Materialism in the sense of "lots and lots of STUFF" is counter to our family's values as committed environmentalists and people who are concerned about where "stuff" comes from and what is done to the humans who produce it. Haven't seen this mentioned, but it is something we talk about a lot with our kids.
If I had money to throw around it would go to art (visual art or attending performances), or to services like massages, etc. I actually ask for most of my gifts to be art now, anyway. (Etsy makes this affordable for anyone.)
My kids are really not materialists. It doesn't seem to be in their makeup at this point. Not sure if this is nature or nurture. I will say that they don't see any commercial TV and their friends are from all over the economic spectrum, but mostly not rich. The one thing DD has sometimes expressed is a wish for a larger, "cooler" house, with a pool.
She has one classmate who is wealthy and uses this wealth to impress the other kids, including DD, whom he seems to have a crush on. DD is both mytified and unimpressed by this ("Why does he think I care about what kind of laptop he has?") I find it sad, to be honest.
