I've never connected with how most people do holiday shopping. "Ill just spend $50 on something you want, and you just spend $50 on something I want, and we'll be done!"
Even more degenerate is "You tell me something I should buy, and I'll tell you something you should buy!" At that point the holidays have evolved into a justification of consumerism.
At that point I just stop gift exchanges. To me the point of holiday shopping is to find something they would enjoy that they never would have thought of getting themself. I know its hard, but isn't that the point? It's supposed to be a time of thoughtfulness not "let me just spend $100 and get it over with".