Not long ago, Stephanie Staples watched an old home video of her kids opening gifts on Christmas morning.

As she looked on, her son, Aaron, ripped into a package. Out rolled a plastic container of tape. 

"Scotch tape! My very own Scotch tape!" 

He was elated

Although they weren't by any means poor, Stephanie and her husband made a concerted effort not to exaggerate the holidays in their household, she says.

They bought their kids practical gifts they needed (e.g.: art supplies they could use to their heart's content, like the tape) and hand-me-downs that came with heartstrings-tugging sentimental value. 

"The point is we had we never raised their expectations when they were young. They may have had little things but we never spent tons of money," she says. "(Gifts) were one component of Christmas, but a small component." 

Like half of consumers in a recent CBS News poll, Stephanie said she found herself stressed each time the holidays rolled around. Not only did she and her husband have their own children to worry about but they also were expected to exchange gifts with extended family.

According to the poll, more than one-third of respondents said the prospect of holiday gift shopping stressed them out and that they feared they wouldn't earn enough to cover the costs this year. Families with household incomes below $50,000 were five times more likely to worry.

The Staples were sick of it. They thought about going giftless for years but worried their family wouldn't understand.

That was until her husband lost his job.

"(Breaking the news) was almost like a relief to everybody," she said. "I think a lot of (our family) felt the same way, just stressed and overwhelmed and it was always financially difficult. People were paying things off long after Christmas." 

Six years later, even though they're in a healthier financial situation, the Staples continue to go giftless each year and have no plans of going back. 

"Recently (my daughter) Kara gave me a gift of a picture and it was of her with a large new stuffed animal which she bought for a children’s gift drive–in my name," she said. "I am proud of what the kids have learned." 

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