Douglas Williams/Shanghai Daily

It's that time of year again - everything gets notched up a gear; commitments to family, friends, work all build up. There's suddenly even more to do, people to see, parties to attend and arrangements to make, even presents to buy, and all the time the clock is ticking. One simple step that can be taken to reduce the stress is to pass it on to the food and beverage professionals of the city by booking the Christmas meal at one of Shanghai's many fine restaurants, hotels or bars.
Shanghai Daily offers details of a selection of festive offerings in no particular order.
A small but important caveat: most people over the age of eight will have experienced at least one disastrous Christmas meal. We have tried to select some of the best.
On Christmas day, the British Bulldog opens its doors as per usual at 11am for what promises to be a day of festive frolics. There will be the welcome glass of glu wein guaranteed to be just what's required after an excessive Christmas Eve. Lunch is served at 2pm, second sitting at 7pm, traditional fare with trimmings galore and lashings of gravy. With Christmas pudding, silly hats and classic comedy, this promises to be a good natured, good humored do with large dollops of British sentimentality. Beware the mistletoe. The meal will be 198 yuan (US$24.44).
The Cigar Jazz Wine restaurant, 50 Beyond, at the top of the Bund Center will host an altogether different do; it will be a Christmas Eve dinner for a start. The rarefied height will be reflected in the atmosphere but what an exceedingly agreeable place to ponder upon what Santa will be bringing the next morning. The five-course menu with turkey, rib eye or snapper main course options looks set to thrill and fill in equal measure.
For 668 yuan, the meal, a glass of champagne and a post prandial drink at the bar with the jazz band are covered. This will be a sophisticated and tasteful evening with good food and views to match.
In Xintiandi, T8 dishes up some of the finest food in the city in seriously classy surroundings. For Christmas, they've gone all out on the style front with Laurent Perrier champers, Armani chocolates, four cccc cigars, carol singing and violin playing. The six-course meal from 6pm till 9:30pm will cost 788 yuan.
A chill out DJ should ease any festive blues. The emphasis here is on cool; expect a seriously good looking crowd.
Three on the Bund offers a three-course dinner at Jean George Christmas Eve and Christmas Night for 788 yuan. The Whampoa Club is doing an auspiciously priced set dinner on the 24th and 25th, 888 yuan. Laris has a tasting menu from the 23rd to the 26th at 680 yuan and New Heights has a 450-yuan-set five-course menu 24th, 25th and 26th. None of these establishments are anything less than top drawer; expect the food and service to be likewise.
The Blarney Stone is widely regarded as the Rolls Royce of western bars and for good reasons. Good old fashioned Irish hospitality done right this bar is a real Shanghai stalwart with a healthy smattering of patrons who will imbibe in no other hostelry.
It's a no nonsense kind of pub and befittingly, the 230-yuan Christmas menu is a straightforward three-course affair, just like it would be back home. Soup or terrine; turkey or beef and pudding or trifle: easy and odds on it being very tasty.
In Italy, they celebrate Christmas every bit as much as they celebrate it elsewhere in the West, only the food is a little different, arguably a little better.
The Christmas Eve menu at Jimix Seve looks like this: rolled frittata with zucchini and shrimp to start; lentil and rosemary soup; seafood ravioli; roast veal and desert of panettone, all served with appropriate wines. Including wine, the menu is 498 yuan.
The JW Marriott has a number of activities number one amongst them, being the Grand Christmas Eve Gala which will run from 6pm to 10pm in the ball room, where there will be an extravagant buffet featuring Alaskan king crab.
There will also be a host of lucky dip prize draws with cash prizes of up to 4,888 yuan and round trip air tickets to London up for grabs.
Tickets for this include free flow soft drinks, house wine and beer and cost 1,388 yuan for adults and 688 for children.
Pasti's bigger little brother Red Rock is a good size and shape for a really cracking party, staff, private or otherwise. There's a provisional menu involving black eyed peas, cream shallots, honey roast ham, roasted beets and puddings but owner Moritz Fischer and chef Justin Garcia are pretty flexible and open to suggestions, regarding guests requirements. Added to that for the month of December, ladies get 50 percent off their brunch food bill, gents get free beer with food orders of more than 100 yuan.
The Hilton has two main venues, the Atrium Cafe with the Grand Ballroom offering a panoply of a buffet on Christmas Eve with a seafood, a Japanese and a Chinese counter. There are almost 50 different dishes available not including breads and chocolates so there's something for everyone and then some. Prices are 1,188 yuan in the Atrium and 988 yuan in the ballroom, both with 15 percent surcharge per person.
The other main venue is Leonardo's serving seriously sophisticated Italian cuisine Christmas Eve and Christmas Night dinners.
The six-course Christmas Eve, five-course Christmas Night meals feature dishes such as soup of porcini with tea smoked pigeon; slow roast veal with pumpkin gnocchi and quail risotto with gold leaf. Spaghetti Bolognese will not be in attendance.
The Christmas Eve menu will cost 1,288 yuan and the Christmas Evening dinner will be 598 yuan with a 15 percent surcharge.
The Portman Ritz-Carlton has Christmas dining offerings in its Marble Ballroom, the Tea Garden, the Palladio and Hanagatami.
The highlight of these looks set to be the Dom Perignon Christmas Day Lunch in the Palladio. The seven-course Italian meal includes a bottle of afore mentioned Dom Perignon between two for 888 yuan per head.

The British Bulldog Pub
Tel: 6466 7878
Address: 1 Wulumuqi Road S. (Near Dongping Road)

CJW
Tel: 6339 1777 or 6339 2777
Address: 222 Yan'an Road E. (Bund Center 50th floor)

T8
Tel: 6355 8999
Address: No 8 Xintiandi North Part Lane, 181 Taicang Road

Three on the Bund
Tel: 6323 3355 (Will transfer to restaurant requested).
Address: 5 Zhongshan Road E.

The Blarney Stone
Tel: 6415 7496
Address: 5 Dongping Road

Red Rock
Tel: 138 176 09731
Address: 1228 Beijing Road West (near Xikang Road)

Jimix Seve
Tel: 6253 3399
Address: 607 Beijing Road W.

JW Marriott
Tel: 5359 4969
Address: 399 Nanjing Road W.

The Hilton
Tel: 6248 0000
Address: 250 Huashan Road

The Portman Ritz-Carlton
Tel: 6279 8888
Address: 1376 Nanjing Road W.