I would have been furious with him, at his lack of thought or making an effort and it would be obvious to everyone within the family. My mother used to say to my father and anyone else that she didnt mind the house getting a present but it was NOT her present. If he gave her an iron , she would get him a screwdriver and have a job lined up for him to do with it too!!
Your husband is being lazy, selfish, and arrogant to think that he can behave like this. I would not tolerate it. So the first thing you could do is to tell your children how upset and annoyed you are at this behaviour. That you have done all the work choosing presents for others etc and he has not contributed, so give them fair warning that you are no longer doing this. You either get a smaller present for them and just sign it yourself, or simply no longer buy any presents , which can be such a relief. The thing that we tend to do now, is very personal but doesnt cost money! When my son was little he was very excited to rush up and tell us that " he had got a boots vulture" We loved that and liked to imagine a row of vultures sat on the cash register and squawking away. So we now give personal "vultures". rather than vouchers and I still do similar things now. So someone with 2 or 3 children, I offer 4 vultures for a babysitting evening. They can redeem these whenever it suits them, of course assuming you are free to do so on that date. It is very popular, as there is the obvious firms do , where they need you at a set time, but they love the idea of being about to just suddenly think , lets go out to dinner or to the pictures or whatever. One time they rang and asked if I could go the next day, which I could, so they have enjoyed that. When my back wasnt bad , I have also offered several 1 hours weeding, or hedgetrimming or whatever, and another family member I offered a 2 hour break from the children, whether they went out and had a coffee or whatever and I went to the house, or I collected the children and we went swimming whilst the parents had a blissful afternoon. I do not have a lot of money, so could not afford to take someone in my car for free, but I have offered to take them anywhere they wanted , they pay for the fuel, so I am the chauffeur and they get the chance to go off into the wild somewhere or to a little village no longer on the bus route. So your husband cannot say lack of money is why he bought nothing, and he can be given another chance to give you an appropriate voucher for something. He is walking on a knifes edge, and if he says he cannot think of anything, you scornfully say he has had years to find out what you like and you are not telling him anything. Let him use his own brain!! Of course I suggest that you tell your children in very clear terms , what sort of thing you like. So I hate Estee Lauder , I think it smells horrible and overpowering. So I might say I cant understand anyone buying that stuff when they could have ...Max Factor , No 7 , or whatever you like. You could also confirm that by stating that it is a good job that you support x charity so they benefit as you give it away as a tombola prize. It would also be very good that each of your children, have a go at your father to make him realize how badly he has behaved, and that they all think he needs to buck his ideas up and think of you and not the idle whats the least I can do. This may be a standoff where you make it clear to him what you feel and what you expect. Or he may think he can play it down and blame you for making a fuss etc. In which case I would be looking up divorce or separation information, deciding what I wanted to do for myself and doing it. After all if he cannot make the least effort or now, a grovelling apology, why do you want to waste any more time on him. Life is short, go and enjoy yours and he can sit staring into space and making no effort.
