There’s not much reason to get excited about Christmas this year, or at least so the briefest exposure to the nation’s media would have us believe. Now we’re not advocating the senseless squandering of cash here, but hey, it’s Christmas, right? And what is Christmas if not the one time of the year when smiling through it all and getting drunk with your nearest and dearest is essential, if not mandatory?

For those whose nearest and dearest include those they spend the wee small hours dancing to party bangers with of a weekend, our listings will furnish you with some of the clubs putting on one of their regular nights on the 25th. For special occasion clubbing though, most of the usual suspects are staying in with the mince pies and mulled wine – all except the people behind the Escape Xmas Party (GRV, Edinburgh, Thu 25 Dec), which includes the old faithful Taste crowd of Fisher, Price and Miss Chris. Expect high-quality, gay-friendly house from the biggest show in town.

Bearing in mind that the 27th is a Saturday, Boxing Day 2008 is primarily there to keep the Christmas party going and to ease you into the weekend. Or drop you right in the middle of it, at least if this month’s Pressure (Arches, Glasgow, Fri 26 Dec) is anything to go by. In addition to residents Slam and their Soma labelmates Silicone Soul, there will be appearances from Berlin-based house producer and Mobilee label head Anja Schneider, acid techno legends Hardfloor, Optimo’s Twitch and Wilkes, and recent hard house convert Fergie.

At a thrifty three bucks for entry, Sugarbeat Club (Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Fri 26 Dec) promises to raise the roof every bit as far as it managed last year. Joining Utah Saints for their residency will be Sugarbeat regulars Mooqee and B-Sides and the Bandit. Another staple of the Edinburgh scene will be hitching up in Glasgow for the second night of its new monthly residency – Modern Lovers (Flying Duck, Glasgow, Fri 26 Dec), that is, with their Office Christmas Party and special DJ guests Teenage Fanclub. And Boxing Day wouldn’t be Boxing Day in Edinburgh without Madchester (Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 26 Dec).

Another club with a guest on the cards is Flava (Massa, Edinburgh, Fri 26 Dec). Edinburgh’s most highly-regarded night for mainstream R&B and hip hop, its residents Nick G and DJ Prospect will be lining up alongside London’s bhangra-pop maestro Jay Sean. He’s also guesting at Elevator (Byblos, Glasgow, Fri 26 Dec) alongside a similarly party-starting selection of R&B, hip hop and Latin sounds.

Speaking of residents’ parties, it’s two for one at Synthetic vs JakN (Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 26 Dec), which sees a pair of Edinburgh’s sturdiest nights fire a barrage of techno and electro beats at each other. On a much more mainstream frequency Stereofunk (Common, Glasgow, Fri 26 Dec) present a big night of house and techno from Stevie Lennon, Craig Kelman and others, while Friday Street (Blackfriars, Glasgow, Fri 26 Dec) goes off in a whole other direction with a slew of mod sounds and a live set from Figure 5. Don’t say Santa wasn’t good to you!