Need some last-minute grocery shopping to complete the Christmas spread?
Britain’s major supermarkets have you covered, with select stores staying open as late as 10pm on Christmas Eve.
Some chains will also reopen branches on Boxing Day, a relief should the festivities leave you low on supplies.
Exact opening hours can vary from branch to branch, but the vast majority will follow a standardised pattern.
Aldi
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A one-size-fits-all schedule has not been announced for the whole festive period, but Metro has checked dozens of store opening times across a variety of towns and cities and all followed this pattern:
- Christmas Eve: 7am to 6pm
- Christmas Day & Boxing Day: Closed
- December 26 – 30: Normal opening hours
- New Year’s Eve: 8am to 6pm
- New Year’s Day: Closed
Asda
Asda’s festive opening times vary quite widely, with many of its Asda Exress petrol station outlets remaining open 24 hours a day through to the New Year.
Many of its smaller stand-alone Express stores, which typically operate much longer opening hours, are also set to open on Christmas Day, though some will be on a reduced timetable.
However its larger superstores, used by most Asda regulars, will follow this pattern:
- Christmas Eve: 5am to 7pm
- Christmas Day: Closed
- Boxing Day: 9am to 6pm
- December 26 to New Year’s Eve: Normal opening hours
- New Year’s Day: 9am to 6pm
Lidl
Lidl has laid out its festive opening times in full, and they vary a little depending on where you are in the country.
It encourages shoppers to double-check their local branch schedule, although all checked by Metro followed the official pattern:
- Christmas Eve: 7am to 7pm inside the M25, 7am to 6pm everywhere else
- Christmas Day: Closed
- Boxing Day: 10am to 6pm inside the M25, 11am to 5pm in Scotland, closed everywhere else
- December 27: Normal opening hours, except that stores which typically close at 11pm will close at 10pm instead
- December 29-30: Normal opening hours
- New Year’s Eve: 8am to 7pm inside the M25 and across Scotland, 8am to 6pm everywhere else
- New Year’s Day: 10am to 6pm inside the M25, closed everywhere else
Morrisons
(Pictuire: Shutterstock / Mareks Perkons)
Morrisons has also announced a nationwide pattern, which varies slightly depending on where you live.
We identified a number of stores around the country which did not follow the pattern, so it’s worth double-checking locally, but most follow it:
- Christmas Eve: 5am to 6pm in England and Wales, 6am to 7pm in Scotland
- Christmas Day: Closed
- Boxing Day: 9am to 6pm in England and Wales, 8.30am to 6.30pm in Scotland
- December 27 to December 30: Normal opening hours
- New Year’s Eve: 7am to 7pm in England and Wales, 6am to 7pm in Scotland
- New Year’s Day: 9am to 6pm in England and Wales, 8.30am to 6.30pm to Scotland
For added certainty you can check your local store opening times on Aldi’s website.
Tesco
The opening times for Tesco branches really vary around the country.
Their Express shops are staying open until 10pm on Christmas Eve, whereas their main supermarkets will shut their doors at 7pm.
Some of the opening times of the larger branches may vary, so use the store locator to double check.
Here’s a list of the opening times for Tesco branches over the next few days:
- Christmas Eve: 6am to 7pm (Express stores 7am to 10pm)
- Christmas Day: Closed
- Boxing Day: 9am to 6pm (Express stores 9am to 7pm)
- New Year’s Eve: 6am to 7pm (Express stores 7am to 10pm)
- New Year’s Day: 9am to 6pm (Express stores 8am to 10pm
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