what is real at Xmas

I read the other day that the average American spends $700 on gifts this year...and I was shocked by this number: what does it say about us as a culture that we spend so much on things rather than working on creating a memory at Xmas?!
My own children can only talk about gifts these days and nag us about what we got for them. I have been trying to tell them that it is not about receiving but giving but they are not impressed...
My mother found a wishlist of mine, of when I was seven (my daughter's age now) and I had but a few items on there: two books, a pencil box, a lamp for my desk-- and I am sure I did not even get all of that! Is it inflation, are we becoming more decadent and materialistic and how can we really obsess about what to give each other if we can't even feed the 40 million hungry Americans in our midst? I have not been asking for anything the past few Xmases and if people really want to give me something I ask them to send money to the charity of their choice. If we could all do the same and spend those $700 on charities this year, we might really get somewhere...
Inez