Every holiday season comes and goes with companies promoting the latest fad gift “everyone” hopes to find underneath brightly foiled paper and neat little bows.

In past years we’ve seen screaming soccer moms fight over Tickle Me Elmo and people pay thousands of dollars on eBay for the Xbox 360. This year is no exception from the fate of past holiday seasons (though the new anniversary Elmo, the TMX, is not as big and the PS3 is not going for as much on eBay). However, rather than one hot new fad everyone is dying to get their hands on, the two latest are expensive electronics.

“Despite what people say about a tight economy, the trend lately is larger dollar amounts,” said Target manager Ken Gawlik. “People are spending more money and are looking for higher ticket prices.”

When I was growing up, all I wanted for Christmas was a Malibu Barbie Dream House with matching convertible. Sadly, Santa believed that was an expensive want, and I was disappointed for several years when all I found under the Christmas tree was underwear and the generic doll house. These days, childrens’ toys have warped from a simple dollhouse to a whinnying pony.

The Hasbro FurReals Butterscotch pony, is essentially a 3-foot-tall stuffed animal that children weighing less than 80 lbs can actually sit on while it whinnies. And no, the pony does not actually go anywhere. Butterscotch sports a price tag of $299 (before tax) and Gawlik admits it sold out within a week on his Target’s shelves. Whatever happened to My Little Pony?

Gifts are becoming more and more luxurious as people — especially children — seem no longer satisfied with frugality. Today people want $250 iPods, jewel-encrusted flash drives and $500 gaming systems.

“People have a high need to satisfy the now with the newest, the brightest, and the shiniest,” Gawlik said.

If your wallet is more like a college student’s, there are still great gifts out there. Some even incorporate all of the glitz and glamour, but are devoid of the accompanying, costly price tags.

“There is a strong interest in price,” said Rikki Lee Travolta, public relations manager for Other World Computing. “Things are a lot more expensive but they’re not a ‘have-to-buy’ item. You can find things that are reasonably priced.”

Sites like Bestdeal.com, Froogle.com and even eBay can offer the best prices on gifts.

If you’re the hopeless, gift-giving pariah of your family or office, don’t be too quick to settle on socks and gift cards. According to a Consumer Reports survey, socks are the most undesirable gift, and unused gift cards are turning into a billion-dollar industry. So before you dish out hard-earned dough for a “Meat Novelty and Pickle Store” gift card or striped gym socks, check online gift-helpers like Gifts.com. These allow you to shop by the giftee’s personality, and they constantly shop the Web for cool gifts ranging from classy to just plain wacky.

Happy shopping!