A few more readers add to the thread:
Giving gifts is definitely the best part! And this year my family really upped the ante on altruistic payoff by using our Secret Santa gifts to donate to causes that our giftee values. As my gift, my brother donated to a community organization that helps women achieve economic independence, since he knows it's important to me. I donated to City Harvest in NYC (which connects wasted food from groceries and restaurants to kitchens and pantries for the needy) in the name of my sister-in-law because she works in nutrition and food justice. Between the nine of us we'll donate $360 to various charities this year, still with the benefit of tailoring a gift to our person's values and interests. I really recommend something like this to your readers, especially if they have children in the family that they can still buy actual presents for. You really get the best of both worlds.
Another invokes the "re-distribution of wealth" that often goes into gift-giving on Christmas:
I get more stuff from my wealthy relatives than I give them, and I give my less wealthy relatives more than I get in return, which seems to me how it should work. An excuse for voluntary re-distribution is a nice way to help and be helped without feeling like a charity case.
The Dish 