Limit family gifts to small children or draw names. Ingram says she's still trying to sell her own clan on the joys of using a Secret Santa or other gift-giving system. "This would cut down on the gift clutter so much," Ingram says.
Although Ingram says she's not been able to make inroads on some family gifting habits, she does like their "unwritten rule" that after reaching 21 or graduating from college, a child ages out of the automatic gift process. "The aunts and uncles and everyone else are off the hook from buying you a gift," Ingram says.