For us, Christmas is mostly about the kids and we get most of our joy from giving to them. Despite our firm conviction at the beginning of the season, we always end up overshooting our budget.
My wife and I have given up trying to get each other gifts. My wife is especially hard to buy for -- unlike many women, she's not big into jewelry, she's impossible to buy clothes for and is not involved in any activities that require accessories.
So we usually buy a joint gift. Last year was a big screen TV, but this year it was a nice leather computer chair. Kind of boring, but very comfortable (I'm sitting in it right now) and something we both wanted.
I've sort of passed on the word to my wife to tell the kids to get me booze -- usually a kind that I wouldn't buy, like a selection of Irish ales or other imported varieties of beers. I like that much better than a necktie.
My mother also usually asks for suggestions and I usually oblige otherwise we end up getting something that we'd throw out. This year it was a selection of nice bath towels (again boring but something we wanted).