If you’re planning to get your Christmas food shop delivered this year, you’ll need to get your skates on as many supermarkets have already released their first rounds of Christmas delivery slots.
These delivery slots tend to get booked up very quickly, and if you want a turkey or other meats, then the window for delivery is often quite narrow, so you’ll need to be quick off the mark to nab a slot. It’s worth noting that Christmas slots can be expensive too, sometimes in excess of £10, and even if you already pay for a weekly, monthly or annual delivery pass, you’ll usually still have to pay for your Christmas delivery slot on top.
Here’s what you need to know.
Which supermarkets have released their Christmas delivery slots?
This list is changing all the time, but at the time of writing, here’s what we know so far:
Asda
Asda has released delivery and click-and-collect slots for the whole of December, so whether you’re getting food in for a party or for Christmas itself, you can book this now.
Priority was initially given to Delivery Pass members, but now anyone can book a delivery slot.
Slots are available from 1 December until 23 December, and slots for Christmas Eve will be released on Wednesday 20 December.
There’s a minimum spend of £40, and if you spend less than this, you’ll be charged an additional £3 on top of the delivery fee.
If you’re planning to buy your Christmas turkey from Asda, you’ll need to book a delivery slot between Thursday 21 December and Saturday 23 December. You’ll also need to make sure you’ve added the turkey to your order before Thursday 14 December to make sure you get it by Christmas.
If you aren’t getting a turkey then you can get your order delivered between Monday 18 December and Saturday 23 December.
You can find and book a delivery slot here.
Morrisons
Morrisons have released the slots for Christmas delivery between 20 and 24 December for their all customers.
The minimum spend for Christmas orders is £25.
Turkeys and other Christmas meats are available to order now, but the dates that they can be delivered vary depending on the product. Most items are available for delivery from 19 December and 20 December, although others can be delivered from the end of November. So if you’re thinking of getting a Morrisons Christmas food delivery, then it’s worth selecting the big ticket items you need before you choose your slot so you can make sure you’re able to get everything you want.
Read more about Morrisons’ Christmas deliveries and book your slot here.
Ocado
Ocado is releasing its Christmas delivery slots in waves and customers are being notified either by email or text when they’re able to book their slots.
Much like other supermarkets Ocado gives priority booking to their Smart Pass customers, with slots released a few weeks ago.
When you are able to book a slot, if you go for one between 20 and 24 December, it’s worth knowing that you can edit your order as many times as you like up until 11:30pm two days before your delivery. However, the slots nearest to Christmas tend to disappear fast, so you may find that many of these have already been taken by Smart Pass customers.
There is a minimum spend of £90 on Christmas delivery slots with Ocado, and even if you’re a Smart Pass customer, you’ll still have to pay for your Christmas slot.
You can read more about Ocado’s Christmas delivery and other frequently asked questions here.
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s Christmas delivery slots are now available to all customers, but if you’d prefer to click and collect then booking for these slots will open on 21 November.
If you’d prefer to click and collect then booking for these slots will open on 21 November.
Once you’ve booked your slot, you can continue to change your basket of items up until 11pm the day before your delivery.
There isn’t any more detail on the delivery windows for specific foods yet, so watch this space for updates.
You can view the available slots and book them here.
Waitrose
You can book your slot now for Waitrose Christmas delivery between 20 and 24 December, although these slots are now looking few and far between.
You can also book your click-and-collect slots now for the whole of December.
When you go to book your slot, you can select your time and date and you’ll have two hours to confirm the slot. The minimum spend is £40.
Some items are only available for delivery on certain days and other items are already selling out, such as turkeys and other large meat joints, so it’s worth putting a basket together sooner rather than later if you know you want certain things.
You can see more information about Waitrose Christmas delivery and find your slot here.
Which supermarket will be releasing their slots soon?
Tesco
Tesco will release their Christmas delivery slots in two rounds:
- 7 November – 6 am – Anytime Delivery Saver customers (not including off-peak) will be able to book their Christmas delivery slots
- 21 November – 6 am – non-Delivery Saver and off-peak customers can book their delivery slots.
If you want to get early access to the Tesco Christmas delivery slots, then it’s not too late to buy an Anytime Delivery Saver plan. The shortest plan you can buy is six months which costs £7.99 a month. You can either pay monthly or in one go, and you can also use Clubcard vouchers to help cover the cost. In addition to getting priority Christmas delivery booking, you’ll also be able to make as many orders as you like each month, access peak delivery slots, and same-day click-and-collect or home deliveries.
You can learn more about Tesco Christmas deliveries here.
Some tips for bagging your preferred Christmas delivery slot
Don’t hang around
Christmas delivery slots get booked up quickly, as everyone wants their food delivered at the perfect time before December 25, so if you know you want a food delivery then head to your supermarket website of choice and get your slot booked as soon as you can.
If your preferred supermarket hasn’t released dates yet, don’t panic. Not every supermarket releases them months in advance, just get clued up on when they plan to release slots and mark it in your calendar so you don’t miss out.
Know your order cut-off times
Most supermarkets allow you to make changes to your basket until a specific time before the delivery date, so you could always book a basket of essentials that you know you’ll need and then edit it closer to the delivery time.
Of course, you need to remember to make the changes before the cut-off time of your specific supermarket, as these could vary over the Christmas period, so make sure you check these details carefully.
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Consider clicking and collecting to save money
If you don’t usually get your food shop delivered and therefore don’t have a delivery pass or membership, then you might want to think about doing a click-and-collect order instead.
Most of the supermarkets we’ve mentioned will release click-and-collect slots later than their delivery option, so you will have more choices on dates.
Click and collect also tends to be cheaper than getting your food delivered. Here are the click-and-collect costs of the supermarkets we’ve mentioned:
Supermarket | Next day delivery | Same day |
Asda | 50p (minimum spend £25) | £1.50 (minimum spend £25) |
Morrisons | 50p (minimum spend £25) | 50p (minimum spend £25) |
Sainsbury’s | 50p (minimum spend £25) | £2 |
Waitrose | Free (minimum spend £40) | – |
Tesco | Up to £2 (minimum spend £25) | Up to £2 (minimum spend £25) |
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