Making christmas fun and affordable, what are your ideas

This year I want to try something different with our family. We have 7 kids and 1 grandkid between us and shopping gets to be overwhelming. I had an idea about how to handle it. I'm going to get 7 medium sized boxes and decorate them all pretty. Then, everyone gets something small or sentimental to put in everyone else's box. It can be a letter, a small gift, a picture, favorite candies, stuff like that. I'd like to get back to the true meaning of Christmas. I guess I could even make some Christmassy totes to hang on the wall instead of the boxes since baby Rian might enjoy tearing into them when mama isn't looking. With the economy being what it is, we just can't afford going to Best Buy for every new expensive gadget. Any ideas about how to expand on this concept? What ideas do you have to make Christmas fun but affordable this year.