Great thread, OP!

This is what I've done for several years now:

Instead of buying a lot of useless christmas gifts, I'm sending an amount of money to the local Animal Rescue.
They are so grateful...!

The first couple of years I wrote a nice letter to family and friends instead of these gifts - explaining why, but many didn't respond...

I no longer get any christmas gifts from most of them, but that's totally ok - the one christmas card I receive from the Animal Rescue means so much more to me..!