'I had one of those!': The John Lewis Christmas ad brings relatable grandparent woes and a gut-punching dose of nostalgia
There are fewer tears to be shed this time, but those from a certain era will have long forgotten memories instantly unlocked by this year's festive offering
The John Lewis Christmas advert has almost come to be more anticipated than Christmas Day itself, as the nation collectively anticipates the level of heartstring pulling and sobbing will come out of the bag with each release.
What's come to be a major cultural event that kicks off the festive season with a bang, the high street giant sometimes hits the bullseye with their festive campaigns, but on some occasions have gone too left field (looking at you, The Perfect Tree from 2023.)
But like a Goldilocks tale, John Lewis has sometimes done too little with their Christmas campaign, from time to time gone over the top with the emotional battering, and this year, gets it just right.
In Gloria and Pickles, Kristin Scott Thomas is glamorous grandmother Gloria, who has the relatable festive woe many grandparents will recognise: She just doesn't know what to get her grandchildren Freddie and Maggie, for the big day.
My own parents and their friends will definitely be nodding along to this - not only at Christmas, but also for my kids' birthdays, I'm always asked what will be the best gift for them to receive from their grandparents.
I get it, nobody wants to waste their money on something that isn't needed or won't be used.
Gloria settles on the failsafe option of giving the little ones cash inside their cards, and that's when the real nostalgic magic happens.
She's stopped in her tracks from doing this by none other than a vintage Little Snoopy pull-along toy, renamed Pickles and voiced by Paul Whitehouse for marketing purposes.
Now, raise your hands if you had one of these as a child, and pointed straight at your screen when you saw the ad to shout, "I had one of those!" when you saw what was once sure to be a long-forgotten staple of your childhood.
Keep your hand up if you were transported straight back to simpler times with just one glimpse of this unassuming toy, and had several long-buried memories instantly unlocked? Me too.
Like Care Bears, Cabbage Patch Kids, Keypers and the Fisher-Price chatter phone, Little Snoopy was something you either owned yourself or saw at someone's house when you went for tea after school (they were absolutely not called playdates back then.)
I was shocked at just how many different feelings this one simple toy made me feel. Not that Maggie and Freddie feel any similar emotions towards Little Snoopy/Pickles, they look at him blankly as you'd expect when Gloria asks if they want to play with him - things have moved on and he holds no such nostalgic memories for them.
While they don't feel anything for the cute little guy, he's the perfect person to take Gloria on a last-minute shopping spree to try and find something that will one day inspire similar wistfulness and the ache of yesterday in the grandchildren.
She doesn't quite find the gifts she's looking for, which does seem a little counterproductive to the ad's message of not giving up on giving, but Gloria still does find something to offer the little ones in the form of her "gran cave."
Taking Freddie and Maggie into a room full of twinkling lights and disco balls inspired by her magical mystery shopping tour, the family dance together in their grandmother's newly decorated room and make festive memories of a different kind, all to the soundtrack of Sam Fender crooning a cover of The Rolling Stones' classic, You Can't Always Get What You Want.
It's true, you can't always get what you want and there's always going to be some people having a little whinge about the advert. But for me, there was something for everyone, and I'll be holding that unexpected nostalgic gut-punch all the way to the big day.
