Christmas is coming and the money is going...

We've become overwhelmingly commercialized in the U.S. and I wonder about other Christmas gift giving traditions. I "googled" and found this:

In Italy, instead of children writing letters to Santa Claus asking for presents, Italian children write letters to their parents to tell them how much they love them. The letter is then placed under the father's plate and read after Christmas Eve dinner.

Now, I love getting gifts as much as anyone else, but how I would treasure a love letter from my husband, from my child, from my grandchild!