My brother has three kids, now 10, 12, and 17. Every year, I have bought them each a Christmas gift. Never once have any of the three given a gift to me or my kids. Never once have they so much as thanked us for the gifts we have given them or even sent a "Merry Christmas" text to me or my kids. I always give my kids a few bucks for gifts so that they can get presents for their uncles/aunts/cousins. My sister does the same with her kids. Nothing from my brother's side of the family.
So this time around I decided not to get anything for them. No hard feelings on my side. I just figure that they are choosing to be uninvolved in the holiday gift exchange with us and I would honor their decision.
I guess my brother just caught on that no FedEx package from me will be coming this year, and he is LIVID. He texted me under the pretense of trying to make sure the presents didn't get lost in the mail or stolen from his porch, then when I responded telling him that there were no presents, he immediately called me and absolutely exploded. Apparently my sister and I somehow ruined Christmas for his whole family by not participating in a one-way gift exchange.
Am I wrong, here? in my mind, it's the thought that counts. I don't mind giving you a $200 gift in exchange for something much smaller. Hell, a Hallmark card would suffice. But I'm not really understanding this expectation that I'm supposed to sent gifts to people who aren't willing to participate in any kind of exchange at all.