Three years ago, they unwrapped diamond watches. In 2007, their gifts included a camcorder, Ugg boots and an LG refrigerator. This year they got ... gratitude boxes?
In a sign that not even the queen of daytime television is immune to the dark night of the current financial crisis, the audience for Oprah Winfrey's annual Favourite Things episode, which aired yesterday, were given an array of tips for a frugal holiday instead of the usual haul of luxury merchandise.
Past episodes of the holiday show have been a windfall for lucky audience members, as well as manufacturers whose products have been included on the Favourite Things list and who experience a rush of orders after receiving the blessing of the powerful Ms. O.
But introducing this year's show, Ms. Winfrey warned viewers there was a twist: "They cost next to nothing!"
"I know a lot of people are feeling the pinch and trying to scale back this year," she said. "At the Oprah show, we decided this is not the time to be introducing you to a lot of things that cost money."
That decision, while in line with the times, was not met with the screams of joy that usually provide the soundtrack for the holiday show.
Favorite Things is the most-watched episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show every year, and the reaction of audience members has even been parodied on Saturday Night Live, in a bit where female cast members, including Tina Fey, were shown screaming, going into labour, throwing chairs and making out as each new gift was revealed.
Last year, 300 audience members received more than $2-million dollars in gifts, including a $799 Samsung camcorder for each one and an HDTV refrigerator worth $3,799.
Ms. Winfrey, whose personal wealth is estimated at $2.5-billion (U.S.), said she has received some "truly extravagant gifts" in her lifetime, but that it is "not appropriate" to encourage such spending this year.
"It has been the gifts that cost the least amount of money that mean the most to me," she said.
Her 2008 list included items people can make themselves, including gratitude boxes that contain handwritten thank-you notes, and hot chocolate cones, which are concoctions of drink powder, marshmallows and chocolate chips wrapped to look like an ice cream cone.
It also featured tips from viewers, including the idea of hosting gift "swap parties" and the concept of "the 12 dates of Christmas" submitted by a couple from Nova Scotia named Yvonne and Dean.
"During the month of December, we go out on 12 fun and inexpensive dates," explained Yvonne.
Known for her golden touch in publishing and in the music industry, Ms. Winfrey also endorsed The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski, and put a collection of holiday songs on her website, inviting people to download them for free during the 48 hours after the show's broadcast.
The scaled-back show is a marked contrast with previous incarnations of Favourite Things, which have given the audience Ralph Lauren Black Label cashmere sweaters and made instant household names of lesser-known products.
After being featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Garrett Popcorn Shops received 100,000 hits on its website in one afternoon.
In 2004, a key lime cake from Florida's We Take The Cake made the list, knocking out the company's Internet server.
"Oprah saved our business," owner Lori Karmel told CNN. "Our sales for 2004 were around $450,000 and at the end of 2005, our sales were $840,000."
Yesterday's show was not Ms. Winfrey's first attempt to play down crass consumerism.
In 2006, she gave each audience member a camcorder and a credit card with a $1,000 limit and instructed them to use the money to do something nice for someone else.
But some audience members clearly appreciate the more concrete gifts.
Erin Lake, of Macon, Ga., attended the Favourite Things show last year and told a local television station this week that her ticket is among her most treasured possessions.
"I wouldn't sell it or anything else I got from Oprah, even with the economy being as bad as it is," she said.