@JLeslie: Believe me, I totally understand. I just think that a small gift (under $20, maybe even under $10) is not a big deal to bring, even if you’re not concerned about offending, even if the people don’t expect it, just why not do it?
It’s not written in stone – if I were really broke and the person I was with insisted, or they said “I’ll just put your name on the card with mine” or whatever, just why not spend a little and give a little something? I see it as such a trivial thing, yet something simple like that is so nice.
One time my cousin came to my mom’s house for Christmas, and he brought a friend of his who was from out of the country. The friend never met us before, probably would never see us again, and he brought a little chocolate Eiffel Tower or something like that, wrapped up like a Christmas present for my little sister, who was a kid at the time. It was fun, it was appreciated, and it was appropriate. He didn’t have to, but he did and it’s remembered. He was appreciated for his company, he was welcomed by my mom, but the gift is nice and again, why not err on the side of ingratiating yourself.