Tesco reveals Christmas delivery slot dates for 2026 – and how to get early access

Tesco has confirmed when shoppers will be able to book Christmas delivery slots for 2026, with some customers getting a two-day head start.

The supermarket says it is adding 60,000 more home delivery and Click+Collect slots than last Christmas.

But you do not need to sign up by 18 October just to get early access to a Christmas slot.

When do Tesco Christmas delivery slots open?

There are two main dates to put in your diary.

Customers with an Anytime Delivery Saver plan can book Christmas home delivery or collection slots from 6am on Tuesday 3 November 2026.

Customers with Tesco’s Click+Collect Delivery Saver plan can also book from 6am on 3 November, although their priority access is for collection slots rather than home delivery.

Everyone else can book from 6am on Thursday 5 November 2026.

When bookings open, you can book a Tesco home delivery or Click+Collect slot online. You’ll need to sign in and enter your details to see the slots available in your area.

That includes shoppers without a Delivery Saver plan and customers on Tesco’s cheaper Off-Peak Delivery Saver plan.

Off-Peak membership does not include priority Christmas slots.

Tesco says there will be an online waiting room when Christmas bookings open, and slots are still subject to availability.

Early access improves your chances but does not guarantee the date or time you want.

Do you need Tesco Delivery Saver to book a Christmas slot?

No.

Anyone will be able to book an available Tesco Christmas delivery or Click+Collect slot from 6am on 5 November.

Delivery Saver simply gives some customers access 48 hours earlier.

If home delivery is important to you, you need the Anytime Delivery Saver plan for priority access.

The Click+Collect Delivery Saver plan gets priority collection slots.

The Off-Peak Delivery Saver plan does not get early Christmas access.

Do you need to sign up before 18 October?

This is where Tesco’s announcement could easily cause confusion.

You do not need to join Anytime Delivery Saver by 18 October simply to get early access to Christmas slots.

Tesco says new Anytime Delivery Saver customers can still qualify for the 3 November priority booking window if they sign up by 11.59pm on Monday 2 November.

The 18 October deadline is for an extra Whoosh offer.

New customers who join an Anytime Delivery Saver plan during the promotional period and by 18 October can get £0 Whoosh delivery fees on eligible orders over £25 until 11 January 2027.

Existing Anytime Delivery Saver customers also get the temporary Whoosh benefit automatically.

It does not apply simply because you have an Off-Peak or Click+Collect Delivery Saver plan.

So, if your only reason for considering Delivery Saver is getting a Christmas slot two days earlier, there is no need to rush into an Anytime plan before 18 October.

How much does Tesco Delivery Saver cost?

Tesco’s current prices are:

• Anytime: £7.99 a month for six months, costing £47.94 in total
• Anytime: £6.99 a month for 12 months, costing £83.88 in total
• Off-Peak: £4.99 a month for six months or £3.99 a month for 12 months, but without priority Christmas access
• Click+Collect: £2.49 a month for six months, costing £14.94 in total

The Anytime plan includes home delivery for available slots and Click+Collect, while the Click+Collect plan is collection only.

There is another useful protection.

Tesco has a Delivery Saver guarantee. At the end of your membership period, if you paid more for your membership than the normal cost of the qualifying delivery or collection slots you used, Tesco says it will give you the difference back as a Tesco grocery eCoupon.

Terms apply.

Delivery Saver does not remove Tesco’s minimum basket rules. Tesco says a £5 minimum basket charge applies to home delivery orders under £50 and Click+Collect orders under £25.

Tesco’s Delivery Saver terms also say same-day deliveries and collections are unavailable from 19 December to 3 January, so don’t assume an Anytime plan will let you arrange a last-minute same-day Christmas shop. 

Is Delivery Saver worth buying just for Christmas early access?

For many households, probably not if the only benefit you want is getting into the booking system two days earlier.

Getting priority home delivery access means committing to an Anytime plan. The cheapest six-month option costs £47.94 in total.

If you already order regularly from Tesco, the maths is different because you can use the plan for your normal grocery deliveries too.

Tesco says its 12-month Anytime plan can save £176 compared with paying £5 for one delivery every week, although that example assumes someone actually orders once a week.

If you are happy to collect your Christmas shopping yourself, the Click+Collect plan is much cheaper at £14.94 over six months and still gives priority access to Christmas collection slots.

Without Delivery Saver, Tesco says normal Click+Collect slots can cost from 25p, with same-day slots costing up to £2.

The sensible approach is to look at how often you normally order from Tesco rather than paying nearly £48 purely because Christmas slots feel urgent.

If you’re trying to bring down the cost of your food shop generally, we’ve also put together some simple ways to save money on groceries.

What about the free Whoosh offer?

This could make Anytime Delivery Saver more useful for households that already use Tesco’s rapid delivery service.

Whoosh normally costs £2.99 per delivery. Orders under £15 can also face a £2.50 small basket charge.

Under Tesco’s temporary offer, eligible Anytime Delivery Saver customers can get the £2.99 delivery fee removed on Whoosh baskets over £25 until 11 January 2027.

Whoosh is only available in selected areas and Tesco says prices on Whoosh can differ from its normal grocery service.

If you already use Whoosh several times a month, that benefit is worth including when you work out whether Delivery Saver makes sense.

If you never use Whoosh, it should not persuade you to buy a subscription you otherwise would not need.

Small top-up shops can quickly make a food budget harder to stick to, which is one reason we’ve previously looked at weekly shopping versus buying little and often.

When are Tesco Christmas deliveries available?

Tesco says the final home delivery and Click+Collect slots will be on either 23 or 24 December, depending on where you live.

There is one point to check carefully if you’re ordering from its Festive Food to Order range. 

Tesco’s Christmas Shop currently says these orders can arrive or be collected between 20 and 24 December, while Tesco’s separate Festive Food announcement says 20 to 23 December.

If you want a Christmas Eve slot, check what is available for your postcode and make sure your Festive Food items are eligible before checking out.

What are the Tesco Christmas ordering deadlines?

If you want anything from Tesco’s Festive Food to Order range, it needs to be checked out by 11.45pm on Monday 14 December.

The products are not reserved simply because you have added them to a shopping list.

Tesco says they are reserved once they have been added to an eligible delivery or collection order and you have checked out.

For the rest of your grocery order, Tesco normally lets you make changes until 11.45pm the night before your delivery or collection.

That means you do not need to know your full Christmas shopping list when you book your slot in November.

Secure the slot first, then build the order properly nearer Christmas.

How to improve your chances of getting the Tesco slot you want

Decide on your preferred delivery date before bookings open, plus one or two backup dates.

Sign into your Tesco account before 6 am rather than trying to remember passwords once the waiting room opens.

If you are flexible, check Click+Collect as well as home delivery.

Tesco says it has more than 500 collection locations, and collection slots can sometimes give you another option if delivery times have gone.

Once you select a normal Tesco grocery slot, Tesco’s online shopping guide says it is reserved for two hours while you shop.

You still need to add items and check out within that time rather than assuming clicking the slot has permanently secured it.

And do not panic-buy Christmas food just because you have secured an early slot.

You can make changes to most of your shop much closer to delivery.

What should you do now?

If you already have Anytime Delivery Saver, put 6am on 3 November in your diary.

Existing Anytime members should also get the temporary Whoosh benefit automatically.

If you regularly use Tesco home delivery and were already thinking about Anytime Delivery Saver, joining by 18 October gets you the extra Whoosh offer as well as Christmas priority access.

If you only want priority Christmas home delivery, you have until 11.59pm on 2 November to join Anytime Delivery Saver, so there is no need to make a rushed decision now.

And if you do not want another subscription at all, put 6am on 5 November in your diary.

With 60,000 more slots promised and only a two-day priority window this year, waiting for general booking may be perfectly reasonable if you can be flexible about your delivery time.