My guess is that it's the economy. If I remember right, the GE before last was the biggest one, and the last one was on the smaller side.
I can see both sides, I guess. A lot of people feel very strongly that you should appreciate any gift you get, and it's unseemly to dictate what you're looking for. I'm on the other side of the spectrum. If someone is hard to shop for, I will go with them to a store, let them pick out their gift, and I'll pay for it. I REALLY like when I get a good gift for someone, and I don't want them to feel obligated to lie and tell me they love something they end up burying in their closet.
My only thing is that the GE is such a positive, fun thing - buying people gifts for no reason! - that it seems like we should be able to deal with things that don't go quite how we would choose, or to at least make sure our suggestions are constructive. When we say, "such and such really annoys me", even though we may mean it generally, the specific people who have done the Annoying Thing know that they have Annoyed You. See, I just did it myself.
Let's keep it positive!
