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We may not want to admit it, but Christmas is on the way, and supermarkets are opening their festive delivery slots.
Anyone wanting to grab one will need to act quickly – once they're gone, they're gone.
Here, Which? details which supermarkets have opened bookings, how to secure a space and how to save money on your festive food shop.
Asda opens its Christmas Delivery slots for its Delivery Pass customers on Tuesday 13 October. Slots for the rest of Asda's customer base, including Mid-week/Click & Collect customers, will open one week later, on Tuesday 20 October. Delivery slots will be available between Monday 21 and Wednesday 23 December. Christmas Eve delivery slots will be available, but they will be released closer to the time.
Its Anytime Delivery passes cost £6.95 for 12 months and 7.95 for six. Click and Collect passes cost £3.95 a month. This is the same price as its 12-month mid-week pass.
The last date you can add Food to Order products (Asda's Christmas range) and amend your trolley is 15 December, when customers must check out. However, customers will still be able to add or amend their baskets for food not in its Food to Order range until 11pm the night before delivery.
Asda hasn't set a specific sign-up deadline, so if you want to take advantage of the earlier slots, you can sign up now. To become an Asda Delivery Pass user, log in to your Asda Groceries account, choose your pass type and complete the sign-up process.
Sainsbury's Christmas delivery slots open for Delivery Pass holders on Friday 16 October and for everyone else on 23 October. Customers can book delivery slots for 18 December right up until Christmas Eve.
Once you've completed your order, you have until 11pm on the day before delivery to finalise it.
An Anytime Delivery Pass costs £7.50 a month, £43 for six months or £80 for 12 months. This gives you priority deliveries during busy periods, plus up to one free delivery per day.
Midweek Delivery Passes cost £4 per month or £40 for 12 months, and include up to one free delivery per day between Tuesday and Thursday, plus priority deliveries during busy periods.
If you have a delivery pass, your order must be at least £50 to qualify for free delivery; otherwise, you'll be charged a £7.50 fee or £9.50 for same-day delivery. If you don't have a pass, delivery fees are £7.50 to £9.50 for orders under £50, or £1 to £6 for orders over £50.
Tesco's Christmas delivery slots will open at 6am on 3 November for customers who are signed up to an Anytime Delivery Saver or Click+Collect plan.
For all other customers, including those with the Off-peak Delivery Saver Plan, Christmas delivery slots will open two days later at 6am on 5 November.
Once they are open, Christmas delivery slots are subject to availability, and the latest slots to Christmas Day will either be on 23 December or 24 December for Delivery and Click+Collect, depending on your location.
Delivery Saver is Tesco’s subscription-based delivery service, with plans available for six or 12 months.
Currently, the Anytime 12-month pass costs £6.99 a month, and the Off-Peak 12-month pass costs £3.99 a month.
Once subscribed, customers can get delivery or Click+Collect with no extra charges for booking slots, although normal minimum basket charges apply.
Tesco also offers a Click+Collect-only option for £2.49 a month for six months.
To get the early Christmas delivery slots, you will need to sign up for Tesco's Anytime delivery service by midnight on 2 November. This year, it has added an extra 60,000 delivery slots for shoppers.
Tesco also offers Whoosh delivery, its same-day delivery service. It's available in more than 1,500 UK stores, including 40 larger ones. Delivery costs £2.99, with no additional charges; however, orders under £15 incur a £2 charge.
Customers who sign up for the Delivery Saver plan by 18 October will also receive free Whoosh delivery on orders over £25 until 11 January 2027.
Christmas Whoosh slot availability will vary between local stores, as will the selection of items available.
Morrisons opened its Christmas delivery slots on 1 October for its Delivery Pass holders.
For the first time, shoppers can book slots covering Friday 18 December through to Thursday 31 December. Previously, Morrisons' festive slots only ran from 20 to 24 December. For a Christmas delivery slot, customers will need to spend a minimum of £25.
The Anytime Pass offers delivery seven days a week for £8 a month, or £45 for six months/£70 for a year. Alternatively, the Midweek Pass offers delivery Tuesday to Thursday for £5 a month, £25 for six months, or £40 for a year. Pass holders also get free click and collect, subject to availability.
However, Morrisons Now orders aren't covered by any Delivery Pass.
Morrisons opened its Christmas delivery slots for all supermarket customers on Wednesday 7 October.
Waitrose opened Christmas delivery slots for all customers on 30 September 2026, and shoppers can book delivery or collection slots between 20 and 24 December.
Customers can log on to Waitrose.com or use the Waitrose app to book a slot. To confirm, shoppers must add a few products to the basket, with a minimum spend of £40. You can then amend your food choices as many times as you like until midnight on 15 December.
Waitrose is also offering deliveries in time for New Year's, too. To ensure your food arrives in time, you must complete your Waitrose Food Made to Order request by 21 December. According to the supermarket, 'products ordered for Christmas are guaranteed to last until Boxing Day, and 1 January for New Year’s'.
Waitrose is offering 10,000 more slots than last year.
Waitrose didn't offer Delivery Pass holders early access to delivery slots this year. The Waitrose Delivery Pass costs £8 a month, £45 for six months or £85 for a year. Pass holders can book up to one delivery slot each day without paying an additional delivery fee for the duration of their subscription.
However, it’s not guaranteed that a slot will always be available in your specific postcode on your required day and time. Passes also require a minimum spend of £40 on all orders.
Ocado has confirmed that its Anytime Smart Pass customers who signed up on or before 1 September now have early access to Christmas slots. With Ocado, these dates are between 20 and 24 December.
Smart Pass is a paid subscription service that gives members free delivery, discounts, exclusive offers, free samples and gifts. This group will receive emails asking them to book a slot, so customers should keep an eye on their inbox.
This email will include one free delivery voucher, which you can use for your Christmas delivery slot, as free delivery through this scheme isn't available during Christmas week (20 to 24 December).
To keep the free delivery, you will need to have an active Smart Pass membership on the day your Christmas shop is delivered. For deliveries during Christmas week, you'll need to spend at least £90.
You can edit your order as many times as you like before your delivery date. This cuts off at 11.30pm two days before your food delivery date. Ocado says you will be informed when this is.
If you don't have a Smart Pass, you'll have to wait for the general release. The remaining slots will be released in staggered batches, so customers will need to check their slot booking page or the app for the latest availability.
If you frequently order groceries online, a delivery pass can be more cost-effective than paying for each delivery. These often also give you priority access to highly sought-after Christmas delivery slots.
| Supermarket | 'Anytime delivery' monthly cost | Midweek or 'off-peak' delivery monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Asda | £6.95 | £3.95 |
| Tesco | £6.99 | £3.99 |
| Sainsbury's | £7.50 | £4 |
| Morrisons | £8 | £5 |
| Waitrose | £8 | - |
| Ocado | £9.99 | £4.99 |
Prices correct as of 2 October 2026. Prices are for monthly passes or the monthly equivalent of a 12-month plan where no monthly pass is available.
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The Christmas food shop is typically more expensive than your grocery shopping at other times of the year, but you can cut costs.
Most UK supermarkets now have loyalty schemes. Through these schemes, shoppers can earn points which can be converted into money-off vouchers, which can help cut costs at Christmas if you save them up.
Most supermarket schemes, including Morrisons More, MyWaitrose, Sainsbury's Nectar and Tesco Clubcard, offer members lower prices on selected items.
If you keep your eye out, you may see some loyalty deals on festive products in the lead-up to Christmas.
Supermarket Christmas saver schemes let you save money over time to spend in store during the festive season, although some let you save all year.
These schemes often offer bonuses for reaching savings milestones. The bonus you can earn ranges from 3% to an impressive 6%. This can really help with the extra supermarket costs at Christmas.
Each scheme has a deadline for when you can save and receive a bonus. So double-check to make sure you don’t miss out.
Spreading your shopping over a few weeks can really help manage the season's extra costs. For long-life products, such as gravy, stuffing or even Christmas pudding, you can buy them earlier in the year and keep them for Christmas. Just check the use-by date.
Buying frozen items, such as turkey, pigs in blankets, vegetables and roast potatoes, can also help. If you were going to choose these options anyway, buying them early or when they are on offer can help cut the costs.
Over the past few years, several major supermarket chains cut the price of their Christmas veg in the week leading up to Christmas, with prices dropping as low as 10p for carrots, parsnips, potatoes and Brussels sprouts last year.
If you want the fresh stuff, waiting for a supermarket price war will help you cut costs, particularly as these vegetables usually cost between 60p and £1. Supermarket chains will start to announce these festive price cuts closer to Christmas.
Most supermarket chains have confirmed they took a profit hit from the seasonal discounts and said they have long-term deals with their vegetable growers.
This story has been updated since it was first published on Tuesday 23 September 2025. The last update was on Monday 12 October 2026.
