When Do Stores Start Selling Eggnog? Where to Find It All Year Round?
Nothing says Christmas like the good old eggnog. This milky and eggy alcoholic beverage raises the high holidays by elevating our mood and tickling our palates. Incredibly rich and delicious, eggnog is a great and refreshing idea around Christmas and all year round. So, when do stores start selling eggnog?
Eggnog season starts in the second half of October and ends around the first half of January. Because selling eggnog all year round would not be cost-effective, eggnog is a seasonal drink. ACME supermarkets and Walmart sell eggnog out of season, but not all the time. You can order eggnog syrup online, but not actual eggnog.
Around the winter holidays, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year, eggnog is a mandatory element of every household in the USA and parts of Europe. Due to economic reasons, eggnog is a seasonal drink, as producing it all year round would cost more expenses than profit. However, some of us love having eggnog outside the holiday season. In the following text, I will discuss the eggnog season and if you can buy eggnog after the winter holidays.
When Can You Find Eggnog In the Stores?
Eggnog season starts in the second half of October when the air smells like Christmas. The cold weather does its magic, and suddenly as November approaches, people start planning their Christmas decorations and shopping.
As Thanksgiving approaches, which is the last Thursday of November, eggnog sales start to increase and peak around Thanksgiving, which marks the beginning of the winter holiday season.
After Thanksgiving, in the first half of December, the eggnog sales start to decrease, only to go through the ceiling in the second half of December, as Christmas approaches. Eggnog is a compulsory part of many office Christmas parties, not to mention the home Christmas celebrations.
The eggnog demand stays consistently high all the way until New Year, after which it starts to decrease again. During the first half of January, eggnog sales become slower and slower, and the eggnog season is over somewhere along the way.
The precise start and end of the eggnog season depend on the specific region, but it is generally from the second half of October until the first half of January.
Why Is Eggnog Sold Only at Christmas?
Since eggnog contains brandy or sherry, eggs, and milk, it was considered a very expensive drink that people could afford only around the high holidays. Therefore they only enjoyed eggnog around Christmas because it was the only time they could treat themselves to the finer things in life.
Another reason people have eggnog around Christmas is that it is a pretty fatty drink with pretty strong alcohol in it, which warms you up nicely during the winter. The eggnog sales during Christmas vary from region to region, being higher in the colder areas and lower in the warmer ones, making eggnog a true wintertime drink.
Making and selling eggnog outside the winter holiday season would create more expenses for the manufacturers than profit, which is why this beverage is sold only during Christmas time.
Who Sells Eggnog All Year Round?
Because selling eggnog all year round would not be cost-effective, eggnog is a seasonal drink, and you cannot buy it all year round. However, if you are lucky, you may occasionally stumble upon eggnog in ACME Supermarkets and Walmart, but don’t count on it outside of the eggnog season.
Also, you can try buying eggnog from local bakeries and dairy stores that mainly sell their products and have a certain circle of customers, so they know that their eggnog will be sold.
Does Walmart Sell Eggnog All Year Round?
You can find eggnog in Walmart outside of the eggnog season, but not all the time. They sell eggnog but don’t count on that, as you may not find it at a particular time. For instance, they don’t have any available now.
The eggnog-producing companies find it more expensive than profitable to make eggnog outside of the holiday season. It isn’t worth it for them to use their resources on a product that doesn’t sell well outside the winter holiday season.
Is Eggnog for Christmas or New Year?
Eggnog started out as a Christmas drink, but nowadays, people don’t have it only for Christmas. The holiday season is considered to begin at Thanksgiving and end with New Year. Therefore, eggnog is a winter holiday season drink and is no longer exclusive to Christmas.
The Christmas eggnog tradition is believed to have originated in the 1700s, but the drink itself is associated with medieval Britain. The original drink was called “posset,” and it consisted of curdled milk, wine or ale, and spices. Later on, they added the more expensive ingredients, i.e., the eggs and milk or milk cream.
Therefore, eggnog was first popular among the monks and the rich. It is said that eggnog first made it to America in the 1700s, and since then, it has been associated with Christmas, as people couldn’t afford to make it all year round, so the high holidays were the only time they could have it.
Since eggnog has a century-long tradition, a lot has changed since it first appeared, so now, it is associated with the entire winter holiday season, rather than just Christmas.
When Does Eggnog Season End?
Eggnog season ends around the first half of January. The winter holidays are over, the winter breaks have ended, and the real Christmas magic is spent. People go back to work and resume their normal routine, so little by little, the eggnog sales start to slow down and eventually stop.
This usually begins in the first few days of January, around the Twelfth Night of Christmas, which marks the official ending of the holiday season. Often, by January 14th, the sales of eggnog drop.
