Birthday Presents or a Book Swap?

There is an excellent article on the Washington Post regarding a family who always held a book swap in lieu of gifts at their kids’ parties, but as the children get older they voice their own protests against this set up.  This is an interesting read regarding establishing family values and ones that you may want your children to pick up through experiences like celebrating birthdays.  Book swaps are a great alternative to traditional gift giving, but as the kids begin to decide what they want, parents have to balance their ideas with their own.

Would you keep the alternative to gifts going or try and find an in-between solution that retains values, but also gives the kids a bit of what they want?