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The supermarket giant said like-for-like sales including VAT but excluding petrol were up 5.1 per cent in its UK stores over the six weeks to January 9th.
Chief executive Terry Leahy remarked that the firm has "delivered a very strong performance over the Christmas and new year period" and the news helped Tesco shares climb in morning stock market trading.
Its stock was up 8.95p at 10:12 GMT, taking it to 426.8p on the FTSE 100.
Total sales rose by 8.3 per cent during the period, with a 35 per cent jump on Champagne purchases and the popularity of its Finest range of food contributing to the increase.
Online sales also rose, with growth over the festive season approaching 20 per cent, while there was a 50 per cent surge in orders placed through Tesco Direct.
Posted by Greg Secker
