Ultimate Christmas Clearance Guide: Top 11 Items to Buy + Our Best Shopping Tips!
Don’t miss out on Christmas clearance deals!
Christmas clearance shopping will soon be here! The 2025 after-Christmas clearance sales are right around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited!
One of the best times to stock up on holiday decor, non-food gifts, paper items, ornaments, and more for next year is after Christmas, when items typically go on clearance for 50-90% off. This is a great time to score deep discounts on all things Christmas, so you can avoid paying retail prices next year.
Follow these shopping timelines for the best deals…
Usually, retailers like Target, Walmart, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and other popular stores start marking down their holiday inventory to 50% off on December 26th, or sometimes even before then, to make room for New Year’s and Valentine’s Day merchandise.
Then, a few days before New Year’s Day (around December 28th – 31st), many stores will mark down their Christmas clearance items to 70-75% off.
After the New Year is when things get REALLY exciting…
At the start of a new year, you may begin seeing up to 90% off Christmas clearance at stores like Walgreens, CVS, Michaels, Lowe’s, The Home Depot, Target, and Hobby Lobby.
While you can’t beat paying only 10% for next year’s holiday items, the selection of items may be picked over, so stock up if you can!
Here are 11 Christmas clearance items to watch for:
1. Gift wrap
Grab these items while you can! Look for cheap wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue paper, gift tags, ribbons, and bows for next year. You may even find some boxed greeting cards, too!
Also, consider buying gift wrap in colors or prints that can be used for other holidays throughout the year. Think silver and gold for anniversaries, red for Valentine’s Day, and pretty much anything colorful for birthdays!
2. Paper products & storage
Stock up on holiday paper plates, cups, napkins, facial tissue, paper towels, cutlery, etc., when the prices drop, and store them away for next season. You’ll save money and get a head start on next year’s holiday party prep!
Also, watch for discounts on holiday items like Ziploc storage bags and containers, holiday-colored plastic wraps, baking cups, foil pans with lids, and other kitchen essentials you can use all year long.
3. Kitchen & bath items
Another thing to look for is holiday kitchen towels, potholders, dishes, storage tins, serving trays, kitchen rugs, bath towels, soap dispensers, and other seasonal items that you could tuck away until next year.
You may even forget that you purchased them, so it will be such a nice surprise to find fresh, new hand towels to hang in your kitchen or bathroom when you’re unboxing your holiday decor next year!
Be sure to price-check any holiday household items (dish soap, hand soap, etc.) if they’re not visibly marked down. These items may ring up with holiday clearance pricing, as well!
4. Ornaments
In the past, we’ve seen pre-Christmas clearance deals of up to 50% on ornaments. We expect these deals to get even better after December 25th, when you can score ornaments from 75% to 90% off!
5. Holiday Decor
This is the perfect time to stock up on boxes of lights, ornaments, stockings, tree skirts, throw pillows, and other festive home decor. If you’ve been waiting for a deal on a new Christmas tree or an inflatable for the front yard, you may be able to snag one at a huge discount!
Don’t forget to look for full-size seasonal candles that have been discounted, too. These would make great holiday gifts next year, so stock your gift closet now while the prices are low!
6. Gift sets
Need a belated holiday gift this year? If so, you may want to grab a discounted gift basket filled with food, hot beverage mixes, K-Cups, or candies.
Be mindful of the expiration dates on edible products, and make sure you plan to gift the items (or treat yourself) while they’re still fresh! As a general rule, you shouldn’t plan on saving any food gifts to give next Christmas.
It’s best to look for non-food gift sets, such as body wash duos, beauty sets, cute mugs, stationery sets, ornaments, games, etc., that you can use all year long OR that you can save to use for gifts next year. Think teachers, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family members!
7. Seasonal food items
Love drinking Peppermint Mocha coffee year-round? Have kiddos who love any type of cookie in their school lunches? Be sure to look for discounted food items and snacks in seasonal flavors that your family wouldn’t mind eating soon, while they’re still fresh!
Sometimes, you can also find flavored coffee and coffee creamers, refrigerated or packaged holiday cookies, various candies, flavored snacks, and meat and cheese sets on clearance. These often go fast, so you’ll want to be quick! Just remember to grab the foods that you’ll be able to freeze or eat soon, to minimize the chance of having to discard expired food.
8. Clothing pieces & accessories
Don’t skip the clothing aisles! If you find any deals on ugly Christmas sweaters, shirts, socks, pajamas, or other apparel items, grab them while you can. Then, you’ll be all set for your next company Christmas party!
These clothing items make fun stocking stuffers and White Elephant gifts, too!
9. Pet toys & treats
Look for clearance deals for your pet and stock up on treats if you think your pet will enjoy them before they expire.
You should definitely look for seasonal toys on clearance, too. Chances are, your pet won’t care if they’re chewing on a candy-cane-shaped bone in June or playing with a Santa-shaped squeaker toy in February!
10. Books & Advent calendars
Books and coloring books are always great gift ideas, especially if you have kiddos who participate in book exchanges at school. If you see any reading material on sale (especially the popular Elf on the Shelf set), grab it and store it away for next year.
Also, non-food Advent Calendars are another great item to watch for!
11. Stocking stuffers
While you won’t want to purchase candy now to fill next year’s stockings, you can fill up your cart with discounted holiday pencils, plush toys, mugs, mini candles, travel games, crafts or activities, and more! Check out some stocking stuffer ideas here!
Plus, follow these additional tips to save:
Use your store rewards.
Earn points by joining a store’s loyalty program. If you already belong, you might get extra savings or be able to use your rewards to reduce the cost of your purchase.
Use and/or stack coupons.
Whenever possible, use coupons to get a deeper discount on clearance items. Some stores may even let you stack coupons, making the deals even sweeter!
Be aware of return, exchange, & price adjustment policies.
Try to choose places that allow you to return items. It’s easy to get excited about a low price, only to later realize the product doesn’t fit, is damaged, or is offered for less somewhere else. Write down any important dates in your personal planner so you don’t get stuck paying for things you won’t use!
Also, take note if returns come in the form of store credit or cash back. And if you’re shopping somewhere where all sales are final, give the product a good look before placing it in your cart.
Save your receipts.
Don’t end up with an item you don’t want or need. For the best chance to get your money back or receive a price adjustment, keep your receipts!
Use receipt scanner apps.
Keeping those items? Scan your receipts with scanner apps to earn a bit of cash back.
Use a store credit card.
If you have a store credit card and it makes sense to use it, you may receive exclusive discounts or cash back on your clearance haul.
Choose free delivery or pickup.
Avoid wasting time or paying delivery fees. When able, take advantage of a store’s free delivery or pick-up services!
Make a list before you go.
Don’t buy just to buy. Write a list of items you tend to use during the holidays, so you know where to focus your attention. It’s okay to deviate from the list if you see a spectacular deal, but writing down your needs can help you keep your spending in check.
Plus, you can use your list to look up prices at different stores, so you know where the best deals may be before you go!
If I remember correctly, Target in the past goes to 90% the weekend after Christmas but I can’t remember if it’s Saturday or Sunday 🤔 Either way I’m excited to be going with my husband this year!
It’s usually not a specific day, rather a certain number of days after Christmas. That could fall on any day of the week.
Ah, okay. I’ll keep an eye out 🙂
Laura, in my experience it’s usually on Jan. 1st.
That sounds right 👍 I’ll keep checking! Thanks Kim 😁
Last year I got in on hobby Lobby’s 90% off. I bought ornaments as gift for people for this Christmas averaging $2 a piece! I also scored a great canvas for $3, a cookie jar for $3. I also bought a lot of Burt Bee’s ChapStick sets from Kohls. And they are stocking stuffers this year and helped with teacher gifts! They came down to about $1.20- $2.50. This all helped me jumpstart Christmas shopping for 2025! Kohl’s, last year, was really late to the discount game…
Wow! SO cool to hear about the clearance deals you’ve scored! 🎉🙌 Thanks for sharing, Holly!