Every year we get the same message in the second week of December. Can I get a new cooker before Christmas?
Sometimes yes. Often no — and not because of stock. Because a cooker swap is four separate things that have to happen in order, and one of them is booking a tradesman during the busiest fortnight of their year.
Here is the honest timeline, worked backwards, so you can decide now rather than find out in December.
The four things that have to happen
People think of this as one job. It is four, and they are sequential — you cannot start the third until the second has finished.
- Decide and measure. Not just the appliance, but the gap it goes into and the route it travels to get there.
- Order and take delivery. Our orders are dispatched within 5 to 7 working days once availability is confirmed, with tracking emailed within 48 hours of dispatch.
- Get it connected. Gas needs a Gas Safe registered engineer, by law. A new or upgraded electrical supply needs a qualified electrician.
- Get rid of the old one. Councils will normally collect large appliances, but the slot has to be booked, and December is not the month with the most availability.
None of those four is long on its own. Stacked in sequence, with a fortnight of Christmas in the middle, they add up faster than people expect.
Working backwards from Christmas
September and October — the comfortable window
This is where you want to be. Everything is unhurried: you can measure properly, compare properly, and pick a fitting date that suits you rather than whatever is left.
It is also when tradespeople have availability. A Gas Safe engineer in early October will give you a date next week. The same engineer in mid-December is booking into January.
Use the time to do the measuring properly — our guide to measuring for appliances covers the gap, the clearances and the delivery access, which is the one people skip.
Early November — still fine, if you are decisive
Perfectly workable, but the slack is gone. Order in the first half of November and you should have the appliance in good time and still find a fitting slot.
What you lose is the ability to change your mind. If the cooker turns out to be the wrong size, or access is a problem, there is no longer room in the schedule to start again.
Late November — tight, and it depends what you are buying
Now it matters a great deal what you are changing to.
- Like-for-like electric swap — plugging a new freestanding cooker into an existing suitable supply. Usually still achievable.
- Anything involving gas — you are now competing for Gas Safe engineers with every boiler breakdown in the country. Book the engineer before you order, not after.
- Switching to induction — this is the one that catches people. Induction draws far more than gas, and your existing circuit may not be adequate. That is an electrician, possibly a new circuit, and possibly a consumer unit that needs looking at. Not a late-November job.
December — be realistic
If you have not started by December, plan Christmas around the cooker you have and do the upgrade in January. Ordering in December for a Christmas fitting means everything going right first time, which it may not.
January is genuinely a better month to do it. Tradespeople have availability, you are not cooking for twelve, and nothing depends on it.
The jobs that take longest
Not all upgrades are equal. Roughly in order of how much lead time they need:
- Longest: switching from gas to induction, or fitting a 90cm or 110cm range cooker where there was a 60cm freestanding one. New supply, possibly building work, definitely a wider gap. Our range cooker guide explains why the gap needs to be wider than the cooker.
- Middling: a built-in double oven going into an existing housing, or a new hob into an existing worktop cut-out. Usually straightforward, but check the cut-out and the housing dimensions match rather than assuming.
- Shortest: a like-for-like freestanding cooker on the same fuel, or adding something that needs no plumbing or gas — a warming drawer, a built-in microwave.
If time is short, bias towards the bottom of that list. A warming drawer at £309 fitted in November will do more for your Christmas Day than a range cooker that arrives on the 23rd.
Five things that go wrong late
- It will not fit through the door. Measure the route, not just the gap. Range cookers and American fridge freezers are the usual casualties.
- The electrics are not up to it. Found out on fitting day, which is the worst possible day to find out. Have an electrician confirm before you order.
- The old one will not come out. Units built in around an appliance, or a gas connection nobody can reach.
- No engineer available. The commonest one, and entirely predictable in December.
- Nobody in for the delivery. Large appliances need signing for and inspecting. Check the date works before it is dispatched.
The sensible order of operations
- Measure the gap, the clearances and the delivery route.
- If you are changing fuel type, get an electrician or Gas Safe engineer to confirm what your kitchen can take.
- Book the fitter first, with a date a few days after your expected delivery.
- Order the appliance.
- Book the council collection for the old one.
Booking the fitter before ordering feels backwards. It is not — the appliance is the easy bit to get hold of. The engineer is the scarce resource.
Frequently asked questions
How long does delivery take?
Orders are dispatched within 5 to 7 working days once availability is confirmed, and tracking is emailed within 48 hours of dispatch. If you need a firmer date because you are booking a fitter, message us before you order.
Can I fit a gas cooker myself?
No. Gas appliances must be connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer. That is a legal requirement in the UK, not best practice.
Do I need an electrician for an induction hob?
Usually you need one to confirm the supply is adequate, and often to provide a suitable circuit. Induction draws considerably more than gas. Never assume the existing connection will do.
What is the latest I can order?
There is no single date, because it depends entirely on what you are changing and who has to connect it. A like-for-like electric swap has a much later deadline than a gas-to-induction conversion. If you tell us what you have and what you want, we will give you a straight answer.
Is it cheaper to wait until January?
Possibly, and it is certainly easier to book a fitter. If Christmas is not the reason you are upgrading, January is the calmer month to do it.
Tell us what you are working with
Send us your current setup and what you are thinking of, and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable before Christmas or whether you would be better off waiting. We would rather say no than have you sat looking at a boxed cooker on Christmas Eve.
WhatsApp us seven days a week. Free UK delivery over £400, and the full manufacturer warranty on everything we sell.
