Do people really give to receive? Not necessarily...

I believe there is such a thing as a free gift. I give free gifts all of the time. I don't expect anything in return. I give my daughter presents and I know that chances are she will not give me anything in return, unless my boyfriend buys something for her to give to me. I never get upset if I don't receive anything from her though.
Every holiday season, me and a few people that I work with do a "giving tree" instead of participating in the secret santa thing my other co-worker participate in. The giving tree is where we have a few needy families that we buy gifts for every Christmas. We do not get anything in return, not even a thank you card, and that is ok with us.
Every once in a while I will give money to a homeless person. I do not do this often at all, but there are some homeless people that I can just tell they are good people. There was once this one guy who hung out at the corner of where I work. Every once in a while, I would give him a dollar or two. I never expected anything in return. One day I walked past him as I was leaving work and he handed me a thank you card that he made himself. He thanked me for all of the times that I helped out him and his wife. It was a great feeling that he appreciated my help, even though I never expected anything in return.
Whenever I give a gift, I never have it in mind that, if I give this person a gift it, will make me feel better, or they might give me a gift in return. Of course everyone gets personal satisfaction out of making someone's day better when you give them a gift, but that is never my intention.