Where do you find Carl Craig, Santa Claus, Paddy O'Shea and DJ Wordy all in the same place? Possibly at V+, the stylish new lounge from the Vics team which opens this weekend in the old Klubb Rouge space at China View? Possibly not. The one place you can be sure of finding all of the above is in our latest roundup of the weekend's best bar and club events! Read on for details of all of the above and more ...

Alright, so you have to work on Friday, but there's a big one for electronic music fans this week, with Detroit techno innovator Carl Craig is playing at Lantern tonight (Dec 8) - entry is RMB 150 on the door and the night gets going from 10pm. It's Lantern's biggest coup so far, and Craig is one of the bigger-name DJs to have visited Beijing this year, so don't miss it if you like dance music.

If you haven't already checked out our interview, click here for Craig's musings on the state of his hometown, Blade Runner and the Carl Craig Foundation's efforts to teach the musical kids of Detroit a thing or two. (If you're not going to Carl Craig, Haze has The M Lab, showcasing China's best new DJ talents. That's free and the doors open at 9pm.)

Paddy O'Shea's celebrates its 4th anniversary this Friday night, promising "a huge selection of free alcohol" (their words, not ours), drinks giveaways from 8pm and a warning to "bring a spare pair of clothes as there will be cake!" This Irish-run pub has become such an institution that it's hard to believe it's only been around for four years, but a great staff, excellent sports coverage and friendly atmosphere have all helped make it one of Beijing's best bars. Go down and raise a glass to Karl and the team.

From old bars to new, and V+ looks set to be a name we'll hear a lot of in the next few months. This new lounge officially opens this Friday night, in the long-unused Klubb Rouge space on the upper floors of China View (enter through the door just a few meters north of Drei Kronen 1308), and is the latest project from the group behind Vics.

Expect great views west towards the Workers' Stadium, with a VIP room, secluded seating areas for hanging out with friends, and prices that we're told aren't unreasonable for a venue that aspires to be one of Beijing's higher-end drinking establishments. We're pretty sure this spot will pull in a crowd, so head along to the opening on Friday - just expect a wait to get in the lift.

Into the weekend, Beijing scene veteran Yang Bing plays house and techno to celebrate his birthday at Haze (free, 9pm) on Friday, Donmy Liu plays Lantern's "In New Music We Trust" night (free, 9pm), and on the same night you've got Eddie Lv at Mo Lounge with QQ (free, 10pm). Also on Friday, hip-hop MCs battle it out as Section 6 hosts the Iron Mic Finals at Yugong Yishan (RMB 80, 9pm) with special guest Supernatural over from the USA.

If you've ever seen a bunch of people wandering the streets of Beijing dressed as Santa Claus (and most likely equipped with bottles of Yanjing), chances are you've run into SantaCon before. SantaCon 2011 takes place this Saturday (Dec 10) - expect an afternoon of pub-crawling fun with a bunch of strangers dressed in red suits and beards. The starting point will be announced on Friday - keep an eye on the SantaCon Beijing website for the announcement. If you don't have a spare Santa costume gathering dust in your wardrobe, you can try the big malls like Yashow or simply buy from Taobao - check out this link.

Having pretty much perfected the Hot Pot series, DJ Wordy turns his hand to a new style of party this Saturday (Dec 10) with his new bass-heavy Ghetto Red Hot night at 2 Kolegas. Soulspeak and Wes back up the one-time China DMC champion for a night of low-end rumblings. That's RMB 50 and starts at 10pm.

Saturday night also features house and techno with Infused at Punk (free, 10pm), Italians Pipesmokers play Haze's "Let There Be House" night (RMB 50, RMB 30 of which goes to LGBT Beijing) and there's minimal techno at Lantern with the ever-dependable Weng Weng, ELVIS.T and Jackson Lee (free, 10pm).

Alright peoples, that's what's on this weekend - have fun and stay warm.

Photos: Edinburghguide.com, Beerhelps.com and courtesy of DJ Wordy