I remember when I was younger, my brother and I would spend hours and hours studying the JCPenny's catalog. We would circle dozens of items and put stars next to the items we really, really wanted. Because I knew my parents only spent about $150 per child, I would make sure all of the starred items would total about $150, thus increasing the chance of getting what I really wanted. My brother put stars next to all of his items.

On Christmas morning, before our parents woke up, we would sort through the presents by size and weight and make educated guesses about what each box contained. Often our mother would try to trick us by placing small items in over sized boxes or by adding a handful of Legos to skew our "listening test".

Over the years, Christmases have become less and less "magical". My brother now asks for money only and any other item must be pre-approved or risk being returned.

I, on the other hand, want Christmas to be full of surprises. But to my dismay, my mother, taking a cue from my brother, has started quizzing me about the items on my list. ("I can only buy you either item X or item Y, which one do you want?" or "Do you want this book in paperback or hardback?")

Since last Christmas though, I don't really want any of my mother's surprise gifts, the gifts that weren't on my wish list. I've come to realize my mother is horrible at choosing presents on her own. She bought me Tupperware and cd jewel cases last year.