Anyone wanting to start their Christmas shopping now will be left with limited options when it comes to the high street.
All non-essential shops are shut until December 2 - and for some of us - this is just far too late to get organised.
The only places we can have a festive peruse are in the supermarkets when we're doing our weekly shop.
And we're fortunate these days that the major brands do make a concerted effort in anticipation for the big day.
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So we've traipsed around the supermarkets having a look at how each one is preparing for a pre-Christmas rush.
We've outlined four categories in total.
These are; value in general, the size of each store's range, festive food options, and decorations.
As you'd expect, 10 is the highest possible score, and 0 is the worst.
Here's what we thought - and there's one clear winner.
Aldi
Aldi shoppers know what they're getting when they enter the store. The budget supermarket is excellent for knocking money off a weekly shop.
But one thing I found when looking for Christmas items was how scattered they were around the shop.
The Special Buys aisle seemed to dominate the festive offering - and as mentioned below - this offering changes weekly.
But given the fact it's November, and still quite early, Aldi has already started to capture the festivities with some of the items its stocking.
Value: 10
As expected with Aldi, value for money really is the store's selling point.
It's not often you go into store without picking up a bargain you never knew you needed.
It wasn't hard to give Aldi a 10 in this department, you can pick up some really good quality items which are much cheaper than competing supermarkets.
Range: 9
There was plenty to choose from - including lights, festive props and novelty presents.
The only thing that can be unnerving with Aldi is the fact that the Special Buys aisle flags up some one-off items which aren't often repeated.
But who knows whether festive stock will be repeated in the run up to Christmas.
Food and drink: 5
Aldi's festive food selection isn't quite there yet. They have pop up offers of selected products, such as random puddings and advent calendars.
But in terms of buying enough for for a Christmas shop, I'd say their range is slightly scarce at the moment.
As December arrives, I imagine more items will be added.
The alcohol range is very good - with fancy bottles of gin on offer from as little as £6.
But this isn't a seasonal offering - their booze is competitively priced all year round and has been known to win awards.
Decorations: 10
Aldi has to have a 10 for decorations - they've really got a good variety in store (even if you have to go looking for it).
Overall score: 9
Asda
Asda has always traditionally done quite well at Christmas with a large variety of items on offer.
From Christmas trees, to food, in prior years Asda hasn't always been too bad in my books.
But this year it seems the festive peak is a bit early - and the brand is yet to catch up with some of its competitors.
Value: 8
You can't really knock Asda for value. It has such a selection, and the quality is always really good.
From festive duvet sets, to novelty gift ideas, most of these items were under £20 which is a reasonable price point.
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Range: 10
Asda has by far the best range of decent items in the run up to Christmas. It has a substantial toy section, novelty and an entire aisle dedicated to gift wrap, fancy bags and lovely cards.
The home aisle also has a touch of Christmas - with festive tea towels and equipment you'd traditionally need for cooking.
There's Christmas pyjamas, cushions, sheets, and scented diffusers and candles which are reasonably priced and smell amazing.
Food and drink: 6
The store has already started stocking boxes of crackers, and has dedicated more than one section to festive nibbles and chocolate.
In terms of festive fizz and booze - it doesn't appear to have any special offers on at the moment.
But it may be a bit early for these sorts of promotions.
Decorations: 6
The decorations at the moment seem to be slightly light - but this could all change. Asda usually has a range of highly rated faux Christmas trees, plus a selection of baubles.
The one area it seems to be excelling in is Christmas wrapping paper, bags, tags and cards, though.
Overall: 7
Tesco
I was more impressed with Tesco than I thought I would be, this year.
The supermarket seems to have made a huge effort to wheel out the Christmas fun a bit earlier than normal.
While it may not be as cheap and cheerful as some of the other brands, there seems to be more selection for 2020.
Value: 5
It has to be a five for value given the competition of Asda and Aldi cutting prices constantly.
Alcohol prices remain around average, with an ask of £7 and up for a bottle of Prosecco.
Decorations are fairly priced, but nothing stood out spectacularly as good value for money, in my honest opinion.
However, there are some key offers on which are worth looking at for anyone planning to put their decorations up early.
Range: 10
Tesco really has pulled out all of the shops to showcase its Christmas items.
As soon as you walk into the store, a huge Christmas tree glistens and a row of chocolate tins lead you to the first aisles of the shop.
While Christmas food is of course placed according to what it is, there's clear signage above which leads you to where the festive sections are.
Tesco has its F&F clothing range, which has a small selection of festive clothing, socks and pyjamas in stock.
And, bless them for keeping the spirit in place, but Tesco also has a going out clothing range, with glittery tops and jumpers for sale.
I'm not sure whether any of us will be getting our glad rags on for a Christmas party this year, but then there's always Zoom.
Food and drink: 7
There's quite a lot to pick from in Tesco.
They've rolled out a full range of festive items, from cheeses selection boards, an aisle dedicated to Christmas chocolate and more offers on alcohol.
If you're heading out with a view to stocking up before the big day, I'm confident you'd be able to get a large portion of your list bought and sorted in Tesco.
Decorations: 4
Tesco has some decorations on display, but in the store I went into, there wasn't much of a choice.
There was some discounted tinsel popped on the end of an aisle, and a small section dedicated to baubles.
A small range of wreaths, and small fur trees were being sold at the front of the store.
But this was about it.
Overall, I wasn't too taken aback by the decorations this year.
Overall: 9
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's is always leagues above the rest when it comes to festive decorations. And this year seems to be no exception.
But where it excels dramatically in one department, it seems to have fallen in others.
Value: 5
Sainsbury's, in my opinion, has excellent quality throughout, but you have to pay a price.
The home section has an array of lovely items - but you could quite easily wrack up a £50 bill by getting carried away.
Range: 5
As mentioned above, Sainsbury's is very good with its homeware, its TU clothing range and its luxury food items.
But in terms of being an all-rounder, I'm not entirely sure you'd get everything you needed for the festive shop all under one roof.
Food and drink: 3
In my opinion, Sainsbury's food and drink selection for the festive season was no different from what you'd find at any other point in the year.
The store I entered had some items marketed towards Christmas, but other than that it had one small section for festive chocolate, advent calendars and novelty gifts.
Decorations: 9
It depends on your personal taste, but Sainsbury's is always excellent with tasteful decorations.
From gold, burgundy and green luxury diffusers, room sprays and candles, to gold festive ornaments, the decoration range is substantial and there's a lot of choice.
You can pick up lovely patterned table cloths, and multi-buy packs of baubles that look far more expensive than they are.
I really think Sainsbury's has done very well this year with reflecting on-trend decor for the home.
Overall: 6
Morrisons
Having visited a new Morrisons store that has been open just over a year, I expected big things in terms of Christmas variety.
But I was sorely mistaken.
The only thing that shouted Christmas was the lone-standing tree in the store's entrance.
Maybe November is still slightly early for Morrisons to roll out its full Christmas range.
Value: 5
Morrisons value for food is generally quite good, as the store has its own pizzeria, bakery and fishmonger counter.
A lot of what's made up is fresh, which means you're eating good quality food.
But in terms of a festive range of food, there seemed to be very little focus.
Range, food and drink: 3
Apart from a few cardboard festive signs, and the display of Christmas chocolate tins, it was business as usual at Morrisons.
Maybe the store decided not to place too much focus on Christmas due to the current lockdown?
All in all, there wasn't much going on in terms of a Christmas range.
Decorations: 2
Morrisons did have one aisle dedicated to festive gifts, a small selection of baubles and novelty items.
But this was shared with its magazine, CD and book section, which looked largely unaffected by the new festive items.
Unless you take a liking to a particular item - there's not much to pick from.
Overall: 4
My honest opinion
While Christmas is an early focus for many this year, I'm not sure we've seen a full reflection of how supermarkets are preparing for festivities just yet.
We're edging towards the end of November - and some people this year have thrown out traditions and popped their decorations up early.
But we are in a second lockdown - and I can only think that some ranges are lacking due to store bosses not wanting people to come out unneccesarily.
In my opinion - Tesco wins in terms of variety, Sainsbury's wins in terms of decorations and Aldi wins in terms of value.
Asda doesn't fare too far behind, and unfortunately Morrisons doesn't really compare (at the moment).
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmtlbnRsaXZlLm5ld3Mvd2hhdHMtb24vc2hvcHBpbmcvYWxkaS1hc2RhLW1vcnJpc29ucy1zYWluc2J1cnlzLXRlc2NvLTQ2OTg3NTTSAVxodHRwczovL3d3dy5rZW50bGl2ZS5uZXdzL3doYXRzLW9uL3Nob3BwaW5nL2FsZGktYXNkYS1tb3JyaXNvbnMtc2FpbnNidXJ5cy10ZXNjby00Njk4NzU0LmFtcA?oc=5
2020-11-21 10:08:00Z
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