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We might be a long way from opening the best beauty advent calendars, but supermarkets are gearing up for Christmas well in advance. True to form, they’ve got into the holiday spirit early this year, already unveiling their festive food and drink menus – and in some cases, even opening up delivery and collection slots for ultra-organised shoppers.
So far, Waitrose has unveiled an innovative ‘turkey bauble’, Sainsbury’s has revealed a Christmas twist on sticky toffee pudding, and Tesco has teased chocolate and gingerbread S’mores tarts and burrata with a hot maple glaze and pistachios. Meanwhile, M&S will be offering a Christmas-themed Colin the Caterpillar, naturally.
To take the hassle out of hosting around the festive period, most of the big supermarkets will offer a Christmas food to order service. You can pre-order for delivery or collection closer to Christmas, so that you can avoid running around the aisles last-minute. It’s not just the turkey, either; these services include show-stopping centrepieces, desserts, and party foods.
Delivery or collection slots are already starting to open up, with M&S, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s slots available to book now – the other supermarkets will follow suit over the coming weeks and months. It may seem premature to start thinking about Christmas shopping now, but we’d always recommend booking your slot as early as you can, as they tend to fill up quickly.
If you’re interested in making your festive dinner even more wholesome and complete, we have also rounded up the best supermarket sourdoughs and the best supermarket wines to accompany your meal, as well as the best supermarket whiskies and the best supermarket champagne for a toast at the end.
Keep reading for what we know so far about food from M&S, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Tesco, Asda and The Co-op.
Sainsbury’s Christmas food 2025
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Desserts include fir-free-shaped date sponge with sticky toffee sauce (Sainsbury’s)Sainsbury’s Christmas food slots open: Now Collection or delivery dates: From 22-24 December
Sainsbury’s Christmas slots are now open. There are plenty of scrumptious-looking dishes to choose from, including a pork and apple bacon-wrapped stuffing wreath (£10, Sainsburys.co.uk), which looks perfect for a buffet spread, to a ‘spruced up’ sticky toffee pudding (£12, Sainsburys.co.uk).
The starter offering is impressive, think goat’s cheese and caramelised onion quiches (£7.50, Sainsburys.co.uk), lobster tails with garlic and parsley butter (£25, Sainsburys.co.uk), or chicken liver parfait (£12, Sainsburys.co.uk).
There is a huge range of turkeys, including an organic option, and a meat-free ‘no turkey crown’ (£6.50, Sainsburys.co.uk). Choose from a honey and treacle glaze turkey (£62.50, Sainsburys.co.uk), a turkey and duck roast (£30, Sainsburys.co.uk) and even individual turkey parcels (£20, Sainsburys.co.uk).
Should you be looking to streamline your shop, the Christmas dinner in a box (£50, Sainsburys.co.uk) comes with trimmings, even your gravy.
There are plenty more meat-based main dishes on the menu, including maple-candied gammon (£17, Sainsburys.co.uk) and shin of beef with stout (£50, Sainsburys.co.uk). And for those who will be tucking into a fish main course, options include scallop and king prawn fish pie (Sainsburys.co.uk), salmon Wellington (£35, Sainsburys.co.uk) and more, while vegetarian and vegan options include a maple chilli butternut squash galette (£7, Sainsburys.co.uk).
For dessert, novelty festive sweets to wow with include chocolate orange sleigh de noël (£20, Sainsburys.co.uk) and a s’mores pie (£14, Sainsburys.co.uk).
Waitrose Christmas food 2025
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New for this year is the “turkey bauble” (Waitrose)Waitrose Christmas food slots open: NowCollection or delivery dates: From 20-24 December
Waitrose was one of the first to unveil its Christmas menu. The supermarket’s food-to-order range, as well as delivery and collection slots, are officially now open. Don’t worry if you don’t want to choose everything now, as the site says you can choose a few food items now, but change these at any time as we get closer to Christmas. That said, you need to finalise your selection and order by 15 December to have your items by Christmas, and by 21 December, for New Year’s Eve.
New this year, there’s Rick Stein’s lobster and king prawn velouté pie (£80, Waitrose.com), a plant-based roast turkey complete with all the trimmings (£16, Waitrose.com), the No.1 stuffed Scottish salmon with prawns and salsa verde, and a “turkey bauble” (£50, Waitrose.com) – turkey breast with stuffing inside and wrapped in dry-cured beechwood smoked bacon with a cranberry and orange glaze. There’s plenty for vegan and veggie diners too, with a No.1 mushroom, malbec and port wellington (£12, Waitrose.com), and a No.1 cauliflower cheese galette crown (£14, Waitrose.com).
As for party food and sharers, the supermarket is offering everything from canapés and quiches to its No.1 pork, turkey and cranberry sausage roll snowflake (£10, Waitrose.com).
When it comes to desserts, there’s plenty to whet the appetite, from the new No.1 ‘nutcracker’ chocolate mousse (£20, Waitrose.com), No.1 Sicilian lemon and mascarpone delice (£18, Waitrose.com), a triple chocolate yule log (£18, Waitrose.com) and more. There are also mini festive cupcakes (£22, Waitrose.com) and a ‘cheeky chocolate Robin cake’ (£28, Waitrose.com) – chocolate buttercream-filled chocolate sponge – which are sure to be a hit with kids.
M&S Christmas food 2025
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The M&S Christmas menu will be announced soon (M&S)M&S Christmas food slots open: Now Collection or delivery dates: From 22-24 December (collection only)
M&S’s food for the festive period is always hotly anticipated, and it never fails to impress. With more than 90 dishes to choose from this year, the range is now available to browse, and you can order your selection and book your slot for collection from M&S stores, which will be either on 22, 23 or 24 December.
New items this year include a tear-and-share garlic butter brie wreath (£17.50, Marksandspencer.com), halibut with caper brown butter and samphire (£50, Marksandspencer.com), and vegetarian ‘made without’ wheat butternut squash and B
arber’s cheddar tarts (£8, Marksandspencer.com). Meanwhile, returning items include the sellout build by numbers charcuterie and antipasti grazing platter (£50, Marksandspencer.com) and chocolate pine cones (£17.50, Marksandspencer.com), now in their tenth year.
M&S will have all your festive grazing needs catered for. You could be serving Atlantic lobster tails with langoustine and garlic butter (£55, Marksandspencer.com), scallop en croutes in all-butter puff pastry (£16, Marksandspencer.com), or the impressively large shellfish platter (£100, Marksandspencer.com).
There’s a range of wagyu beef dishes, including a pie, and a wide choice of Wellingtons. There’s a British turkey and stuffing Wellington (£110, Marksandspencer.com), a monkfish, salmon and lobster Wellington (£110, Marksandspencer.com), and there’s a vegetarian one too, a butternut squash, brie and caramelised onion Wellington (£22, Marksandspencer.com).
As for desserts, Colin the Caterpillar (£15, Marksandspencer.com) has had a festive makeover, complete with chocolate crackers and popping candy. The lemon and mascarpone panettone gateau (£25, Marksandspencer.com) – panettone with mascarpone cream, lemon curd and white chocolate curls – looks like a sure-fire showstopper, while gluten-free options include a chocolate yule log (Marksandspencer.com).
Tesco Christmas food 2025
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Desserts include a salted banoffee cascading star (Tesco)Tesco Christmas slots open: 11 November, and 4 November for those with an anytime delivery saver plan or click and collect planCollection or delivery dates: From 20-24 December
Tesco’s Christmas offering is set to include more than 260 new products this year. While the Tesco food-to-order range is largely under wraps (slots open from early November), its general festive range also looks promising. For a traditional main course, there will, of course, be turkey (and a turkey curry pie, for a twist on tradition), beef wellington and more.
For hosting a crowd, sharers include Tesco Finest burrata with a hot maple glaze and pistachios, Tesco Finest char siu duck bao buns, and Tesco Finest feta, apricot and harissa pastries with a hot honey drizzle. We’re eyeing up the Tesco Finest festive camembert crown and Tesco Finest New York deli pretzel bites, too.
As for desserts, the Tesco Finest chocolate and honeycomb choux wreath, and a Tesco Finest salted banoffee cascading star are bound to impress. There are intriguing panettone flavours, with a Tesco Finest gingerbread panettone and Tesco Finest sticky toffee panettone Christmas pudding. As well as a huge mince pie offering, there are Tesco Finest chocolate and gingerbread S’mores tarts for the mince pie naysayers.
Asda Christmas food 2025
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Asda’s food-to-order slots open in October (Asda)Asda Christmas food slots open: Around October (exact date to be confirmed)Collection or delivery dates: From 21-23 December
From its first-ever range of Christmas Day brunch foods (think Exceptional hot maple pigs in Blankets and hot honey streaky bacon) to its festive fondue, the supermarket has shared some of its Christmas food range, and you can even buy some of it already online or in Asda shops.
The ultimate cheese-lovers party food, the fondue kits come with Milano Salami, chorizo, gherkins, marinated cherry tomatoes and more, for dipping into a vintage cheddar cheese fondue. For a festive twist on the dish, you’ll also be able to try a ‘pigs in duvet wreath’ version.
To take some of the hassle out of cooking on the big day, Asda will sell a ‘turkey with all the trimmings’ box, which includes everything you need for a Christmas dinner. Another option is the slow-cured rack of pork with truffle butter and parmesan crumb.
When it comes to desserts and sweet dishes, the gingerbread man is the star of the show. More than 30 gingerbread-themed products are launching in stores, including a frozen gingerbread man-shaped Belgian chocolate mousse, filled with gooey toffee sauce and honeycomb pieces.
If you’re looking for a decadent tipple to serve with your Baileys in the evening, you’ll want to add the Exceptional pistachio and milk chocolate flavour cream liqueur to your basket too.
Asda’s Christmas food-to-order range, which will include more than 20 centrepieces, will be available to order from around October for delivery or collection between 21st and 23 December.
The Co-op Christmas food 2025
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Gruyère cheese and caramelised onion crostini (The Co-op)Co-op Christmas food slots open: N/ACollection or delivery dates: Christmas food will be available online and in Co-op stores, but slots are not available to book ahead of time
While Co-op won’t have a Christmas food-to-order service, you will still be able to order its Christmas range online or in shops when it arrives later in the year. In the meantime, the menu looks promising. Co-op’s premium “Irresistible” brand brings party dishes and small plates, like Irresistible vegetable fritter slider bao buns with soy dip, Irresistible gruyère cheese and caramelised onion crostini, Irresistible Mexican-style pulled beef croquettes with smoky ketchup, and melt-in-the-middle cod fishcakes.
For lunch, starters and mains will include Irresistible smooth brussels and mulled wine pate, Irresistible oak smoked salmon with a creamy dill sauce, and Irresistible chicken, ham hock and cranberry pie. There’s plenty of choice when it comes to desserts too, from Irresistible black forest brownies to Irresistible gingerbread and white chocolate cakes, and Irresistible gingerbread and maple mince pies.
For more festive fun, our beauty expert has tested the best beauty advent calendars for 2025
Dining and Cooking