Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl are among the supermarket retailers to release adjusted operating hours at stores across the UK over the festive period.
As Christmas is fast approaching, many 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 usually leaves us running to the shops before 25th.
Despite many having opted for home deliveries or Click & Collect services this year, others still prefer to shop in-store.
And while some of big name chains are still yet to release statements – expected to do so in due course – a number of leading supermarket retailers have already begun releasing Christmas opening hours.
Here’s everything we know so far.
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Tesco
Tesco announced recently that a number of its stores across the UK will be open for extended hours a day in the lead-up to Christmas, with 300 branches set to open 24 hours a day – except for Sundays – from 14th December – 24th December.
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The rest of Tesco’s stores will also operate at extended trading hours from 5am – 11pm between those dates.
Although specific opening times have not yet been announced for Christmas Day this year, if previous years are to provide a reflection, stores will close on 25th December, and reopen on Boxing Day.
You can check opening times via the Tesco Store Locator here.
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Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s has also revealed that it will be introducing extended opening hours at its branches nationwide this Christmas, with most supermarkets set to be open from 6am until midnight on 21st, 22nd & 23rdDecember.
On top of this, the chain says that most of its shops will be open from 6am – 7pm on Christmas Eve too.
All Sainsbury’s stores will close on Christmas Day.
A message on Sainsbury’s website says: “Between 21st to 23rd December, 90% of Sainsbury’s supermarkets will extend their opening hours from 6am until midnight, to help customers buy everything they need for their Christmas celebrations this year.”
You can check opening times via the Sainsbury’s Store Locator here.
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Aldi
Aldi has published its operating hours at stores across the UK for the festive period in the run-up to the big day, which are as follows:
Saturday 19th December:7am – 11pm
Sunday 20th December:10am – 4pm
21st, 22nd & 23rd December:7am – 11pm
Christmas Eve:7am – 6pm
Christmas Day & Boxing Day:STORES CLOSED
Sunday 27th December:10am – 4pm
28th, 29th & 30th December:8am – 8pm
New Year’s Eve:8am – 6pm
New Year’s Day:STORES CLOSED
Saturday 2nd January 2021:Normal Hours Resume
You can find more information on your local branch via the Aldi Store Finder here.
Lidl
Lidl has also published a full list of operating hours at stores across the UK for the festive period, which are as follows:
Saturday 19th December:7am – 11pm
Sunday 20th December:Open as Normal
21st, 22nd, 23rd December:7am – 11pm
Christmas Eve:7am – 6pm
Christmas Day & Boxing Day: STORES CLOSED
27th, 28th, 29th & 30th December:Open as Normal
New Year’s Eve:8am – 6pm
New Year’s Day:STORES CLOSED
Saturday 2nd January 2021:Normal Hours Resume
You can find more information on your local branch via the Lidl Store Finder here.
Asda, Morrisons, M&S, Co-op & Iceland
For each of the above and remaining food retailers, a national schedule of Christmas opening hours is yet to be released and so it’s currently advised that you check the opening times of your local branch individually before making any trips to stores over the festive period.
Want to order your festive food to be delivered to your home, or take advantage of Click & Collect services this month instead?
You can find the final order dates before Christmas for each supermarket retailer here.
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Oldham mansion that starred in an iconic pop music video is up for sale
Thomas Melia
A Greater Manchester mansion that’s featured in one of the most famous music videos of the past decade is now up for sale.
Situated in the picturesque village of Uppermill, Oldham, Ashcroft House is currently listed at £2,350,000 accepting offers in the region of this figure.
The property has six bedrooms, six baths and five reception rooms – this mansion is a party host’s dream.
Ashcroft House has four storeys with the lower ground floor currently set up as a gym space and the ground floor boasting an eye-catching grand entrance hall.
This isn’t everything the lower ground floor has to offer. There are a number of breakout rooms such as a wine store, cinema room and your own personal steam room.
When going up another flight of stairs, the first floor’s main selling point besides the very large balcony is the matched walk in wardrobes paired with each of the six sleeping quarters, yes please!
The girls styling themselves in one of the many walk in wardrobes at Ashcroft House.The bold statement front door in the Oldham mansion.Credit: Youtube (@littlemix)
Finally, if that wasn’t enough to draw you in, there is another flight of stairs leading to the second floor which is currently acting as the house’s ever-impressive storage area.
With the rolling hills of Saddleworth nearby and a local pub a ten minute walk away, how could life possibly get any better?
Oh wait it does! In 2016 one of the UK’s best selling girl groups of all time shot a music video for their worldwide hit right here in these very four walls.
X Factor prodigies and three time BRIT award winning girl group Little Mix perched up with their film crew to spend 21 hours recording the video for their groundbreaking single ‘Hair’.
The video itself has amassed nearly 500 million views on social media platform Youtube since being released eight years ago.
The grand staircase that greets you as you enter this Greater Manchester property.The Little Mix girls having a bite to eat in Ashcroft House.Credit: Youtube (@littlemix)
The previous owner of the house even revealed that once the music video shoot wrapped up, the girls stayed with the family to share a slice of pizza or two.
If you’re interested in owning a piece of pop culture history or just as nosey as we are you can take a virtual tour of this mansion in Oldham here.
People are finally discovering this super easy money-saving food hack
Danny Jones
These days, pinching the pennies and protecting the pounds wherever you can is more important than ever, so we have no intention of gatekeeping this game-changing itsu food hack.
For the longest time, we’ll admit that we thought itsu was just another good place to grab some fresh sushi, Asian-inspired meals and groceries, but after learning of this clever little loophole, it’s probably up there with one of our very favourite chains.
Starting out in London back in the late 90s, itsu has gone on to become a huge franchise with nearly 80 locations nationwide and, naturally, the risk that comes with a food brand getting this big is the almost unavoidable problem of waste.
However, what was once just a conveyor belt in Chelsea has turned into a super-efficient restaurant and fully established food brand that has also come up with a great way to not only help stop food from going to waste but save you money in the process too.
itsu Manchester on 1 Hardman Blvd, Spinningfields.itsu prices aren’t pretty decent to start with given the quality.We’re all about food hacks and cutting back the budget wherever we can. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Put quite simply, because itsu would quite rightly rather see food go in your gob than in the bin, they have a discount policy on their products that are about to go out of date.
Think Too Good To Go only more specific and with even more money off guaranteed.
Once the clock hits a certain time towards the end of trading hours, sushi, salad boxes and other cold food items can be purchased at 50% off their usual price to help save money and on food spoiling.
No, we’re not having you on: each and EVERY single day you can get highly-quality itsu sushi selection platters, rice and salad boxes, poke bowls and more at literally half-price. You can see the full details in their FAQs.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a random work night or a peckish walk home from the pub on the weekend, provided you go after 8:30pm and get there before they shut, you can grab some of your favourites at essentially a two-for-one rate. Sensational stuff.
You don’t even have to download an app, go up to the counter and have any kind of awkward conversation or anything like that: the digital pay screens will automatically update once the click strikes cha-ching and you can saunter out of the gaff with your scran.
Half price itsu? Don’t mind if we do.50% off itsu every night.Always leave looking this happy.Get your hands on half-price itsu whenever you can with this simple hack. (Credit: The Manc Group)
We’ll be honest, we often end up getting double the amount we came for but who can blame us with a value-for-money offer like that? There’s also a 15% discount for students and NHS workers, by the way.
We know that might sound counter-intuitive when we’ve pitched this as a money-saving life hack, but it’s actually come in handy when grabbing not just a last-minute tea for ourselves but hungry flatmates too; plus we go home knowing we’ve done our little bit to help reduce waste.
Eating out can get super expensive, especially in Manchester city centre during a cost of living crisis, but let’s face it, we all fancy a treat sometimes and the thought of cooking is too tiring to even think about – that’s what makes stumbling upon little happy discoveries like these makes so great.
Now, we’re not going to pretend you’re the first people to know about this: the ‘secret’ is out and is gradually getting more and more popular, so you’ll almost certainly find a fair few people queuing up with the same idea come 8:30pm, but that’s kind of the idea. The more we spread the news, the less waste.
itsu Spinningfields is currently the only branch in Manchester (the first-ever Northern site to be opened by the brand back in 2016) but if you need some discounted food whilst you’re travelling around, you can find your nearest location HERE. Enjoy!
The Manc -
8th December 2020 
