Melbourne’s Christmas forecast and store opening hours

Shoppers are out in force in the countdown to Christmas. See trading hours, weather and the most popular items on shoppers’ lists.

Shoppers have turned out in force in the lead-up to Christmas, with luxury brands, technology and kitchenware among the most popular last-minute gifts.

Crowds swarmed suburban centres, including Chadstone and Highpoint, while CBD ­retailers are experiencing bumper trade as Melburnians make the most of extended trading hours.

Chadstone Centre Manager Daniel Boyle said there was a “fantastic buzz” in the air, with tech products walking out the door, while Lego was most sought-after for kids.

“People are absolutely spending and enjoying themselves and a good example of that is just in November, ­December, we sold $3.1m in gift cards,” Mr Boyle said.

Eastland general manager Greg Balmforth said customers had been well and truly hitting the shops in recent weeks.

“Christmas has been a great success so far and feedback from our retailers suggests that they’ve had a strong trading season to date,” he said.

Myer’s top-selling items include gift sets from Dior, Estee Lauder and YSL, through to homewares such as Phillips air fryers and Dyson products.

And, for kids, Santa is stocking up his sleigh with Barbie, LOL ­Surprise dolls, Bluey, and Lego.

“We’ve seen a huge uptake in sales for dresses and accessories as customers are looking for the perfect dress to celebrate Christmas Day in – this category has almost doubled on last year,” Myer chief customer officer Geoff Ikin said.

“Popular brands ­include Seed, Piper and Mossman.”

Harvey Norman founder Gerry Harvey said business was booming, with TVs among the big-ticket items being snapped up this holiday period.

“I was thinking if we could get within 5 per cent of last year we’d be doing really well because last year was such a boomer … it looks like we might do better than that,” he said.

With just two days to go, most Aussies have already made their purchases with a brave 1 per cent of shoppers leaving it until Christmas Eve according to research.

PayPal’s 2021 Holiday Research found more than a quarter of respondents complete their shopping in the fortnight before Christmas, while 9 per cent leave it until a week out.

Online shopping makes up nearly half of all sales compared to just 18 per cent pre-pandemic, with the average Christmas spend estimated at $490 – down from $558 last year.

Christmas Opening Hours

Chadstone

Thursday 23rd - 8am to 12am

Christmas Eve - 8am to 6pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 6am to 11pm

Doncaster Westfield

Thursday 23rd - 8am to 12am

Christmas Eve - 8am to 6pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am - 8pm

Eastland

Thursday 23rd - 9am to 12am

Christmas Eve - 8am to 5.30pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am - 6pm

Fountain Gate Westfield

Thursday 23rd - 8am to 12am

Christmas Eve - 8am to 6pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am - 8pm

Highpoint

Thursday 23rd - 9am to 2am

Christmas Eve - 9am to 7pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am to 11pm

Knox Westfield

Thursday 23rd - 8am to 9pm

Christmas Eve - 8am to 6pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am to 6pm

Plenty Valley Westfield

Thursday 23rd - 9am to 9pm

Christmas Eve - 8am to 6pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am to 6pm

Southland Westfield

Thursday 23rd - 8am to 12am

Christmas Eve - 8am to 6pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am to 8pm

Emporium Melbourne

Thursday 23 - 9am to 9pm

Christmas Eve - 10am to 5pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am to 9pm

Melbourne Central

Thursday 23 - 9am to 9pm

Christmas Eve - 10am to 5pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - 8am to 9pm

Myer, Bourke Street Mall

Thursday 23 - 9am to 12am

Christmas Eve - 8am to 6pm

Christmas Day - Closed

David Jones, Bourke Street Mall

Thursday 23 - 8am to 12am

Christmas Eve - 7am to 6.30pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Christmas Forecast

Thursday 23 - Partly cloudy, Max 21C, min 13C

Christmas Eve - Sunny, Max 25C, min 11C

Christmas Day - Partly cloudy, Max 21C, min 14C

Boxing Day - Partly cloudy, Max 20C, min 13C

Monday 27 - Partly cloudy, Max 25C, min 13C

Tuesday 28 - Partly cloudy, Max 26C, min 15C

Top Sellers

Myer

Luxury gift-sets, air fryers, dresses, Barbie dolls, LOL Surprise dolls, Bluey and Lego sets.

Harvey Norman

TVs, tech products, shavers, BBQs, hair dryers.

Chadstone

Tech products, Lego sets, gift cards.

Westfield

Bluetooth headphones, smart watches, streetwear and sportswear.

Big W

Cocktail glasses, tapas paddles and tinted glass vases.

Amazon Australia

Lego, Play-Doh, Nintendo Switch games.

eBay Australia

Tents, camping rucksacks, sleeping bags and power banks.