Brynne Conroy | 

Hobby Lobby Christmas Clearance: Play the Long Game For 90% Off

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Hobby Lobby is known for their massive discounts, assuming you’re in tune with the Hobby Lobby sale schedule. In fact, if you’re not saving at least 30% on any given shopping trip with our Hobby Lobby hacks, you’re probably doing it wrong. However after a holiday happens, they ratchet seasonal sales up to 90% off, and they do it quickly. Timing is an important part of Hobby Lobby Christmas clearance sales.

Hobby Lobby does Christmas clearance so well that you can score some massive deals even before the holidays hit. For example in 2023, we were already seeing 66% off Christmas decor o Dec. 17. Then it kicked up to 75% off through Jan. 1 before more price slashing to get to 90% off! Let’s get into how you can maximize your Hobby Lobby deals for the Christmas season.

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1. Hobby Lobby Christmas clearance sales start early, with 66% markdowns in mid-December.

     

Hobby Lobby is notorious for huge Christmas clearance sales that launch early. Typically the mid-December sale launch maxes out at 66% and that held true in 2023 with 66% off running from Dec. 17 – 28. Then, on Dec. 29 (cue the angels singing) markdowns dropped to 75% off.

2. Shop in January to save up to 90% on Christmas clearance.

Hobby Lobby in store image of 90% off Christmas Clearance on Jan 02 2023

Like other stores, Hobby Lobby has a graduated Christmas clearance schedule. That means the sales get better as time goes on.

In mid-late December, Christmas decor is 66% off. But after Dec. 31, they drop the prices even lower. Starting on Jan. 1 all remaining Christmas items in stores are marked down even further — to 90% off (then you can find the same deals online the next day, Jan. 2).

3. But the longer you wait, the fewer choices you’ll have.

someone shopping 75% off christmas clearance at hobby lobby

There is a downside to waiting for the steeper discounts. The longer you wait to shop, the less inventory there will be. If there’s a specific piece of decor you’re hunting for, it might be worth picking it up at a higher price point, as you don’t know if it’ll be there as January goes on.

But if you don’t mind picking through what’s left over, by all means — wait for the bigger sales.

4. It’s always better to shop Hobby Lobby Christmas clearance in person.

a group of people walking into hobby lobby

If you’re going to shop Hobby Lobby Christmas clearance, it’s a much better idea to do it in person. Hobby Lobby charges some hefty shipping fees (starting at $7.95) when you shop online, and promo codes for free shipping are hard to come by.

To give you an idea of just how heinous these shipping charges are, here are the first 10 tiers:

  • Order total of $15 or less: $7.95

  • $15.01 – $25: $8.95

  • $25.01 – $35: $9.95

  • $35.01 – $50: $10.95

  • $50.01 – $65: $11.95

  • $65.01 – $80: $12.95

  • $80.01 – $100: $14.95

  • $100.10 – $125: $16.95

  • $125.01 – $150: $19.95

  • $150.01 – $200: $21.95

And they just keep going up from there.

Related: If free shipping is your jam, we found 60+ stores that always have free shipping offers.

5. Mark your calendar for even earlier Christmas clearance in 2024.

a person shopping christmas sales in hobby lobby

The 66% off sale isn’t actually the first run Hobby Lobby takes on Christmas clearance. You can actually find holiday items 40% off starting in mid-July every year and then 50% off from late September through mid-December.

TIP: These hacks to save money when you’re shopping Hobby Lobby — regardless of the time of year.

6. Keep it in perspective: Hobby Lobby survives on sale pricing.

a woman looking at sale pricing in the chrsitmas ribbon section

Hobby Lobby truly does offer some of the biggest discounts when it comes to Christmas clearance — and it’s meaningful because they run them so early.

But you also have to remember that Hobby Lobby operates off of huge sales. Throughout the year, if you’re not getting at least 30% off your Hobby Lobby purchases, you’re simply not saving as much as you could be.

Because you can score such deep discounts throughout the year, it’s worth noting that base pricing may be affected in order to allow room for such large percentages off. This isn’t incredibly uncommon for craft stores.

TIP: Here’s Hobby Lobby’s sales schedule. Use it to score the best deals year-round.

7. Hobby Lobby Christmas clearance is better than Michaels’.

A person putting Christmas wrapping paper in a shopping cart

When held up to their main competitor — Michaels — Hobby Lobby comes out on top when it comes to Christmas clearance sales.

Michaels waits until Dec. 26 to mark prices down by just 60% off. They don’t catch up to the discounts Hobby Lobby has now been offering for weeks until Dec. 29, when Michaels’ 70% off kicks in.

You won’t find another price decrease at Michaels until around Jan. 19, when prices go to 90% off.

That means the only time frames where Michaels’ sales are the same percentage-off as Hobby Lobby are around Dec. 29 – Dec. 31. Then Hobby Lobby runs away with the lead until Jan. 19 — at which point competitor discounts catch up, but there’s very little inventory left.

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