Attention, Whole Foods Shoppers: Here's When The Store Is Open On Christmas Eve

Grocery shopping is a contact sport around the holidays. The area beyond those automatic sliding doors becomes pure chaos: people fighting over the last box of cookie dough, checkout lines that are at least twelve carts long, and traffic jams blocking all of the canned goods. There are many steps required to prepare yourself for the battleground you're about to enter — perfecting your list, strategizing which route you'll take in store, figuring out when the deli shipments arrive so you can get first pick — which is why you need to find out Whole Foods' Christmas Eve hours stat.

The Whole Foods Market holiday hours are important to know no matter what kind of grocery shopper you are. You might be the kind of person who will be waiting at the door when the store opens on Christmas Eve so you can get in and grab your necessities before the store runs out, giving you the rest of the day to meal prep and wrap presents. Or you might be planning to wait to shop until an hour before the store closes if you don't need much, hoping to avoid the mass of visitors that will no doubt be walking down the aisles throughout the day. You might even be someone who thrives off the grocery store competition, and you'll be elbowing your way past people to get to the bakery for those rolls your niece loves. Regardless, you need to know the store's hours to plan your pre-Christmas shop, and I've got your back.

Unsurprisingly, Whole Foods Markets will have special operating hours on Christmas Eve, as confirmed by a Whole Foods Rep. Many locations will be opening early to allow shoppers some extra time in store and then closing early to allow employees to start their holiday celebrations, and they're continuing that holiday spirit by totally closing all WFM locations on Christmas day (i.e. don't plan on making a last minute food run after Santa comes to town). The hours vary by location — though many stores will be closing at 7 p.m. according to Holiday Shopping Hours. You can look up your local Whole Foods' hours to find out exactly when your store will close on December 24. All stores will reopen with normal operating hours on the 26th.

So if you were planning on getting your shopping done later in the day, you might want to adjust your schedule so the grocery experience isn't quite as stressful. Grocery shopping has been proven to be a stress inducing experience, as shown by a study from 1998 published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, so it's a good idea to do everything you can to set yourself up for a relaxing food run in those overly air conditioned aisles. Avoiding the grocery store on Christmas Eve altogether might be the safest option, especially since Christmas falls on a Tuesday this year. Just pop into the store at some point over the weekend so you can hibernate with the fam on Christmas Eve instead of battling your way to the frozen cinnamon rolls. You'll thank yourself later.

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