Ugh. Growing up, my parents bought us just about every single thing our lists (except a puppy) every year. And then some. All I ever cared about was the puppy.
As far as Christmas goes, yeah, I guess a remember a handful of the presents I got (gooey looey because my grandma thought it was HORRIBLE, video games because we played as a whole family, my chinchilla because that was exciting, Baby Born doll because I carried it everywhere for the next 5 years and it was a huge part of my life). But when I look back on Christmas memories as a child, I remember baking 200 cookies with my grandma. I remember how silly my dog looked carrying his giant Christmas bone around. I remember speaker-phone conversations with my long-distance family. I remember decorating the tree and driving around to look at lights on Christmas eve, and that my mom always read "The Night Before Christmas" and gave us new pajamas before bed. I remember sleeping on my brother's bunk bed and staying awake trying to hear the reindeer land on the roof.
I don't remember how many presents I got, or if I got everything on my list. Half the toys we got literally NEVER even got taken out of the box and played with. Yet, year after year, my parents still maxed out their credit cards and skipped paying bills to buy us ridiculous amounts of JUNK on Christmas. My mom and I still fight about it...last year was the very first year she didn't buy me tons of crap I didn't want (and she still bought me like....4 dinosaur puzzles, a paint-by-numbers kit, bright blue ugg-shaped slippers with sheep on them that she thought were "funny", all which went unopened and annoyed me by taking up space.) I appreciate that she gets in the Christmas spirit and wants to make everyone happy. I wish she'd do it by decorating and cooking and singing. Instead, she screams about what a-holes people shopping are and how stupid the cashiers are and how terribly everyone drives, just so she can buy stuff that sits in our basement for 6 months and then gets sold at a garage sale.
So...when I have kids, sure I'll buy them some of the stupid junk they want for Christmas. But I'm not knocking everything off their list. If there's one thing they talk about a lot, and it's a reasonable item (affordable, age-appropriate, etc.), they'll get it. Yeah, I'll probably spend more than I should on certain fad items. But I think most kids are way more excited about the lights and parties and family and music and santa and magic of Christmas and tearing wrapping paper off stuff then they actually care about what they get.
Besides, I'm sure their grandma will buy them enough obnoxious, useless, space-eating, interesting-for-three-seconds-then-boring JUNK that I won't have to worry about it