It's the most wonderful time of the year for Christmas advert fans, as the major firms have now released their offerings for this year.
The battle of the Christmas ads is now big business, with retailers looking to stand out and attract shoppers believed to have collectively spent a massive £10.5 billion on their ad. This is an 8% increase on last year according to figures from the Advertising Association and data provider WARC.
Festive advert behemoth John Lewis, who kicked off the trend with their first-ever commercial in 2007, has brought out a heartwarming tale about a woman called Sally searching for the perfect gift for her younger sister in a magical John Lewis store which unlocks memories of the pair.
But how did some of the other Christmas adverts fare this year? Here's our round-up of the eight best...
Sainsbury's
For the second year running, the supermarket was the first of the major shops to bring out their ad. Voiced by Stephen Fry, the advert saw the firm use CGI technology to bring beloved Roald Dahl character the BFG to life. It saw the BFG enlist 'Sophie' - played by a real Sainsbury's worker - to travel the UK to seek out the perfect dishes for his festive table.
There was also a heartwarming nod to the supermarket's charity partnership with Comic Relief, who will distribute over five million meals to households experiencing food poverty this Christmas, with a scene showing the BFG secretly giving some of his feast to a family. Sainsbury's worked with the Roald Dahl Story Company to ensure the character was as close to the original 1982 novel as possible and the result captured viewers' imaginations.
M&S Food
This year's was not just any M&S Christmas ad... as customers were treated to a special plot twist. Dawn French was back as the voice of the animated Christmas Fairy, but for the first time the comedian had a cameo role as herself. Set to Elton John's festive hit Step into Christmas, it saw Dawn as a stressed woman trying to throw a Christmas party.
Then, the Fairy sprinkled her magic across Dawn's home, making the season come alive with tasty M&S treats, twinkling lights and Christmas cheer. Sharry Cramond, M&S Food marketing director, said: “We’re always looking to push creative boundaries, and we believe this year’s campaign will leave our customers smiling and feeling super inspired."
The firm appeared to deliver on the brief, with several fans on social media describing it as the best M&S advert yet, while the £45 M&S dress wore in the film quickly sold out in most sizes.
Aldi
For the ninth year in a row, popular character Kevin the Carrot came back for the budget supermarket's Christmas advert. This year's was a comic caper, seeing Kevin and his wife Katie go on a mega mission to save the Spirit of Christmas from evil 'Humbugs'. It took viewers on a tongue-in-cheek adventure featuring comedic spy film tropes such as fake moustache disguises, booby traps and a briefcase that saves the day.
Kevin has become an instantly recognisable character in recent years, with culture and brand expert Nick Ede saying that his success has built on the "humour and charm that the advertising agency have come up with to create an inclusive, identifiable and cheeky character". Alongside the advert, the retailer usually brings out a sell-out range of Kevin merch and this year is no different, with plush toys, advent calendars and a book based on the commercial all on offer.
Lidl
This year's Lidl offering centres around the heart-warming theme of creating a magical Christmas for everyone, via the story of one kind little girl and her family. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper, who is best known for The King's Speech, it also signals the return of Lidl's Toy Bank Scheme which hopers to give over 100,000 toys to kids in need this year.
Called A Magical Christmas, it has all the hallmarks of a Yuletide classic, showing a family making Christmas wishes such as for sprouts to turn into delicious biscuits or for a giant gingerbread man to arrive at the door. But the kindly girl instead makes a wish to help somebody else, asking for her present - a Lidl woollen hat - to be given to a cold little boy she saw earlier that day. Social media was filled with praise for the ad, with one X, formerly known as Twitter, user saying: "This is what Christmas is all about."
Disney
In classic Disney fashion, the firm's Christmas advert is a heartwarming animation telling a story of friendship. Directed by Rita Ora's husband, New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, The Boy and the Octopus follows the journey of a child who discovers a curious creature has attached itself to his head during a beach holiday.
Tentative at first, the boy forms a special bond with the octopus, introducing it to life on land with an orchestral recording of 'Part of Your World' from the Disney classic The Little Mermaid providing the soundtrack. Eventually, the boy decides to help the octopus explore everything the world has to offer - enlisting Santa to help.
Eagle-eyed viewers were also able to spot hidden ' Easter eggs ' throughout the ad from films such as Toy Story, Lilo and Stitch and Moana. Taika said of the ad: "The story manages to connect the feelings that you get around the holidays, and the joy, the goodwill and everything, with those same emotions and those same sensibilities you get from Disney films."
Tesco
The UK's biggest supermarket went for a tearjerker this year for its Christmas advert, telling the story of a man regaining his Christmas cheer after losing his beloved grandmother. There's various versions of the ad, including the full three-minute film that will show in cinemas that is packed with magic and emotion.
After main character Gary is given a packed of mini gingerbread men by his granddad, the world around him transforms into a magical gingerbread wonderland with a market square and animals such as a fox and a fish made from the biscuit. But as Gary grieves for his gran, losing his Christmas spirit, the world around him crumbles.
It's when he joins with his grandad to build a Gingerbread house, a tradition Gary used to do with his grandmother, that his Christmas spirit finally peaks. Tesco's chief commercial officer Ashwin Prasad told The Mirror he was believed it was Tesco's best ad yet - and it seems viewers agree with many favourably comparing it to previous heartwarming John Lewis efforts.
Asda
There's no business like Gnome business for Asda this year. It went down the humorous rather than sentimental route, with its advert about garden gnomes coming to save the day when an Asda store is cut off by snow. The supermarket went back to basics with its pun-filled ad and thought about what their shoppers love - and it turned out gnomes were the answer after it uncovered it has sold a huge 100,000 in the past four years.
Set to The A-Team theme, the ad was created over seven months using more than 3,000 hours of animated footage including CGI and introduced fans of Asda garden gnomes to new characters including a drag queen named Gnicky and cool surfer gnome Gnarla - which are available to shop in store for £7.
Waitrose
Waitrose received rave reviews when it dished up a star-studded 'Whodunnit' this year. Described as "epic" by one advertising expert, the firm said the innovative two-parter with a cliffhanger was its biggest Christmas campaign yet. A perfect pastiche of the murder mystery genre, it starred Succession's Matthew Macfadyen as an amateur detective trying to find out which family member stole the red velvet bauble cake from the fridge.
All characters had motives for the crime. Miss Marple's Eryl Maynard is the posh grandmother who is angry at being relegated from desserts to making cranberry sauce, while Sian Clifford, from Fleabag, claimed to be prepping the parsnips but in reality has been sneakily eating cheese dips. But it was adorable, fluffy cat Fig who stole the show with his impressive acting skills. A second 60-second advert will drop later this month revealing the culprit once and for all.
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .