What’s open on Christmas Day 2024? Holiday hours for Walgreens, CVS, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, fast-food restaurants, stores, and more

If you find yourself short a roll of gift-wrapping tape or a stick of butter, or you suddenly decide you don’t want to cook, here’s a list of stores and restaurants that are open on Christmas Day 2024. Many of these chain retailers and restaurants are operating on modified hours, so always double-check with your local store before heading out.

To be sure, most stores and even restaurants in the United States are closed on Wednesday, December 25. However, the ones that are open include:

Grocery and convenience stores

• Acme Market: Most are open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., but varies by location.
• Albertsons: Some stores are open; those hours vary by location.
• Casey’s General Store: Opens 10 a.m.
• Circle K: Most are open 24 hours.
• Cumberland Farms: Regular hours, but they vary.
• Safeway: Hours vary by location.
• Wawa: Most are open 24 hours.
• 7-Eleven: Most are open 24 hours.

Chain pharmacies

• CVS: Hours vary by location, with reduced hours. However, most in-store pharmacies are closed.
• Walgreens: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with 24-hour locations open. In-store pharmacies are closed.

Fast-food Restaurants

Fast-food chains typically operate under the franchise model, which means some franchise owners may choose to open.

• McDonald’s: Likely open, but check your local restaurants.
• Burger King: Reduced hours, vary by location.
• Wendy’s: Possibly open, but check the location finder.
• Pizza Hut: Varies by location; check your local Hut.
• Taco Bell: Hours vary by location; check the location finder.
• Chipotle: Closed on Christmas.

Restaurants

Many chain restaurants that are open on Christmas Day operate with reduced hours and offer limited menus at select locations. Hours at the following restaurants vary by location unless otherwise specified; check the individual location finders for local hours.

• Applebee’s
• Buffalo Wild Wings
• Denny’s
• Huddle House: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• IHOP
• Papa John’s
• Perkins: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Red Lobster: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• TGI Fridays
• Waffle House

For Chinese restaurants, Christmas can be one of the busiest days of the year. The notion dates back to the early 20th century when Chinese restaurants were just about the only eateries open on Christmas. Since the immigrant owners and workers didn’t observe the holiday, they would open to accommodate customers who also didn’t celebrate Christmas, leading to a longstanding stereotypic American Jewish tradition, reinforced in popular culture. However, it wasn’t only Jewish families. There’s a memorable scene in the iconic 1983 movie A Christmas Story in which the Parker family ends up at Bo’ Ling Chop Suey Palace on Christmas because the neighbor’s dogs absconded with their Christmas turkey.

Movie theaters

Most movie theaters will be open on Christmas Day as Hollywood studios traditionally rely on Christmas moviegoing as part of their holiday haul.

Some notable movies that will be playing include A Complete Unknown, staring Timothée Chalamet as 19-year-old Bob Dylan when he arrives in New York City for the first time; Nosferatu, staring Nicholas Hoult as a man searching for a house for a wealthy Transylvanian count; and The Fire Inside, a biopic that follows professional boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields as she trains for the 2012 Summer Olympics.