wondering what to get your tipple toting friend? how bout a deck of cocktail cards from the great mixology maestro, dale degroff. personally, i hate having an awkward floppy paged book to read off of when i’m trying to follow a recipe. flash cards are the best! not only are they small enough to fit in a stocking, or a yahmika , but they’re inexpensive and easy to use. the writing is informative and helpful as the the king of cocktails provides a history of each drink and explicit directions on how to make them. the recipes are divided into four categories: signature classics, martinis, frozen cocktails and inspired classics.($15)

and for the foodie on your list there is a fascinating collection of fifty cheeses in the CHEESE DECK, by max mccalman & david gibbons. everything you ever wanted to know about cheese, and then some. including the history, when and how to serve them, and with which wines… really interesting stuff. and now i know i’ve been pronouncing Gouda wrong my whole life. correct pronunciation is (HOW-dah)! i’m so embarrassed. ($15)

SWEET TOOTH? there’s a dessert deck for that: SHORT & SWEET by gale gand. divided into the categories of chocolate, fruit, puddings & cremes and inspired classics, i just gained a pound from flipping through the cards. my favorite recipes are the lavender shortbread and the passionfruit mousse. now if only i could find some passion fruit without having to go to brasil to get it.($15)

lastly, for the party-throwing hipster, we have a TAPAS deck by jose andres with richard wolffe. fifty little spanish dishes. if you’ve ever been to spain, you’ll know that their TAPAS is the equivilent of our happy hour-only a zillion times better. it’s like eating horsdeuvres for your entire meal. yummy… horsdeuvres are always better than the entrees!($15)