Sainsbury's Christmas delivery slot bookings open this week – here's how to bag yours

We've full info below. For help cutting the cost of your grocery bills, see our Supermarket shopping tips guide.

Sainsbury's Christmas delivery slots will be available to book from this week 

Here's what you need to know:

• Bookings opened from Monday 16 October for delivery pass customers and from Monday 23 October for everyone else. An anytime delivery pass costs £7.50 a month, £43 for six months or £80 for 12 months, while a mid-week delivery pass costs £4 a month or £40 for 12 months.

  Buying a pass upfront means you won't have to pay for delivery charges each time you order – but you'll need to weigh up whether this is worth it based on how often you do an online shop and how much you normally spend on delivery.

  If you don't save enough to cover the cost of delivery while you have a delivery pass, Sainsbury's will give you a voucher to cover the difference.

• You can book your slot online. You can do so via Sainsburys.co.uk or by using the Sainsbury's Groceries app, which is free to download on Android and iOS.

• Click & collect slot bookings open on 20 November for all customers. Delivery passes aren't available for click & collect, which generally costs less than home delivery. Sainsbury's click & collect fees start at 50p for orders over £25 (an additional charge of £4 applies for orders under £25).

• Christmas delivery and click & collect dates will be up to and including 24 December.

What to watch out for when booking Christmas supermarket delivery slots

1. Get in quickly if you can. Slots have been taken fast in previous years. To find out when your chosen supermarket will open bookings, see our Supermarket shopping tips guide.

2. Check if you can edit orders. Many supermarkets let you make an unlimited number of changes to your order by certain deadlines. For example, Sainsbury's lets you edit items, change your delivery date and/or time, and cancel your order right up until 11pm the day before your delivery is due.So, even if you're not sure what your final shopping list will be, it could be worth getting your order in with just a few items and making edits later.

3. Not all supermarkets release specific Christmas dates for orders. Some will just run their usual delivery services.

4. Beware delivery fees. Most supermarkets will deliver up to and including Christmas Eve, though click & collect will invariably be cheaper than choosing a home delivery. 

5. Remember to factor in food costs, as these will vary by supermarket. You could try using a comparison tool, such as Trolley, to benchmark the cost of items at the major supermarkets, including Ocado, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and more. You can also use Trolley to set alerts for when the price of your favourite items drop. For more ways to cut food bills, see our Supermarket shopping tips guide. 

For more ways to reduce financial stress over the festive season, including banning unnecessary presents and free (or very cheap) ways to create Christmas magic for kids, see our 48 Christmas MoneySaving tips.