Surprise! Or not?

With this last Christmas season and my birthday, Valentine's Day, and baby showers in the near future I've been thinking a lot about gifts. Both giving and receiving. When it comes to Christmas, my mom asks for a list at least a month in advance and she never strays from the items on that list. She isn't big on giving surprises because she likes getting people what they want and doesn't like the risk of getting them something they already have or won't like. Now my mother-in-law is the exact opposite. She loves surprises! We usually send her a Christmas list, though I'm not sure she's ever asked for one. In her case, come Christmas morning, you never know what you're going to get. As for me, I think I'm somewhere in the middle. If someone has a list or mentions ideas of what they want, I usually stick with those items. I do like surprising people with gifts, but only if its something I know they will love. Which can be difficult to accomplish sometimes! So I wonder, what do you prefer? Do you like getting gifts you didn't expect or things you asked for? And do you give gifts the same way?