The most popular Christmas adverts so far this year🎄
Festive season is fast approaching!
Last updated 13th Nov 2026
The countdown to Christmas has started, with the likes of Disney, John Lewis, Lidl, Waitrose and M&S all releasing their Christmas adverts for 2026 — and many of them feature some very famous faces!
As we count down the days until the big day on 25th December, take a look at some of the best and most-talked about adverts of 2026 so far.
Disney Christmas advert 2026
A Disney Holiday Short: The Invisible Horse is a story about a young boy who seems to have outgrown the joy of decorating for Christmas with his family. But he soon discovers an invisible horse outside, which reawakens his imagination.
Played to the soundtrack of 'Oo-De-Lally' from the animated Robin Hood movie, the sweet short film will catch you right in the feels. Watch it here. 👇
Morrisons Christmas advert 2026
Morrisons tell their version of classic fairytale Goldilocks and The Three Bears this Christmas — with Mummy and Daddy Bear pulling out all the stops to impress their son's new girlfriend, Goldie.
Of course, her food's too hot, and she's a menace with the furniture. You can watch it below. 👇
Tesco Christmas advert 2026
The undeniably funny Roisin Conaty (Polly) and Anna Maxwell Martin (Lizzie) appear as old friends in the Tesco Christmas advert, which sees Lizzie stranded far from home just before the big day — not unlike her popular Motherland character, Julia.
Polly comes to the rescue as she delivers food for Tesco — which leads to a sweet festive reunion to lift our spirits — especially to the tune of The Police's upbeat 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'. You can watch it in full here. 👇
Lidl Christmas advert 2026
Shaun Williamson (affectionately known as Barry from EastEnders) takes on a huge Christmas classic in the Lidl Christmas advert — but with a slight twist.
The singer and actor heads to homes around the UK with a trolley full of goodies, singing Slade's 'Merry Xmas Everybody', but with lyrics like 'here it is Lidl Christmas' and 'does your granny always tell ya, that our fizz is the world's best?'.
It even features footy pundit and legend, Chris Kamara. Watch it below. 👇
Waitrose Christmas advert 2026
Starring Black Doves' Keira Knightley and comedian Joe Wilkinson for the second year in a row, the Waitrose Christmas advert for 2026 is the much-anticipated second part to last year's popular mini film The Perfect Gift.
This time taking inspiration from nineties rom-com Notting Hill, the advert sees Phil (Joe) and Keira caught in a love triangle, after meeting last year at the cheese counter.
In case you need to recap last year's advert first, here it is. 👇
Now check out the rest of their story, which was released in 2026, starring Rivals actor Alex Hassell. 👇
M&S Christmas advert 2026
One of the most talked about Christmas adverts of 2026, M&S capture the essence of Christmas with a very festive mini film featuring House of Guinness' James Norton and Amandaland's Lucy Punch as Mr and Mrs Claus!
In it, we see James shave off his Santa beard and head out into the world to experience Christmas like it's meant to be. Check it out below. 👇
NOW READ: Star-studded M&S Christmas advert delivers perfect mix of festive magic
John Lewis Christmas advert 2026
Dropping early, during the first week of November, the 2026 John Lewis Christmas ad focuses on the relationship between a grandmother and her grandchildren.
Complemented by the dulcet tones of Sam Fender — singing a cover of The Rolling Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' — the advert sees the gran (played by actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas) initially try and fail to entertain the youngsters when they come for Christmas.
You can watch it in full below. 👇
Aldi Christmas advert 2026
Following on with their usual theme featuring Kevin the Carrot, this year's Aldi advert sees the Carrot family search for their missing dog in cold and snowy weather.
Find out if Cauli-Dog makes it home for Christmas here. 👇
Sainsbury's Christmas advert 2026
Just like he did last year, The BFG appears in Sainsbury's festive advert for 2026 alongside real-life Sainsbury's worker Annie. This year, the Big Friendly Giant is feeling too poorly to prepare for Christmas — but Annie soon steps in to make everything 'wondercrump' just in time for the big day.
Watch it below. 👇
Take a look at all the John Lewis Christmas adverts through the years:
2007: Shadows
Going back to 2007 for the first John Lewis Christmas advert 'Shadows', it's hard to believe it was released so long ago! In this advert, we see people stacking items together in a plain white room with a shadow building on a wall set to 'Aubade' from the Romeo and Juliet suite by Prokofiev. It's not clear what it is until a child runs in and throws glitter over the piece, bringing the picture to life - a girl with gifts and a dog all ready for Christmas.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2008: From Me To You
The 2008 offering was set to a soudtrack of the Beatles classic 'From Me To You' - sang covered by employees! The 2008 Christmas advert showed people being paired with present ideas - the thought being that if you know the person well, you're bound to find the right present.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2009: Sweet Child Of Mine
It was all about children in the 2009 Christmas advert as they opened gifts for adults like kitchenware, big slippers and adult-size handbags. Aptly, the soundtrack was a cover of Guns N' Roses classic 'Sweet Child O' Mine', performed by Taken By Trees. The tagline is simply 'remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling'.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2010: A Tribute to Givers
It's one we can all relate to; the struggle of wrapping - and subsequently hiding - an awkward-shaped present, but persevering because you know they'll love it. In this Christmas advert, set to Ellie Goulding's cover of Elton John's 'Your Song', we see people attempting to wrap and hide all sorts of gifts. Not forgetting the animals either - as a boy leaves the warmth of the house to hang a stocking outside for his dog.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2011: The Long Wait
We all know the feeling when it seems as though Christmas is taking forever to finally arrive! In the 2011 advert, a little boy is opening his advent calendar day by day, looking impatiently out of the window in what we're led to believe is him waiting excitedly to open his presents on Christmas Day.
But when the big day arrives, he runs past his own presents, reaches into his wardrobe and fetches a messily-wrapped package... which he's waited all month to give to his mum and dad. Set to a cover of The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want' by Slow Moving Millie, this one really tugged at the heartstrings.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2012: The Journey
After the momentum of 2011, the John Lewis bigwigs stepped it up for the 2012 Christmas advert. It was incredibly moving, showing a little girl building a snowman and a snowlady, then looking disappointed when the snowman's gone by morning.
We then see that he hasn't melted - he's decided to go on his own journey through forests and fields and across mountains, all to buy his snowlady a special Christmas gift, with Gabrielle Aplin singing the soundtrack of 'The Power Of Love', originally by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2013: The Bear and the Hare
In 2013, we saw a complete change in direction with an animated advert about two unlikely friends - a bear and a hare. The hare leaves a Christmas present for the bear when he wakes up from hibernation and he's delighted to see Christmas for the first time, with all the animals around the tree. If that doesn't make your bottom lip wobble, Lily Allen's cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' will.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2014: Monty the Penguin
The 2014 John Lewis Christmas advert saw super-cute Monty the Penguin playing with a little boy. The pair did everything together, with Monty helping him build lego, play hide-and-seek and going for walks. However, the little boy notices that Monty is longing for a fellow penguin companion, staringly longingly at other couples - so he decides to fetch him a friend for Christmas. As the mum watches on, we see that Monty and his friend were cuddly toys, after all. The song was 'Real Love', originally by the late Beatles star John Lennon and performed by Tom Odell.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2015: Man on the Moon
John Lewis teamed up with Age UK for their 2015 advert. Appropriately set to a cover of Oasis' 'Half the World Away' by AURORA, a little girl is looking at the moon through a telescope when she suddenly spots an elderly man living there, alone. Every day, she returns to her telescope and decides to try every way possible to reach out to him at Christmas.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2016: Buster the Boxer
The 2016 Christmas advert tells the story of Buster the boxer dog, looking enviously on the neighbourhood wildlife having fun on a trampoline, whilst he's stuck inside.
As daughter Bridget goes to bed for Santa's arrival, her dad can be seen carefully building a brand new trampoline in the back garden. When Christmas morning strikes, Bridget excitedly runs outside to try her new toy, only for Buster to beat her to it...
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2017: Moz the Monster
Set to the dulcet tones of Elbow's 'Golden Slumbers' cover, originally by The Beatles, a little boy is initially scared of the monster under his bed. Eventually, he befriends Moz the Monster and they play together every evening.
However, staying awake through the night starts to take its toll on him, and he can hardly keep his eyes open during the day! After receiving the gift of a night light from a mysterious present-giver - presumably Moz himself - the monster under the bed disappears so that the boy can get some rest... Or does he?
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2018: The Boy and the Piano
2018's advert was all about Sir Elton John, entitled 'The Boy and the Piano'. Featuring Sir Elton John playing his hit 'Your Song', which was originally covered by Ellie Goulding for the 2010 advert, this year's offering shows Elton's journey to fame and revisiting some of his famous on-stage looks.
We then see a very young Elton receive his first piano as a gift for Christmas, with the singer reflecting on that precious memory now. 'Your Song' was first released in 1970, and proves to be a timeless classic in the heartwarming Christmas advert that aims to spread the message that 'Sometimes a gift isn't just a gift'.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2019: Excitable Edgar
The 2019 advert follows Excitable Edgar as he thoroughly enjoys the festivities in his village. Unfortunately, he struggles to control his flaming nostrils, and accidentally melts the ice-rink, reduces a snowman to a puddle and sets fire to a Christmas tree.
Edgar shuts himself away in despair, but his friend Ava encourages him to rejoin the village with the gift of a Christmas pudding, which allows him to put his fire to perfect use. All of these Christmas shenanigans is set to Bastille's Dan Smith's cover of REO Speedwagon's classic song, 'Can't Fight This Feeling'.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2020: Give a Little Love
The 2020 Christmas advert was all about celebrating acts of kindness, and how these small actions can make a big difference. Using a variety of animation techniques, interspersed with live-action, the 2020 advert was just the heart-warming sentiment we needed during the global pandemic.
It aptly dropped on World Kindness Day too, set to the first song written specifically for the John Lewis advert instead of being a cover - 'A Little Love' by Celeste.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2021: Unexpected Guest
Released two weeks earlier than usual, the 2021 John Lewis advert shows space traveller Skye crash-landing at the height of festivities in the woods near the home of 14-year-old Nathan, who introduces her to the traditions of eating mince pies, decorating the tree and, to her slight confusion, wearing novelty jumpers.
As Skye fixes her ship, she and Nathan share a sweet goodbye kiss, with Nathan handing over his novelty Christmas jumper. The advert featured Lola Young's cover of 'Together in Electric Dreams', originally by Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. John Lewis customer director Claire Pointon said of the 2021 advert: "After the last 18 months, we wanted our advert to really celebrate this as we look forward to a brighter future. Through the story of Skye and Nathan we celebrate friendship and are reminded of the joy of experiencing Christmas for the first time."
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2022: The Beginner
John Lewis' 2022 Christmas advert has seen the retail giant work with charities Action For Children and Who Cares? Scotland, supporting young people in care. It follows the story of a middle-aged man learning to skateboard, and persevering despite the aches and pains that come with falling off repeatedly. By the end of the advert, we see him and his wife taking in a young girl clutching a skateboard at Christmas time. The advert also reveals the company have pledged to support the "futures of young people from care". The song is a cover by Mike Geier of 'All The Small Things', originally by blink-182.
2023: Snapper, The Perfect Tree
The 2023 advert sees young boy finding a grow-your-own Christmas tree, which turns out to be a mischievous Venus flytrap. The advert follows the boy as he lovingly nurtures the seed he bought from a local market, thinking he's growing a Christmas tree. The ad features Andrea Bocelli's new song 'Festa'.
2024: The Gifting Hour
The 2024 advert features Richard Ashcroft's 'Sonnet' and it makes history as a John Lewis store appears for the first in a Christmas ad! Falling through a rack of dresses, she steps into the attic of her childhood home, and begins a journey through her memories of growing up with her sister as she searches for a thoughtful present. Returning to reality, Sally meets her sister outside the store with her wrapped gift, and as they walk away her sister is reflected in the John Lewis window as the child from her memories.
2025: Where Love Lives
In 2025, for the first time in history, the John Lewis Christmas advert focused on a father and son relationship, as a surly teenager gives his father the Christmas gift of a memory-laden '90s vinyl. Alison Limerick's 90s club hit 'Where Love Lives' provided the soundtrack, with British singer/songwriter Labrinth providing vocals for the new version of the track.
2026: Gloria and Pickles
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas stars as Gloria in the 2026 ad, and she is joined by a pull-along wooden dog voiced by actor and comedian Paul Whitehouse. Sam Fenders provides vocals on a cover of The Rolling Stones' hit 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'.
NOW READ: The best Christmas films to get you in the festive spirit
Author: Amy Shephard
Amy Shephard is an SEO Writer for Rayo brands, including Hits Radio, KISS, Magic Radio and Greatest Hits Radio. Starting her media career in 2011, she joined Bauer Media in 2023 as a reporter before moving over to entertainment news. She specialises in movies and TV dramas, and enjoys a range of music across all decades and genres.