Grocery Stores Open on Christmas Day 2026: Full List and Hours

Most grocery stores are closed on Christmas Day, which falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. Kroger, Publix, H-E-B, Aldi, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wegmans, Meijer, Food Lion, Walmart, Target and Costco all close. The supermarkets that do open are regional exceptions: last year select Albertsons, Safeway and Vons stores opened on shortened hours, most Acme stores opened from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Giant Food opened more than 136 stores from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Asian and Hispanic grocers such as H Mart and Vallarta kept close to normal hours.

No supermarket chain had announced Christmas 2026 hours when we checked in mid-October; the official holiday pages we opened still showed Labor Day information or standing policy only. Grocers typically post Christmas schedules in the first three weeks of December. What follows is each chain's policy and its confirmed 2025 schedule, labeled as such, drawn from company pages and from statements the chains gave to USA Today, ABC News, Today.com, Axios and local newsrooms. We will update the tables when 2026 hours are published.

Grocery stores open on Christmas Day

These chains had at least some stores open on December 25, 2025. In every case the hours were shorter than normal and differed from store to store.

Two points about this list. First, Albertsons Companies – which owns Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw's, Star Market, Tom Thumb and Randalls – does not set one national rule, so its banners behave differently. Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Tom Thumb were closed last Christmas while Acme was mostly open. Second, "select stores" really does mean select. In Southern California, for instance, KTLA reported that some Albertsons and Vons stores would be open until 3 p.m. on Christmas Day and told shoppers to check local store hours, and the Associated Press described many Albertsons and Safeway stores as closed with others open on adjusted hours. Use the store locator for your exact address.

A note on Giant: there are two unrelated-looking chains with that name under the same parent. Giant Food, based in Maryland, opened most stores last Christmas. The Giant Company's stores in central Pennsylvania were listed by PennLive as open until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and closed on December 25.

Grocery stores closed on Christmas Day

Is Kroger open on Christmas?

No. Kroger stores and the supermarkets it owns were closed on Christmas Day 2025 and went back to regular hours on December 26. On Christmas Eve a Kroger spokesperson told USA Today that most stores would close between 6 and 8 p.m., and local reports bore out the range: Kroger stores in central Ohio at 6 p.m., Fry's in Phoenix at 8 p.m., Ralphs in Southern California as late as 10 p.m. Kroger pharmacies closed earlier than the stores – most at 4 p.m., according to TEGNA stations, and Fry's pharmacies at 5 p.m.

Is Publix open on Christmas?

No. Publix says on its corporate site that it closes three days a year: Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. On Christmas Eve 2025 stores and their pharmacies closed at 7 p.m.

Is Safeway or Albertsons open on Christmas?

Some are. Albertsons and Safeway are the largest conventional supermarket banners that open any stores on December 25, and last year the open ones kept limited hours – generally a morning-to-mid-afternoon shift. The Associated Press noted that select Albertsons pharmacies might also be closed or on different hours. Because the open stores change from year to year, do not assume the Safeway that opened last Christmas will do so again; look it up in the Safeway or Albertsons app in the week before the holiday.

Is Whole Foods open on Christmas?

No. This is one of the most commonly misreported chains, because Whole Foods opens on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with modified hours. Its own holiday page is unambiguous: "We're closed on Christmas Day." On Christmas Eve 2025 most stores were open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Is H-E-B open on Christmas?

No. H-E-B's holiday hours page lists stores, pharmacies, curbside and home delivery as closed on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve stores are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., the pharmacy closes at 5 p.m., curbside runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and delivery ends at 6:30 p.m.

Aldi, Trader Joe's, Meijer, Wegmans and Costco

All closed. Aldi told USA Today it would keep "limited hours" on Christmas Eve, and most stores closed at 4 p.m., earlier than almost any other grocer. Trader Joe's said it would be open until 5 p.m. on December 24 and closed on December 25. Meijer was closed on Christmas Day; its Christmas Eve closing time was reported differently by different outlets and the company's website carried no schedule, so we do not print one – use the Meijer store locator. Wegmans closed at 6 p.m. Costco closed at 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and, by standing policy, does not open on Christmas Day.

Where to buy basics if every supermarket near you is closed

In much of the country, particularly the Southeast, Midwest and Texas, no conventional supermarket opens on December 25. You still have options for the essentials:

• Convenience stores. 7-Eleven, Wawa, Sheetz, QuikTrip, Circle K, Kwik Trip, Maverik and RaceTrac were open last Christmas, most of them around the clock. They stock milk, eggs, butter, bread, coffee, ice, canned goods and some produce. Wawa, Sheetz, QuikTrip and Kwik Trip carry more fresh food than most.
• Drugstores. Walgreens and CVS have a refrigerated case with milk, eggs, butter and cheese, plus pantry staples, baby formula and pet food.
• Ethnic and specialty grocers. Asian supermarkets, Hispanic markets, halal and kosher grocers and Indian stores often open as usual. Many have a full butcher counter, a produce department and a bakery, and they are frequently the only full grocery store open in a metro area.
• Corner stores and bodegas. In large cities, independent neighborhood stores commonly stay open at least part of the day.
• Travel centers. Pilot Flying J, Love's and TA stock basic groceries along interstate highways.

Expect to pay more than supermarket prices, and expect some shelves to be thin by afternoon. Heavy cream, fresh herbs and specialty baking ingredients are the hardest things to find. If you are missing an ingredient, a substitution is often faster than a drive: melted butter and milk can stand in for cream in many sauces, and dried herbs work at about a third of the fresh quantity.

Grocery delivery and pickup on Christmas Day

Delivery apps keep operating on December 25, but they can only shop stores that are open. Axios reported that DoorDash, Uber Eats, Gopuff and Instacart all delivered last Christmas, with selection limited by store closures. Gopuff, which runs its own warehouses, was listed with hours that vary but run 24 hours in some areas. In practice that means drugstore, convenience-store and Gopuff orders are possible in many cities, while a normal supermarket order is not.

The retailers' own services stop with the stores. Target said there would be no Drive Up, Order Pickup or same-day delivery on Christmas Day 2025. H-E-B lists curbside and delivery as closed. For Christmas Eve last year the cutoffs were early: Target asked for same-day delivery orders by 3 p.m. and pickup orders by 6 p.m., while Walmart asked for same-day pickup and delivery orders by noon local time. Pickup slots for December 23 and 24 are usually reserved days ahead, so book a slot as soon as your store releases them.

A shopping timeline for a Friday Christmas

With Christmas on a Friday, the natural last full shopping day is Wednesday, December 23. Store traffic will build all week and peak on Christmas Eve around midday.

1. Weekend of December 19 and 20. Buy everything shelf-stable and frozen: flour, sugar, canned goods, stock, drinks, frozen pie crusts, and the turkey or ham if it needs days to thaw. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says to allow approximately 24 hours of refrigerator thawing for each 4 to 5 pounds, in a refrigerator set at 40 °F or below – 3 to 4 days for a 12- to 16-pound turkey – so a 16-pound bird has to go in the fridge by Monday.
2. Monday and Tuesday, December 21 and 22. Order any bakery, deli or prepared holiday items for pickup, and confirm pickup times.
3. Wednesday, December 23. Buy fresh produce, dairy, bread and seafood. Go at opening or late in the evening; some chains extend their hours this week – Target stayed open until midnight through December 23 last year.
4. Thursday, December 24. Emergencies only, and before noon. Aldi closed at 4 p.m. last year, several supermarket pharmacy counters shut at 3 p.m., and by 6 p.m. most supermarkets are locked.
5. Friday, December 25. Convenience store, drugstore or one of the exceptions in the first table. Go in the morning.
6. Saturday, December 26. Supermarkets return to regular hours.

The items shoppers most often forget are unglamorous: butter, eggs, heavy cream, chicken or turkey stock, aluminum foil, parchment paper, coffee, ice, dinner rolls and something for breakfast. If you are cooking for the first time, our guide to how long to cook a turkey has roasting times by weight, and apple crumble pie or a classic apple pie can be made the day before.

Pharmacies inside grocery stores

Supermarket pharmacies are closed whenever the store is closed, and where a store opens on Christmas the pharmacy counter may still stay shut. Publix and H-E-B state that their pharmacies are closed on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve pharmacy counters shut well before the stores: last year 3 p.m. at Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Giant Eagle, 4 p.m. at most Kroger-family pharmacies and 5 p.m. at H-E-B and Fry's. Pick up prescriptions by Wednesday. If you are caught short, see pharmacies open on Christmas.

For general retailers see stores open on Christmas, for closing times on the 24th see Christmas Eve hours, and for the whole picture go back to what is open on Christmas Day.