Again, if you go on the 'thought that counts' type of life style - neither is more or less cool because it's the same thought - bringing joy to those who might not have it otherwise.
My only issue in the past has been why is this a concept that has to be limited to just the christmas time? There are families who go without every day of every month of every year but they are only remembered by man around christmas time so it always struck me as more about the person GIVING the gift and feeling better about themselves as much as the people receiving the gift, almost like the 'guilt' of the season...but i'm pretty cynical and jaded