Asda has set up grottos in some of its stores across the country, as it gets ready for Christmas earlier than normal.

A prominent British supermarket chain has introduced Santa's grottos to some of its stores, four months ahead of Christmas.

Asda has opened up the grottos in chains across the country 117 days before one of the most popular days of the year actually occurs.

There are 17 grottos so far, which is a tiny amount given that there are 540 stores across the nation.

The summer season, though the weather suggests otherwise, might not be over, but that hasn't stopped bosses at the company from getting into the Christmas spirit.

"The grottos are just a bit of fun as part of promotion for our Christmas savings cards," a spokeswoman for Asda said.
"Our research shows that a lot of people are already starting to put money away for Christmas."

It wouldn't be surprising if they decided to get into the Christmas spirit proper and introduce seasonal merchandise, including coloured paper bags and gift bags.

One of the unique things about the grottos is that they are aimed to help shoppers save now for when the festive season really kicks into gear in November.

Employees at Asda, who might feel odd wearing an elf outfit so early in the year, have been reported to be dishing out special savings cards.

"The cards allow customers to save up to £144 on each card, but they can have more than one. Asda will pay a tiered bonus if the money stays on the card until 18 November," Guardian reported.

"For savings of £144, the bonus is £6; for £97 it is £3 and for £49 customers will receive an extra £1. The bonus is loaded automatically on to the cards overnight on 18 November."

Asda recently found in its latest Income Tracker that families in the UK were £1 better off last month than they were in July, which it said was the "largest annual increase since March 2010".