Over the years Christmas adverts have been a staple of the festive season, with supermarkets and retailers creating elaborate heart-warming stories to capture the nation and get them talking.

John Lewis is often seen as the king of the Christmas advert, with their big budget productions always guaranteed to be a tearjerker. However, other brands are competing to be just as sentimental to spread their Christmas message.

Here are some of the best British Christmas adverts over the past few years.

John Lewis, 2019

This year’s much anticipated John Lewis advert – and it’s first in partnership with Waitrose – introduced the world to Edgar the young dragon and his best friend, a young girl named Ava.

Edgar is so excited about Christmas he cannot control the flames that come out of his mouth, but when this leads to him melting snowmen and burning the village Christmas tree, Edgar starts to dampen everyone’s Christmas spirit.

But Ava doesn’t give up on him and finds the perfect gift for the excitable dragon, showing him how important he is to her. 

The advert ends with the uplifting message about showing people how much you care for them at Christmas.

Set to the voice of Bastille frontman Dan Smith, singing REO Speedwagon’s Can’t Fight This Feeling, soon after it was released the #ExcitableEdgar was trending on Twitter.

Sainsbury’s, 2014

Sainsbury’s used their 2014 Christmas advert, 1914, to show the kindness that can be found at Christmas time with one of the most well-known moments from the First World War.

The advert recreates the moment when on Christmas day in 1914, German and British soldiers held a cease fire and came out from their trenches to exchange gifts, share memories and play football with each other.

The advert was made with the involvement of the Royal British Legion and marked 100 years since the Christmas truce.

Allegro, 2016

Polish company Allegro pulled at heartstrings with the charming advert English For Beginners.

The advert begins with an elderly man ordering an 'English for Beginner’s' audio guide; he then spends his days trying to become fluent, labelling household items and saying English phrases out loud.

The advert culminates in the man travelling to England to spend Christmas with his son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter.

His reasoning for learning English becomes clear when he says to the little girl: “Hi, I am your grandfather.”

The advert focused on the importance of being with family at Christmas and captured the hearts of people all over the world.

Marks and Spencer, 2016

In 2016 M&S took a leaf out of John Lewis’ book and focused less on the brand’s products and more on a personal story.

With the focus usually on Santa Claus at Christmas, this time it was about Mrs Claus in the M&S advert Christmas With Love.

The advert reveals Mrs Claus’ secret double life, as she helps fulfil Santa’s last-minute gift requests unbeknownst to him.

Armed with her own helicopter named R-DOLF and a hidden lair filled with the perfect gifts, Mrs Claus helps a young boy called Jake who has been fighting with his sister all year and wants to get her the perfect gift for Christmas.

Mrs Claus finds the perfect present, making Jake’s Christmas wishes come true, while her husband Santa Claus is none the wiser.

John Lewis, 2011

This advert The Long Wait marked a turning point for John Lewis, instead of creating an advert showcasing John Lewis products, they focused on telling a whole story.

The advert sees a young boy wait impatiently for Christmas to arrive, day by day he watches the seconds tick away on the clock, then on Christmas Eve he devours his dinner so he can get to sleep as quick as possible.

But the boy is not desperate to open his own presents, when Christmas day dawns he ignores his own gifts and instead runs to his wardrobe to retrieve the present he has been saving for his parents.

In the background plays a Slow Moving Millie cover of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths.

Aldi, 2019

Kevin the Carrot has been a staple character in the Aldi adverts – narrated by Jim Broadbend – since his introduction in 2016.

Viewers were excited to see another instalment of Kevin’s adventures and this year saw Kevin up against the evil Brussels sprouts, known as the ‘Leafy Blinders’.

The gang, led by Russell Sprout, were angry that Kevin had made carrots one of the more popular vegetables for Christmas dinner and in revenge he kidnaps him and ties him to a cheese grater.

However Kevin, with the help of the tomato Tiny Tom, escapes the Leafy Blinders’ clutches and makes it to the circus tent in time for his big performance, a festive rendition of Robbie Williams’ Let Me Entertain You.