It's edging closer to the 25th which means that any high-minded ideas you've had over what you should be eating have been thrown under a lorry the size of Santa's sinister Coca-Cola pushing truck. Stop even trying, yeah.
While you all sit and pray for a non-dry turkey dinner on the day itself, why not enjoy a rather new addition to the festive food scene: the Christmas burger.
It's been brewing for a few years but this December, it's officially a thing. We've gone and tried them all for you (no medals please) and here's our list of the best Christmas burgers in London.
MEATliquor
Address: 74 Welbeck St, London W1G 0BA (also available at Covent Garden and Hoxton locations)
Name: XXXmas burger
Toppings: A sausage and stuffing patty, roast turkey, bacon, cranberry sauce and gravy
Price: £8.50
If you've been to MEATliquor before then you'll know exactly what to expect from their festive offering. You'll leave in the throes of a meat coma but one that is definitely worth the sweats that follow. They've decided to turn what's arguably the finest component of a Christmas dinner (stuffing) into the main event with a patty that adds sausage to firm up what can, in the wrong hands, be a runny mess. It pays off with a whole plate's worth of flavour packed into a dense patty. Everything from then on is just a glorious gift, from the crispy bacon to the salty gravy. We'd recommend trying it with a Pinot Grinchio, one of their fantastic Christmas cocktails.
All Star Lanes
Address: Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, London, WC1B 4DA
Name: The Turkey Burger
Toppings: Breaded fried turkey, sage & onion pork stuffing patty, Monterey jack cheese, porter cured bacon and cranberry sauce
Price: £10.50
"Why would I get the Christmas burger?" you'll say, riffling through All Star Lane's ample American-themed menu. "It's a festive gimmick!" Then you read about the patty's construction: fried turkey, with sage & onion pork stuffing, in one breaded slice. It practically orders itself. Far from a Christmas cash-in, some work has gone into ensuring this burger holds together - the relative dryness of the breaded turkey is balanced out by the moist stuffing and flavoursome dollop of cranberry sauce. Tomato and bacon add a satisfying crunch, while the melted Monterey jack reminds you that is a "proper burger", not a confused club sandwich. A brilliant creation, you're going to wish it was Christmas every day after one of these.
K-West Hotel & Spa
Address: Richmond Way, London W14 0AX
Name: Christmas Burger
Toppings: Breaded turkey breast patty, camembert cheese, cranberry relish, lettuce, topped with brussel sprout wrapped in bacon. Side of roast potatoes
Price: £13.50
A favourite music industry haunt, this burger comes with the added possibility that you might actually bump into someone who sang on one of the Do They Know It's Christmas? versions while you're chomping away on your Christmas offering. And an excellent offering it is too: a nicely-sized burger, the breaded turkey patty is succulent and not too rich, while just the right amount of cranberry sauce and cheese adorns it, to give it a nicely balanced feel. A little stuffing wouldn't have gone amiss, we must admit - but all is forgiven when you sample the bacon-wrapped brussel sprout on top, which was, frankly, a piece of Christmassy heaven. Be sure to sample their version of mulled wine; with a Spanish head barman, they've gone for a festive warmed, spiced and fruited sangria, which was excellent. ¡Feliz navidad!
Hawksmoor
Address: 157 Commercial Street E1 6BJ
Name: Christmas burger
Toppings: Buttermilk fried turkey, a sausage patty, crispy smoked bacon, sprout tops, spiced cranberry ketchup, Ogleshield cheese and turkey gravy as a dip
Price: £12
Now there's a lot going on in this burger. Not only is there turkey but it's battered and fried and then coupled with a sausage patty, some other Christmas ingredients but then we have cheese and gravy to contend with. In the wrong hands, this could be a disaster. But those meat experts at Hawksmoor have come up trumps with a packed burger that still allows for the many ingredients to shine. It's also one of the few to bravely add cheese to the mix but they've carefully picked one that doesn't overpower the ingredients. Dipped in some salty gravy, every mouthful was a treat.
Byron
Address: All London outlets
Name: Holy Cheesemas
Toppings: Two 6oz hamburgers, American cheese, Monterey Jack, mature cheddar, Red Leicester, dry cure bacon, red onion, shredded iceberg, pickles and Cheesemas sauce
Price: £12.95
Over-indulgence. That's what Christmas means to Byron. And family. Or at least, feeding the whole clan with one incredible burger (it's definitely big enough). Four cheeses go into the Holy Cheesemas, and we'd be lying if we said we could pick out every individual flavour in one mouthful. No, the best way to tackle this monster is to go at it with knife and fork, discovering each of the cheeses a layer at a time: the kick of the cheddar, the satisfying-goo of the American, each melted slab offering up a new level of comfort. The only double patty burger on Byron's Christmas menu, the meat is best cooked medium rare - giving you just enough juice to get messy. Not exactly Christmasy (there's not a hint of turkey), this is a sloppy masterpiece. You're going to need a new jaw for Christmas.
Lucky Chip @ The Sebright Arms
Address: 31-35 Coate Street, London E2 9AG
Name: Frank Cross
Toppings: Beef patty, stuffing patty, grilled onions, cheddar, ketchup, mustard
Price: £9,50
Named after Bill Murray's character in Scrooged, quite possibly the greatest Christmas film of all time, or at least of 1988 to play it safe, this burger had a lot of expectation attached. Intriguingly, it eschewed many of the standard Christmas trimmings and focused on inarguably the best: stuffing. As well as a beef patty, we were also treated to one made entirely of stuffing, a stroke of buttery genius. With the healthy dollop of cheese and sauces, it's probably the messiest burger on the list but we wore our mustard stains with honour. It was up to the intimidatingly high standards we have come to expect of Lucky Chip and of the name Frank Cross. Even Bill Murray would smile after eating it.
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