Also showing up high on givers’ planned lists: video game accessories (18 percent of respondents plan to give these). That’s not too surprising, taking into account the upcoming—and much-anticipated—Microsoft Kinect and Sony Move motion-sensitive controllers.

E-book readers such as the Kindle and Nook have gained cachet among givers: 10 percent of Americans plan to give an e-reader, up 6 percentage points (4% to 10%) from last year.

And a whole 8 percent of respondents plan to give tablet computers—which, of course, was a non-existent category just a year ago. The actual number of tablets purchased this year may wind up being higher than that figure indicates, considering the plethora of lower-cost iPad competitors launching before the holidays.

MP3 players, video game systems, digital cameras, and digital photo frames all will be popular gifts this year as well, says our poll. All made slight gains in percentage from last year.

On 8 percent of holiday shoppers’ lists are laptops, cell phones, flat-panel TVs, and headphones. It’s a bit surprising TVs aren’t on many more lists than they were last year, despite slightly lower prices and 3D.

Smart phones come in just below at 7 percent, about the same as last year. Maybe that’s one type of gadget people prefer to buy for themselves.

What are you planning to buy for your loved ones this year? And what is topping your own wish list? Let us know in comments.

Methodology: The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted two telephone surveys of a nationally representative probability sample of telephone households. 1,023 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+ between January 7 – 10, 2010 for the post 2009 holiday data. Another 1,010 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+ between October 14 – 18, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 3% points at a 95% confidence level.

—Carol Mangis