In a year when the economy is crunchier than the mince-pies, finding the right book to give is more important than ever.
In today's podcast, Guardian children's books editor Julia Eccleshare gives some expert advice on what to buy for young readers, while Susan Smillie, of our food and drinks team, offers her tips on the foodie books of the year.
We also ask the primatologist Richard Wrangham to explain why he believes that it was the act of cooking that made us human.
Reading list
Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, by Richard Wrangham (Profile, £15)
Game by Trish Hilferty and Tom Norrington Davies, Absolute press, £25
The Game Cookbook, by Norman Tebbit, JR Books, £14.99
The Forager's Handbook, Ebury Press, £30
Delia's Happy Christmas, Ebury Press, £25,
Nigella's Christmas, Chatto & Windus, £25
Traditional Food in Shropshire, by Peter Brears (Excellent Press, £19.95)
Sam Stern's Student Cookbook: Survive in Style on a Budget (Walker, £9.99)
For young readers
Little Book of Christmas Cooking, by Rebecca Gilpin, Leonie Pratt and Catherine Atkinson (Usborne, £5.99)
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by TS Eliot, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Faber)
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by TS Eliot, audio version, read by John Gielgud and Irene Worth (HarperCollins Audio, £10.99)
Who Wants to be a Poodle? I Don't! by Lauren Child (Puffin, £10.99)
Grubtown Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky, by Philip Ardagh (Faber, £4.99)
What's for Dinner, Mr Gum? by Andy Stanton (Egmont, £5.99)
Duck, Death and the Tulip, by Wolf Ehrlbruch (Gecko Press, £10.99)
Nation, by Terry Pratchett (Corgi, £6.99)
What I Saw and How I Lied, by Julie Blundell (Scholastic, £6.99)
Exposure by Mal Peet (Walker, £7.99)
Poetry for children
Twinkle Twinkle Chocolate Bar by John Foster. (Oxford, £9.99)
The Usborne Book of Poetry for Children by Sam Taplin (Usborne, £11.99)
I Like This Poem by Kaye Webb (Puffin, £5.99)
The Orchard Book of Nursery Rhymes by Faith Jaques (Orchard, £12.99)
