If you are left stumped and need to find anything last minute on Christmas Day you might be in luck with a few places open on the big day (Picture: Getty)

This time next week you will be opening presents and drinking down the Buck’s Fizz – but imagine if you forgot batteries for a toy or don’t have any mint sauce for Christmas dinner?

You might equally be concerned that you need to post something last-minute, or that you may need to pop into the bank to sort something out over the next few days.

Well luckily for you there might be some small shops open on Christmas Day – but the bad news is that almost all other stores will be closed on December 25.

So, if you now have the fear the big day might be ruined without some last-minute essentials, you might be asking yourself, are there any shops open on Christmas Day itself?

And what about other services, such as Post Offices or banks?

Metro.co.uk is here to help and give you the answers to the big question.

Which shops are open on Christmas?

Most shops will be closed on Christmas Day.

By law, under the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004, practically all stores across different sectors of retail must close their doors on the big day.

Any corner shops or local stores that are open will be discretionary and you’ll have to check any notices to see their opening hours.

Most major supermarkets and stores will be closed on Christmas Day (Picture: Getty)

Major supermarkets, including Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s will be open again over the holidays from Boxing Day – although others such as Aldi and Iceland will remain shut.

Smaller shops are likely to remain open in motorway service stations.

Are petrol stations open on Christmas Day?

All motorway service stations must remain open for fuel, parking and toilets 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

However, petrol stations attached to supermarkets will likely be closed, as will petrol stations on most A-roads.

Are post offices open on Christmas Day?

Post offices will be shutting up shop for a few days (Picture: Getty Images)

All post offices will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Some branches will reopen on Wednesday, December 27 but there will be no collections or deliveries.

Are banks open on Christmas Day?

Don’t expect your local bank to be open (Picture: Reuters)

Banks will be closed on Christmas Day.

If you need to withdraw cash, you can still use a cash machine.

Similarly, you’ll be able to pay using online banking, but payments and deposits might take longer to process.

The vast majority of banks will be closed on Boxing Day, and will re-open on Wednesday, December 27, with some reduced opening hours.

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