7 Ways to Make Holiday Grocery Shopping Faster

Want to make shopping the Co-op faster and easier this holiday? Try this:

Holiday Shopping Tip #1: Avoid the Busy Days

Typically, our busiest days fall two days before a major holiday—the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the eve of Christmas Eve, and so on. We’re also busy when a snowstorm has been predicted.

Holiday Shopping Tip #2: Avoid the Busy Times

Our busy times are around lunch and between 4 and 6 p.m. This is true in general, and particularly true during the holidays.

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Holiday Shopping Tip #3: Know Our Holiday Hours

All locations close at 4 p.m. Christmas Eve, are closed Christmas day, close at 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve, and are closed New Year’s Day.

Holiday Shopping Tip #4: Put In Your Meat Order Early

Call in your custom holiday meat order ahead of time! Our meat guys and gals are the best. Truly. They’ll cut and prepare your order to your exact specifications and have it ready for you to pick up the day and time of your choosing. Call 603-643-2667, ext. 6314 (Hanover), ext. 6314 (Lebanon), ext. 4414 (WRJ).

Holiday Shopping Tip #5: Parking Lot Cooperation

If you shop the Hanover store, parking pros are in the lot to help, mainly because the design of the parking lot itself lends itself to needing an extra hand. We’ll not only help you find an open spot, but we’ll return your cart for you, help you out with your groceries, and generally do anything else we can. In the other store lots, shoppers doing simple things can help one another. Want an easy suggestion? Return another shopper’s cart as you go in, or offer your cart to someone else as you leave.

Holiday Shopping Tip #6: Get Non-perishables Early

We recommend coming in a few days early for all those essential non-perishables. Then all you’ll have left is your holiday meats, dairy needs, and the like. We won’t be as busy when you do the bulk of your shopping, and you can be in and out quickly the week of the holiday because your list will be relatively short.

Holiday Shopping Tip #7: Question? Talk to the Pros!

Food professionals love to share their knowledge with you. Need recipe advice or food-preparation tips? Entertaining and need help estimating how much food for the number of people? Want to prepare a special holiday meal for folks on special diets? Whatever the question, we’ve got someone with expertise who can help. Contact us and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Have Your Own Tips? Share With Us!

Our best ideas come from you. If you’ve got a holiday shopping tip or two that we haven’t covered, we’d love to know. Contact us.

NOURISH. CULTIVATE. COOPERATE.

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Ken Davis

Ken Davis is the Co-op's senior copywriter. Email him at kdavis@coopfoodstore.com.