Christmas

Content Guide

• What is Christmas
• When is Christmas
• When do Christmas sales start
• Christmas trees
• Christmas clothing
• Christmas gifts
• Christmas food
• Make the most of the next Christmas sale
• FAQ

What is Christmas?

Christmas is the biggest shopping season of the year, built around gift giving, festive food and decorating the home. Retailers know it, which is why the run-up to the 25th brings some of the steepest price cuts of the whole calendar, often stronger than what shoppers see even during the autumn sales events.

For anyone buying gifts, planning a Christmas dinner or simply refreshing their decorations, this is the moment when a well-timed voucher makes the biggest difference to the final bill.

When is Christmas?

Christmas Day always falls on the 25th of December, a date that goes back to the fourth century, when the early Church settled on it partly to align with existing midwinter celebrations already marked across the Roman world.

The day of the month never moves, but the day of the week does, so it is worth knowing exactly what you are working with each year when planning deliveries and last order dates.

Year	What day is Christmas on
2026	Friday
2027	Saturday
2028	Monday
2029	Tuesday
2030	Wednesday

 

When do Christmas sales start? 

Most retailers begin their Christmas sale in November, often tied to Black Friday, with offers building steadily through December right up to the 25th.

Christmas tree sale

Trees and decorations tend to be one of the first things shoppers tick off the list, and Christmas trees for sale are where the biggest savings usually sit, whether that is a real tree, an artificial one or the lights and baubles that go around it.

A Christmas decorations sale often follows close behind, covering everything from lights and wreaths to tree toppers, and The Range, Homebase, B&Q and Dunelm are all worth checking early, since clearance stock on trees and decorations tends to move fast closer to December.

 Christmas deals on festive clothing

On the fashion side, the classic Christmas jumper sale is a UK institution, and many retailers lean into it heavily, alongside general seasonal wardrobe pieces for parties and family gatherings.

An M&S Christmas sale in particular tends to bundle jumpers with wrapping paper, cards and other stocking filler basics, while Debenhams is another good stop for festive occasionwear, so it is worth browsing the full range rather than just the headline items.

Christmas gifts sale

For children, toys remain a major category, with LEGO sets consistently among the most gifted items each year.

On the tech side, Amazon, Currys and Samsung are names worth watching for laptops, tablets, smart home gadgets and the latest phones, where discounts often stack with manufacturer promotions.

Christmas offers on food

Food and drink for the big day is its own world entirely. The Tesco Christmas promotions usually cover everything from the turkey to the trimmings, and Christmas chocolate offers are worth watching too, since most of the big supermarkets run their own versions in the run-up to the 25th, so comparing a couple of them before the final shop can genuinely change what ends up on the table.

How to make the most of the next Christmas sale

• Timing matters more than most people expect. A good chunk of Christmas shopping now happens during the Black Friday period in November, so some of the year's best Christmas sales actually appear before December even starts, rather than in the final fortnight.
• Checking a retailer's delivery cut-off dates before applying a code is just as important as the discount itself, since a great price is no use if the parcel cannot arrive in time.
• Where retailers allow it, Christmas voucher codes can sometimes be combined with an existing sale price for extra savings, though most sites only permit one code per order, so it is worth reading the terms before checkout.
• Signing up to a retailer's newsletter in the weeks before Christmas is also one of the simplest ways to unlock a first-order or early-access code that is not always visible on the site itself.

Frequently asked questions

• Is Christmas Eve a bank holiday?

No, Christmas Eve is not an official bank holiday in the UK, though many workplaces still close early or give the day off as standard practice.

• Is Christmas Day a bank holiday?

Yes, Christmas Day is one of the official bank holidays, alongside Boxing Day.

• When do schools break up for Christmas?

Exact dates vary by school and local authority, but most schools across the UK break up in the week before Christmas, typically finishing around the third week of December before returning in early January.

• When is Christmas Jumper Day?

Christmas Jumper Day is Save the Children's annual fundraiser, usually held on a Friday in the second week of December, though the exact date shifts slightly each year. The 2026 edition is confirmed for Thursday the 10th of December.

• When do the 12 days of Christmas start?

The 12 days of Christmas traditionally begin on Christmas Day itself and run through to the 5th of January, known as Twelfth Night, the eve of the Epiphany.

• What is Boxing Day?

Boxing Day, the 26th of December, is a UK tradition that marks the unofficial start of the post-Christmas sales season.

• When do the sales start after Christmas?

Most of the biggest after Christmas sales begin on Boxing Day itself, though some retailers open their clearance pages online a day or two earlier, with the deepest discounts usually landing in the following week as shops clear winter stock.