This holiday season, however, may prove to be a little different, as there is less money to spend and fewer co-workers on gift lists.

CNN: 10 fun, affordable gifts for co-workers

But did you know Jeff Bezos and co are guessing your religion based on the gift wrap your friends choose for you?

FORBES: Amazon Is Guessing Your Religion From Your Gift Wrap

When it comes to gift giving, Rob Johnsen, co-founder of MyWedding.com, has some simple, if calculating advice: Decide how much your relationship is worth.

CNN: Here comes the bride, there goes your wallet?

The colorfully bizarre building by Frank Gehry looks like a three-dimensional cubist collage of smashed electric guitars, and is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's eccentric gift to the city.

CNN: Seattle: What to see

For much of the 20th century, Mr Hirschfeld's drawings were there to be savoured in the Sunday edition of the New York Times, where one's appreciation of his gift for spearing a performer's physiognomy co-existed with a weekly hunt for the Ninas that is to say, the number of times Mr Hirschfeld had the name Nina embedded in almost every drawing, as a tribute to his only child.

ECONOMIST: London is the place to see Al Hirschfeld

There is simply too much "negativism" here, says Ms. Barry, co-owner of the Wharf Shop, a toy and gift store on Main Street.

WSJ: Looking for a Happy Place? Maybe Skip Sag Harbor