Publix Has Christmas Eve Hours, But Don't Count On Them Christmas Day

I never thought I’d be Googling “Publix Christmas Eve and Christmas Day hours” last year, but there I was. I’ve always been the type of person to make sure I have meticulously planned every detail of a meal if we are hosting, and if it’s a holiday, I have the ingredients for everything well in advance — and the fresh ingredients two days in advance. I never wanted to be one of those people who are in the store on Christmas Eve. The horror. But there I was last year, much to my embarrassment and dismay.

Our holiday tradition involves inviting my family over to our house and my husband and I cooking a traditional Italian feast like his mom used to make for his family every Christmas. You start the marinara sauce (Christmas gravy) from scratch 24 hours before serving, and let it simmer with sausages and meatballs for two days. Then you serve it with fresh rigatoni pasta and a salad with romaine, fresh peppers, red onion, and homemade vinaigrette dressing. Y’all, it’s so good. And Mama Schreier would kill me if I shared the recipe. So that’s all I have to say about that.

But what I can say is a key ingredient to this dish is obviously olive oil, and I of course had that in stock. Hey, if you’re married to an Italian, you have to have olive oil in your house at all times. I think it’s the law. However, what I didn’t plan for was my jerk-face cat knocking said olive oil all over the floor while I was rolling meatballs. It was a glass bottle, so you know how that ended.

Thankfully for me last year, and for those of us who burn the roast beast or run out of olive oil this year, Publix will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. If this happens on Christmas Day, though, you’re out of luck, and McDonalds or Chinese takeout may be a new Christmas Day tradition you’ll be starting, because Publix is closed all of Christmas Day.

A spokesperson from Publix told CountryLiving.com, “Our stores will be closed on Christmas Day in order to allow our associates to enjoy time with family and friends.” Now that’s the holiday spirit I’m talking about.

So if you need last-minute supplies for your Christmas morning brunch, your Christmas Day feast, or a Christmas Eve party, make sure you get to Publix ideally before Christmas Eve. But if you must, they are open on Christmas Eve from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and not at all on Christmas Day. Here’s hoping your cats don’t ruin Christmas like mine almost did, and if they try to, they do so well before December 24.