Christmas gifts

I've read probably ten blog posts in the last week or two regarding gift giving at Christmas. While many people like to be surprised by what others give them for Christmas, others prefer to hand out lists of wants to avoid the inevitable tacky sweater or umpteenth lavender scented candle.

We do it both ways in our house. While Ryan and I don't get each other gifts, we do provide a (very short) list of wants to my family and they reciprocate. There's not a whole lot of surprise come Christmas morning, but we're happy with our presents and there are no fake smiles to be seen.

However, we do not provide a list to Ryan's family; they just don't work that way. We are always surprised by what they give us. There have been good surprises: barbecue pit, fuzzy bathrobe, princess tea set. And there have been fake smile surprises: water pik, fuzzy socks (they were really nice, but I just don't like socks), books with a religious theme (of a religion we don't belong to).

So how about you? Do you provide a list of wants or are you surprised by your gifts? What's the best surprise gift you've received? The worst?