit lower than ours, and they're like "It's Christmas!" That would stress me the frick out, I do not enjoy frivolity at the expense of my bank account. My wife always gets pissed when I tell her I don't want anything for Christmas or my birthday, but I value quality time over material possessions. I can always go buy myself a new fly rod or a guitar, I don't always get the chance to forget about my work and spend time with those who mean the most to me.