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22nd Dec 2023

Here are the changes to supermarket opening hours over Christmas

Sophie Collins

Christmas Day is just days away now, which means supermarket opening hours will change up a little bit – catching some of us out.

Every year, supermarket doors close on Christmas Day and work shorter hours around then to allow their staff to take very well-deserved breaks from the chaos of the Christmas season.

So, whether you need to grab something last minute for the Christmas Dinner, or need to top up the alcohol stock in time for your guests, here are the general opening hours to expect across some of the most popular grocers nationwide.

SuperValu

Supervalu branches are run differently, depending on their location. This means they will likely all operate with slightly different opening hours over the Christmas break.

Some branches will be open from 7:00 am during the run-up to Christmas, and others will remain open until midnight.

On Christmas Eve, although stores will still open from 7:00 am until 8:00 pm, they won’t reopen until St Stephen’s Day at 10:00 am and will close at an earlier time of 6:00 pm.

Check out what the plan is for your local branch on their website.

Dunnes

Dunnes will open later over the Christmas week, with some stores opting to remain open until as late as 2:00 am.

Opening hours will be unique to your location, for example their Blanchardstown store will open until midnight on the 18th, 19th and 20th, and until 2:00 am on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

The opening hour details fro  your local store can be found here.

Tesco

Tesco is due to operate with extended hours during over the coming days.

Some larger stores will be open until midnight on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

On Christmas Eve, they will open early at 7:00 am and also close early at 7:00 pm.

All Tesco stores will close for Christmas Day and some will keep their doors shut on St Stephen’s Day too – but it once again depends on your local.

Find your store’s opening hours here.

Aldi

Every year, Aldi stores shut their doors on Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day and New Year’s Day.

However, to ensure their customers can still pick up any last minute essentials, they will have extended opening hours of 8:00 am to 11:00 pm on the 22nd and 23rd, while Christmas Eve will see the supermarket close early at 7:00 pm.

They released a detailed breakdown of their hours, which are as follows:

  • December 18 – December 23 – 8am to 11pm
  • Christmas Eve – 8am to 7pm
  • Christmas Day – CLOSED
  • St Stephen’s Day – CLOSED
  • December 27 – 30 – 9am to 9pm
  • New Year’s Eve – 9am to7pm
  • New Year’s Day – CLOSED

Some stores, depending on where they are located, may have varying hours, so you can check your local store here.

Lidl

Similarly, Lidl will close their stores nationwide on Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day and New Year’s Day.

This week their stores will be open from 8:00 am and will close at 10:00 pm.

Then, on Christmas Eve stores will shut early at 6:00 pm.

A detailed breakdown of their opening hours are as follows:

  • December 18 – 23 – 8am to 10pm
  • Christmas Eve – 8am to 6pm
  • Christmas Day – CLOSED
  • St Stephen’s Day – CLOSED
  • December 27-30- 8am to 10pm
  • New Year’s Eve – 8am, to 7pm
  • New Year’s Day – CLOSED
  • January 2- 8am to 10pm

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