Looking to plan the festive big food shop? We’ve rounded up the Christmas and new year opening hours for all the major supermarkets, including Tesco, Aldi and Sainsbury’s
Aldi
Aldi’s holiday opening times give store staff days off on Chrismas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
16-23 December: 7am-10pm
Christmas Eve: Open until 6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Closed
27 - 30 December: 8am-8pm
New Year’s Eve: Open until 6pm
New Year’s Day: Closed
Waitrose
Most Waitrose stores will close at 5pm on Christmas Eve. All shops will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with the exception of certain Shell sites.
For New Year’s Day, some shops will be opening as normal for trading with reduced hours. Customers should check local store opening times.
Booths
Stores are open for longer in the run-up to the big day, allowing customers to shop until midnight. Booths cafés won’t close this year and will remain open during the festive season.
18 - 21 December: 7am-midnight
22 December: 10am-4pm
23 December: 7am-midnight
Christmas Eve: 7am-6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Closed
Morrisons
Morrisons store opening times vary between branches but all stores will be closed by 7pm on Christmas Eve and all Morrisons petrol stations will be closed by 6.30pm.
Christmas Eve: 6am-6pm or 7pm (petrol stations 5.30am-6.30pm)
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 9am-6pm (petrol stations 8.30am-6.30pm)
New Year’s Eve: 7am-7pm in England & Wales and 6am-7pm in Scotland (petrol stations 6.30am-6.30pm)
New Year’s Day: 9am-6pm (petrol stations 8.30am-6.30pm)
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s stores will operate extended hours leading up to Christmas, with supermarkets and convenience stores open from 6am to 11pm from 18 to 23 December.
Christmas Eve: Supermarkets open 6am–7pm, convenience stores 6am–9pm.
Christmas Day: All stores closed.
Boxing Day: Supermarkets open 9am–6pm, convenience stores 9am–9pm.
27–30 December: Normal trading hours.
New Year’s Eve: Supermarkets open 10am-7pm, convenience stores 6am-9pm.
New Year’s Day: Supermarkets open 8am-8pm, convenience stores 8am-9pm.
2 January (Scotland): Supermarkets open 8am-8pm, convenience stores operate normal hours.
Petrol filling stations open 30 minutes before and close 30 minutes after the main store, except on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve when they open an hour later. Customers are advised to check the store locator for specific opening times.
Lidl
Lidl stores will close on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, with most also remaining closed on Boxing Day. Customers are encouraged to check their local store’s opening hours via the Lidl Plus app or online store finder.
To avoid peak times, Lidl recommends shopping between 8am and 10am or after 6pm, as lunchtime typically sees the highest footfall.
Marks & Spencer
From 18 December, more than 600 stores will be open from 7am until 10pm.
A number of stores will be open until 10pm on Monday 23 and 6pm on Christmas Eve for last-minute shopping and all stores will be closed on Christmas Day.
M&S stores, support centres and distribution centres will be closed on Boxing Day to give colleagues time off, but the majority of stores will reopen on 27 December for seasonal sales.
On New Year’s Eve, almost 400 stores will be open 9am-7pm but customers should check the hours of their local store on the M&S app or website.
Co-op
Christmas Eve: Open at usual time until 8pm
Christmas Day: All stores closed
Boxing Day: Open between 9am-7pm
New Year’s Eve: Open at usual time until 8pm
New Year’s Day: 9am-8pm
Local variations to opening times may happen so the convenience retailer recommends customers check locally in store or online for the opening hours of their local store.
Larger Co-op supermarkets will open from their usual opening time until 7pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and from 10am-7pm on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Iceland
Iceland stores will be closed on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day, select stores in London and surrounding areas will open, typically from 9am to 8pm/9pm. Notable exceptions include Stratford (10am-6pm), Dalston (11am-5pm), and Dagenham Heathway Centre (10am-4pm).
From 27 December to New Year’s Day, opening hours vary significantly across regions. Customers are advised to check their local store’s opening times online for the most accurate information.
Asda
Asda stores will follow usual opening hours leading up to Christmas, with the following changes for the festive season:
Christmas Eve: 5am-7pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: 9am-6pm
27–30 December: Normal opening hours
New Year’s Eve: 7am-7pm
New Year’s Day: 9am-6pm
2 January: Normal hours, except in Scotland (8am-10pm)
Asda petrol stations with pay-at-the-pump services will remain open throughout the festive period. Customers are encouraged to check the store locator online for specific store times.
Tesco
Tesco opening hours vary across the festive period, so customers are encouraged to check the store locator for specific times, including petrol filling stations, as these may differ from main store hours.
Christmas Eve: Extras and Superstores close at 7pm (variations on the Isle of Man). Express stores close by 10pm, with some closing at 7pm.
Christmas Day: All stores and petrol stations are closed.
Boxing Day: Extras and Superstores open 9am-6pm. Most Express stores open 9am-7pm, with larger Express stores closing at 6pm.
27–30 December: Normal hours, with some local variations.
New Year’s Eve: Extras and Superstores close at 7pm. Most Express stores close by 10pm, with larger ones closing at 7pm.
New Year’s Day: Extras and Superstores in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland open 8am-6pm. In Scotland, Extras and Superstores trade 11am-6pm, while Express stores trade 11am-6pm.
Scottish stores follow specific Hogmanay hours, with Extras and Superstores trading 8am-7pm and Express stores 8am-8pm. All other stores revert to normal trading hours.
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