How Many Sleeps Till Christmas? Your Foolproof Festive Plan For 2020

It’s 13 days till Christmas which means it’s officially time to wake Mariah Carey up and warm up the the mulled wine. No? Too soon? In case you're wondering how long till Christmas, we're bringing you a week-by-week guide to gradually easing yourself into the festive season. Because in the midst of global pandemics and nationwide lockdowns, we're all looking for a distraction this year - how many sleeps till Christmas 2020 is already a breakout search trend on Google.

A new survey by American Express reveals that nearly a third of British adults have already started their Christmas shopping this year - with two fifths starting their Christmas shopping earlier than previous years. A big reason for this is people’s desire to keep costs down this year and making the most of deals and offers. The most common items bought so far? Gifts (69%), cards (33%) and wrapping paper (24%).

Christmas prep: December

It's officially the start of advent! (actually the first date of advent was on Sunday and falls on a varying Sunday each year, fact fans). However, our advent calendars all start, without fail, on the 1 December, which means you've probably opened day one today. If you're still in the market for this year's calendar, don't forget to check out our guide to the best beauty advent calendars out there, including Grazia's very own12 days of Christmas beauty box, which, at £125, is worth over £500.

Christmas prep: November

Black Friday is almost upon us - that's the last Friday and traditionally the Friday after Thanksgiving in America, where retailers mark down their prices in the run up to Christmas. This year a combination of lockdown and an apparent desire to go hard on Christmas have experts predicting that this will be one of the biggest online shopping days, EVAH. In the meantime check out some of the best early beauty Black Friday deals, as selected by Grazia, and the best Black Friday fashion deals, here.

Still not sure exactly how weird Christmas is going to be this year? Check out our guide to what a lockdown Christmas 2020 may or may not look like. And in the meantime, the Covid Christmas merch has inevitably landed - check out some of our favourites below...

The elves at google have told us that searches for Christmas gift guides are already up, and if you're already wondering wtf to get everyone this year, then look no further than our Christmas gift guides for 2020. We've got all thebest gift ideas for the amazing women in your life, the best Christmas gifts for beauty lovers, the best personalised Christmas gift ideas for that tricky-to-buy for customer, the best Christmas gift ideas for your mum, and the best feminist gift ideas, from amazing Ruth Bader Ginsburg tributes to the perfect gift for the baby feminist in your life.

Check out the full Christmas gift guide here:

Christmas prep: October

I'm sure by now you're wondering whether it's even worth going to all the hassle this year, with lots of talk afoot about whether Christmas is cancelled. Check out our guide to whether Christmas really is cancelled this year, for advice on how to have a Socially Distanced Christmas in the era of the Rule Of Six.

29th October - Nigella Lawson's new book Cook, Eat Repeat has just launched, as well as being the perfect gift for any foodies in your life, it's also filled with new recipe ideas - perfect inspiration if you're planning a full-on Christmas cooking fest.

And while we're at it, let's all take a moment to remember Nigella's iconic bucket turkey, proving no-one does Christmas quite like she does.

Christmas prep: September

If you were worried that Christmas isn't going to be a 'thing' this year, don't panic, the guys at Aldi are all over it, releasing their Blood Orange & Gin Mince Pies, alongside last year's big fave, their Salted Caramel Crumble Mince Pies (both £1.79 for a pack of six.) And the really exciting news is that they're already available in store, which seems like as good a reason as any to get practicing for December now...

Christmas prep has already begun in earnest. John Lewis bought forward the launch of their Christmas shop by a week this year, as Dan Cooper, Partner and Christmas buyer tells us. 'This year we brought forward the launch of our online Christmas shop by 10 days to August 24th in response to the high level of customer searches on our website for Christmas products. We anticipate that some of our customers will choose to shop earlier this year in order to enjoy a more relaxed run up to the big day.’

Cooper also reveals that sales of wrapping paper are also on the up:' All in all we can already see customers getting themselves organised for a bumper Christmas, with sales of wrap well ahead of last year. As customers are wrapping as they go rather than leaving it until the last minute.'

And another thing, Mariah Carey’s autobiography, The Meaning Of Mariah Careyhas just been released - which seems as good a time as any to get All I Want For Christmas Is You back in rotation on your Spotify playlist.

And finally, Netflix have already announced this year's Christmas movies, featuring none other than Dolly freaking Parton, so rule of six or not, at least that's our viewing sorted. Check out the new films to watch on Netflix for Christmas 2020 below:

If you’re not quite there yet, check out our guide to giving your house an Autumn makeover, which is the perfect segue into the festive season.

Alternatively if you are chomping at the bit to get started with Christmas (anything to herald in the end of this God-awful year, amirite?) then check out our definitive ranking of the best Christmas adverts of all time.

In the meantime, here’s where some of the stars of your favourite Christmas movies are now, don’t miss Yomi Adekoke’s piece reflecting on Netflix Christmas movies’ appeal in these troubled times, and we reflect on why, exactly, so many of us are obsessed with Christmas this year.