Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and Lidl 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 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: 10am / 11am – 4pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
New Year’s Eve: 10am / 11am – 5pm
New Year’s Day: 9am – 6pm
Check the opening times for your local Tesco store here.
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Sainsbury’s
Just like Tesco, Sainsbury’s hasn’t released standard operational hours over this Christmas period, so shoppers are encouraged to head to the retailer’s Store Locator to find out the opening times for the nearest branch.
What we do know is that most stores will be open on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, with hours varying from store to store, but all branches will be closed on Christmas Day.
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: 11am – 5pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
New Year’s Eve: 11am – 5pm
New Year’s Day: 9am – 6pm
Check the opening times for your local ASDA store here.
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Morrisons
19-23 December: 6am – midnight
Christmas Eve: 10am – 4pm
Christmas Da: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 9am – 6pm
27-30 December: 7am – 10pm
New Year’s Eve: 10am – 4pm
New Year’s Day: 9am – 6pm
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and more have adjusted their opening hours for the festive period / Credit: Tesco
Aldi
19-23 December: 7am – 10pm
Christmas Eve: 9:30am – 4pm
Christmas Day & Boxing Day: CLOSED
27-30 December: 8am – 8pm
New Year’s Eve: 9:30am – 4pm
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
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Lidl
Lidl’s opening hours vary from store to store over the festive period.
The discount retailer has, however, confirmed it will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, with many of its stores shut for Boxing Day too, but with times differing on the other days around this, customers are encouraged to check the Lidl Store Finder for their local branch.
Check the opening times for your local Lidl store here.
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Co-op
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.
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 and Boxing Day as a standard.
Here’s a guideline:
19-22 December: 6am – 10pm
23 December: Open until 10pm (select stores)
Christmas Eve: Open until 4pm (select stores)
Christmas Day and Boxing Day: CLOSED
Check the opening times for your local M&S store here.
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Featured Image – Morrisons
Shopping
New Haribo shop to open in Trafford Centre with pick n mix station featuring over 40 varieties of sweets
Emily Sergeant
HARIBO UK has announced plans to open an exciting new store here in Greater Manchester.
The store – which will be the confectionery giant’s thirteenth location in the UK – is set to be celebration of HARIBO’s ‘spirit of childlike happiness’ once it opens its doors over at the Trafford Centre, and Manchester fans will soon be able to shop a delicious selection of all Haribo treats.
There’ll be everything from familiar favourites like Starmix and Tangfastics, to exciting new products such as Nostalgix and Alienauts.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy international varieties of Haribo too, all without having to venture to another country – whether it be Haribo Favoritos and Watermelon from Spain, Haribo Dragibus and Tagada from France, or Haribo liquorice Schnecken from Germany.
A new Haribo shop is set to open in Trafford Centre / Credit: Dan Cristian Padure | Jacqueline Brandwayn (via Unsplash)
To bring back the old-fashioned pleasure of being in a sweet shop, there’ll even be a ‘Pick Your Mix’ station, featuring more than 40 varieties of HARIBO and MAOAM treats to choose from, and in addition to the sweets themselves, the store will also be filled with exclusive HARIBO merchandise, such as plushies, stationery, candles, and more.
Haribo’s most recent opening was in Bluewater, and there’ll be a new site popping up in Glasgow later this month, before the Trafford Centre store opens its doors.
“We’re thrilled to be opening a HARIBO UK store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre,” commented Rebecca Fox, who is the Head of Retail at HARIBO UK.
“Our stores are a way to share even more moments of childlike happiness with HARIBO fans and we can’t wait for Manchester’s HARIBO-lovers and visitors to join in the fun.”
There’ll be a ‘pick you mix’ station featuring over 40 different varieties of sweets / Credit: Luis Aguila (via Unsplash)
Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre, added: “We’re excited to welcome HARIBO to Trafford Centre, with a store that promises to deliver a super-sweet experience that cannot be matched online, delighting visitors of all ages.
“We’re confident that our visitors will love this new brand-new store, which will prove another fantastic addition to the centre.”
There’s no opening date for the Trafford Centre store confirmed just yet, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – Supplied
Shopping
Aldi has launched limited-edition gender reveal Cuthbert caterpillar cakes
Emily Sergeant
Is it a boy or a girl? No it’s a limited-edition Cuthbert.
That’s right, in an ode to the ever-growing trend of gender reveal parties, and to coincide with September being the month that most babies are born in, Aldi has decided to give its iconic Cuthbert Cake a very special makeover for a limited time only.
Designed to offer expectant parents the ultimate way to reveal the gender of their child, this special Cuthbert is now available via an exclusive shopper competition.
The limited-edition cake will be completely free for those lucky enough to get their hands on it.
Decorated with blue and pink chocolate beans, the exclusive new cake has two versions of filling, just as you’d expect – one with pink buttercream icing (for a girl), and blue buttercream icing (for a boy).
The launch of the gender reveal Cuthberts comes after recent research from Aldi has revealed that 58% of millennial Brits have celebrated gender reveal moments, and 48% of Gen Z having attended an average of three gender reveal parties in the last five years – with cake found to be the most popular method of revealing a baby’s gender.
Cake was found to be more popular than balloons, confetti, or fireworks, making it twice as popular much as any other gender reveal option.
And that’s not all either, as following the news that traditional baby names have been seeing a decline in popularity among expectant parents in favour of more unique options, 5% of Brits even admitted that they would consider naming their child Cuthbert after the budget supermarket retailer’s icon.
Aldi has launched limited-edition gender reveal Cuthbert caterpillar cakes / Credit: Aldi
Want to win a gender reveal Cuthbert then?
Shoppers just need to send an email detailing their full name, why they or a loved one would be the ideal recipient of this cake, the address of their closest Aldi store, and the gender of their baby to [email protected].
The competition will open until 11:59pm on 14September, and the lucky winners will be notified of their win via email by 28 September.
Emily Sergeant -
18th December 2023 
