CHRISTMAS is almost here, but shoppers who might be planning a last-minute food run will need to know what time supermarkets are open.
Everyone deserves a rest over the holidays, and most big-name brands change their hours so workers can enjoy some much-needed time off.
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But it does mean customers will need to plan their festive food trips carefully so they don’t miss out on food or final presents.
Most stores across the UK will be shut on December 25, but hours will vary shop to shop on the days surrounding Christmas.
We’ve rounded up the Christmas and New Year opening hours so you can plan ahead.
Here’s what you can expect.
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Aldi shoppers will find the opening times of their favourite store will change slightly from December 24.
Click here to find where your nearest Aldi is.
There are 830 branches in the UK so be sure to check your local’s opening hours before heading down.
What are Aldi’s opening hours for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
Most Aldi stores will be running reduced hours on December 24, opening 8am to 6pm so workers can get home in time to relax before the big day.
Aldi is then closed across the UK on December 25.
What are Aldi’s opening hours for Boxing Day until New Year?
The discounter has confirmed it will remain closed on Boxing Day so employees can continue enjoying time with their families.
There are shortened hours on December 27, December 28 and December 30 where shops will be open from 8am to 8pm.
What are Aldi’s opening hours over New Year?
Most Aldi shops will open 8am to 6pm on New Year’s Eve, before staying closed on New Year’s Day.
Normal shopping hours will resume on January 2.
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Asda has yet to reveal its Christmas and New Year hours for 2019, and a spokesperson told The Sun they won’t be available until one week before.
We took a look at what the retailer did last year below as it’s likely to be similar in 2019.
There are 630 Asda branches in the UK so be sure to check the opening times of your local one.
What are Asda’s opening hours for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
Sadly, we don’t know what hours Asda will be open on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day this year.
But in 2018, most shops opened at 7am, and in some cases 6am, on December 24.
The majority of stores then shut at 6pm or 7pm, before remaining closed on Christmas Day.
What are Asda’s opening hours for Boxing Day untill New Year?
While Asda hasn’t revealed its hours for Boxing Day just yet, most stores opened from 9am until 6pm in 2018.
Stores then returned to their normal hours on December 27 until December 30.
What are Asda’s opening hours over New Year?
Last year, Asda shops had reduced hours over Near Year – most large shops opened 9am to 7pm on December 31.
Then on New Year’s Day, stores opened much later, running a 10am to 5pm schedule to kick off 2019.
Opening hours went back to normal on January 2.
When is Lidl open over Christmas and New Year?
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Lidl hours will change over Christmas, starting on December 24.
Make sure you check your local ahead of schedule, as the exact timings will vary between stores.
Lidl has 760 shops in the UK and you can find your nearest by using the online store locator.
What are Lidl’s opening hours for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
The majority of Lidl stores will be open 8am to 6pm on December 24.
Inside the M25, shops will be open one hour later, until 7pm.
Lidl is then shut on Christmas Day.
What are Lidl’s opening hours for Boxing Day?
Most Lidl shops are closed on Boxing Day, apart from inside the M25.
For those in London, opening hours will be 10am to 7pm.
Normal hours will then resume from December 27 until New Year’s Eve.
What are Lidl’s opening hours over New Year?
You can expect all Lidl stores outside the M25 to be open 8am to 6pm on December 31.
For those inside London, opening hours will be 8am to 8pm.
All stores will be shut on New Year’s Day, and normal hours will following on January 2.
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Morrisons will shake things up from Christmas Eve, so keep track of these times.
There are just under 500 stores in the UK so use the online store finder to locate your nearest one.
What are Morrisons’ opening hours for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
The majority of Morrisons stores will be open from 6am to 6pm on December 24.
All in-store café’s will be open from 6am to 5pm, and petrol stations will run from 5:30am to 6:30pm.
Shops will be shut on Christmas Day.
What are Morrisons’ opening hours for Boxing Day until December 30?
Most big Morrisons stores will open 9am to 6pm on Boxing Day.
Shoppers can expect café opening hours to be 8am to 3pm, while petrol stations will be open from 8am to 10pm.
Normal hours will resume from December 27 until December 30.
What are Morrisons’ opening hours over New Year?
On New Year’s Eve, superstores will open and close doors from 7am to 6pm.
Café opening hours will be 7am to 5pm, and petrol stations will run from 6:30am to 6:30pm.
There are slightly later opening hours on New Year’s Day, with most shops running 9am to 6pm.
For the cafés, shoppers will be able to dine 9am to 3pm, while petrol stations are open 8am to 8pm.
January 2 marks the return of normal hours.
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Sainsbury’s opening times for Christmas and New Year will also vary between stores, but the majority of larger ones will change from Christmas Eve.
Sainsbury’s has 2,300 shops in the UK and you can find your nearest one here to see when they’ll be open.
What are Sainsbury’s opening hours for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
The majority of larger Sainsbury’s stores will open and close slightly earlier on December 24.
Shoppers can expect big shops to open 6am to 11pm.
All Sainsbury’s stores will be closed on Christmas Day.
What are Sainsbury’s opening hours for Boxing Day until New Year’s Eve?
Boxing Day also means reduced hours, and most superstores will be open 9am to 6pm.
Shoppers will then see normal hours again until New Year’s Eve.
What are Sainsbury’s opening hours over New Year?
On December 31, most Sainsbury’s will operate from 7am to 8pm, giving workers plenty of time to get ready for the celebrations.
It’ll be a later start than usual on New Year’s Day, with most stores opening 9am to 7pm.
Regular opening times commence on January 2.
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Tesco hours differ throughout the year depending on if you shop in a superstore, or a smaller Express branch.
We don’t have Tesco’s opening hours for Christmas and New Year just yet, but the supermarket tells us they should be released this week.
Shoppers have a choice of just under 4,000 Tesco stores, so check which one is nearest to you before making the journey.
Below is what Tesco did last year as we expect a similar set of opening hours for 2019.
What are Tesco’s opening hours for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
Tesco has yet to release its Christmas Eve hours, but last year most stores were open between 12am and 7pm.
All shops were then closed on Christmas Day in 2018, so we expect this to be the case again this year.
What are Tesco’s opening hours for Boxing Day, 27, 28, 29 and 30 December?
We don’t know Tesco’s Boxing Day hours yet, but last year the majority of shops in England, Wales and Scotland were open 9am to 6pm.
Express stores were open 8am to 10pm, while petrol stations ran from 8am to 7pm.
Stores returned to their usual opening times between December 27 and December 30 last year.
What are Tesco’s opening hours over New Year?
New Year times are also still waiting to be confirmed, but there were reduced hours in place in 2018.
Las year, most stores in England, Wales and Scotland were open at their usual time and closed at 7pm.
All Express stores closed at 10pm, while petrol stations shut an hour after the main store closed.
We’re also waiting for an update on New Year’s Day hours, but last Christmas most shops in England, Wales and Scotland were open 9am to 6pm.
Express stores operated 8am to 10pm, and petrol stations were open 8am to 7pm.
In other store news, Home Bargains is staying shut on Boxing Day to give hard-working staff a rest.
Aldi has also confirmed it wants to give workers a break over Christmas.
Plus Amazon has launched 14 days of Christmas deals with up to 40 per cent off Yankee Candles, iPads and more.
