Christmas advert season has officially arrived, with the likes of Asda, Boots, M&S and more all having revealed their offerings this year. However, we might just have a new favourite thanks to Aldi.
Released on Mon 7 November, the 2022 Aldi Christmas advert revolves around this year’s Qatar World Cup, as the tournament will obviously be played throughout the festive period, with the final set for 18 December.
It’s fair to say that the holidays and the rare winter World Cup are almost going hand in hand this year and despite the controversy surrounding the tournament itself, the supermarket chain couldn’t ignore how central it’s going to be the seasonal celebrations.
Without further ado, here is the new Aldi Christmas advert, ‘Feast of Football’, in all its glory:
As you can see, Aldi have managed to squeeze in a number of famous players and their punny grocery equivalents into 50-seconds of fast-paced festive and footballing fun.
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Complete with the first-class commentary from the one and only Peter Drury, the advert features the likes of Ronaldi, Messy, MmmBap and Bean (we sincerely hope this was supposed to be Roy Keane); Macarooney, Beth Swead, Marrowdona and, finally, the return of Kevin the Carrot.
There’s even a Cuthbert the Caterpillar cameo – did you spot it?
Our only complaint is that we didn’t see an appearance from Manchester’s very own Marcus Radishford like we did in last year’s Aldi Christmas ad, which we’d argue is in the all-time top 10.
We’ll let them off this time. Christmas spirit and all that.
Seeing Buddy from Elf pop in the Asda Xmas ad was pretty cool but who doesn’t love Kevin? The jury is still out until the John Lewis Christmas advert is out but we’ll admit, this one gave us a little chuckle.
Full list of Christmas opening hours at all UK supermarkets 2025
Emily Sergeant
Tesco, Sainsbury’s Aldi, and M&S are among the supermarkets to adjust opening hours at stores across the UK during the festive period.
As Christmas is fast approaching, most of us will have already started to stock up on food and drink for the big day ahead of time, but with so much to prepare for, it’s pretty easy to forget something important – which tends to leave us running to the shops before 25th.
While some have probably opted for home deliveries or Click & Collect services, others still prefer to shop in store.
To help you make sure everything is sorted, we’ve pulled together a list of all the major supermarket opening hours over the festive period, so grab your bags for life and get your shopping list at the ready, because Santa is on his way and he’ll be expecting his annual dose of mince pies.
Here’s a roundup list of supermarket opening hours.
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Tesco
Shoppers are being advised to check the Tesco Store Locator for the festive opening times at their local, as different branches may be operating different hours, however, most stores are operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, as well as being closed all day on Christmas Day.
Here’s a rough guideline:
Christmas Eve: 6am – 7pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: normal hours
New Year’s Eve: 6am – 7pm
New Year’s Day: 10am – 6pm
Check the opening times for your local Tesco store here.
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Sainsbury’s
Just like Tesco, Sainsbury’s will be operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, as well as being closed on Christmas day, but shoppers are encouraged to head to the retailer’s Store Locator to find out the opening times for their nearest branch.
Christmas Eve: 6am to 7pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 8am to 8pm (with Local stores open until 10pm)
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: normal hours
New Year’s Eve: 7am – 7pm
New Year’s Day: 10am – 5pm
You can check the opening times for your local Sainsbury’s store here.
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Asda
Following along the same lines as Tesco and Sainsbury’s, Asda shoppers are being advised to check the Asda Store Locator for the festive opening times at their local store, as different branches are operating different hours, however, most stores are operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, as well as being closed all day on Christmas Day.
Here’s a rough guideline:
Christmas Eve: 6am – 7pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 6am – 7pm
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: normal hours
New Year’s Eve: 6am – 7pm
New Year’s Day: 10am – 5pm
Check the opening times for your local ASDA store here.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and more have adjusted their opening hours for the festive period / Credit: Tesco
Morrisons
Morrisons is open throughout the festive season, just like its other competitions, and will only closing on Christmas Day, but hours will vary so you’ll need to check the opening times for your local.
Christmas Eve: 6am to 6pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: normal hours
New Year’s Eve: 7am – 6pm
New Year’s Day: 10am to 5pm
Check the opening times for your local Morrisons store here.
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Aldi
Aldi stores across the UK are set to close of the three major festive bank holidays this year, meaning doors will be shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day, with reduced hours in operation on the days surrounding it.
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Here’s what you need to know:
Christmas Eve: 7am – 6pm
Christmas Day & Boxing Day: CLOSED
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: 8am – 10pm
New Year’s Eve: 8am – 6pm
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
You can find out more about the supermarket’s decision to shut up shop on the three festive bank holidays this year here.
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Lidl
Lidl has released a list of its festive opening hours, and just like Aldi, will also be closing most of its stores on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day, but you’ll want to check Lidl’s website to find out more information.
Just like many other retailers on this list, Co-op’s opening times vary from store to store over the festive period, but the retailer has confirmed it will be operating reduced hours on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day – with all branches closed on Christmas Day across the UK as a standard.
Christmas Eve: 7am – 9pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 8am – 9pm
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: 7am – 10pm
New Year’s Eve: 7am – 9pm
New Year’s Day: 9am – 9pm
Shoppers are being urged to check the Co-op Store Finder for the opening hours for their nearest branch here.
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M&S
Once again, M&S is another retailer where festive opening hours differ from store to store, so it’s best to check your local branch specifically, but what we do know is that all stores across the UK will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day as a standard.
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Christmas Eve: 6am – 6pm
Christmas Day & Boxing Day: CLOSED
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: 8am – 8pm
New Year’s Eve: 8am – 6pm
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
Check the opening times for your local M&S store here.
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Iceland
Anyone hoping to pop to Iceland over the festive period will be met with reduced opening hours, as is to be expected – with all UK stores closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day as a standard.
Christmas Eve: 8am – 5pm
Christmas Day & Boxing Day: CLOSED
Saturday 27 – Tuesday 30 December: 8am – 8pm
New Year’s Eve: 8am – 6pm
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
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Featured Image – Morrisons
Christmas
8 million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year, new research finds
Emily Sergeant
Millions of Brits are predicted to use AI to help them write their Christmas cards this year.
According to some new Royal Mail research, AI is most likely to be used for researching gifts (19%), festive party ideas (13%), and decoration inspiration (13%) throughout this festive season, but in what is a revelation many will find surprising – and even alarming – it’ll even be used for the timeless tradition of sending Christmas cards.
2,000 UK adults who celebrate Christmas were surveyed by the postal service early last month on how they plan to make use of technology this festive season.
The new research found that 11% of respondents will be using AI to help write the messages for their Christmas cards, which works out to be around eight million people.
It’s the under-55s who are driving the trend, as you can probably imagine – with 57% of this age group planning to lean on AI for guidance, compared to just 14% of those over 55.
Oh, and you’ll want to keep an extra eye on the Christmas cards that come from the men in your life too, as men are 67% more likely than women to use AI to help them.
Eight million Brits are predicted to write their Christmas cards using AI this year / Credit: KoolShooters
Although it may be largely frowned upon, it’s fairly easy to see why people are turning to tech to find the right words, as the Royal Mail’s research found that nearly one in five (19%) Brits say they don’t know what to write in cards, and this figure rises even further to 31% when it comes to 18-24-year-olds.
Despite the use of AI as a helping hand, three quarters of Brits (74%) do still think it’s important to keep the tradition of sending handwritten Christmas cards alive.
“AI is becoming part of everyday life for many people,” says technology journalist and broadcaster, Georgie Barrat. “So it’s natural we’ll see it used during the festive season. When it comes to writing cards, it can help you go beyond a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ and choose words that feel more unique.
“Often, people know what they want to say – they just need a little help expressing it.”
Richard Travers, who is the Managing Director of Letters at Royal Mail, concluded: “No matter what you include in your card, or how you choose to write your message, cards are truly a way of spreading festive cheer.”
Danny Jones -
7th November 2022 
