Yeah I generally stop swinging once the icon appears so I've got time to stop and parry, as otherwise you do tend to get stuck still attacking, especially if doing fast attacks. Its definitely a lot easier to see if some are attacking than others, it can be tricky with some with their fast attacks but I think you can spot most of them eventually.
The gifts are pretty pointless tbh, mainly ingredients and stuff as you say. It wasn't something I'd bothered about but they were putting different items in over Christmas so that was the only reason I was really looking to be able to send/receive some. I think some might contains oils which would be useful, though I've only had a couple of standard gift boxes so not entirely sure.
Edit - I did just receive a gift with a potion, so not entirely useless.