I'm interested to hear your opinion and approach on the issue of gifts, but as it is only fair i'll also share mine. Keep it mind that i'm no expert and it's very possible I might have a wrong approach, so read or skip it's up to you.

So far, I've tried as much as possible when it comes to women(especially the ones I did not consider to have a serious relationship with) to make it clear that I do not wish to receive any gifts (especially nothing expensive) and in turn (of course) they can expect the same from me.
Maybe i'm a cheap ass, but I don't like buying stuff on command just because society says it's time to do so. I also think that women spend way too much on stuff that they don't need, but that's a different story. I've made gifts when I found something I really liked and I wanted them to have it (not too often, so far the count is at 1 this past year).

Hey man, here's my two cents on the matter... Gifts are not about the value, they are about the gesture (this is my frame) and you need not spend a fortune to make the ladies in your life smile. For example, I grab some small value items from my travels abroad (matrioskas or lacquered papier mache jewellery boxes from Russia, embroided leather wallets from Morocco or something similar, preferably traditional) and I give them away without making a big deal out of it. Something along the lines "I thought you might like it" or "This reminded me of you" or whatever... Remember the 80/20 rule... 80% of the outcome is produced by 20% of the effort. Replace outcome with "Your special lady's happiness" and effort with expenses for gifts and you see where I'm heading with this... You will at least not be "that jerk who didn't even remember to buy me a gift"...