It’s that time of year again, when John Lewis make us all laugh, cry and be inspired with their Christmas advert. This year, they’ve made a move away from focusing on one main character, and instead, have chosen to focus on including a range of animation styles focusing on a theme of kindness rather than gift giving. The advert ‘Give a Little Love’ aims to raise £4m for two charities – Home Start and Fareshare, boosting FareShare’s efforts to support those facing food poverty and Home-Start’s initiatives for parents who need support. A further fund of £1m has been created to bring the charity partnership to life in-store.
If you. missed it, you can watch the John Lewis Advert here with us!
What is the story behind the John Lewis Advert “Give a Little Love”?
As you well know, 2020 has been a really challenging year in lots of different ways. I think we all recognise though that during lockdown, there was a heightened sense of community, spirit of friendship and kindness – almost a wartime spirit. Neighbours talked to neighbours for the first time in years, people offered to do shopping for one another, sharing and caring, clapping for the NHS, zoom quizzes, walks in the countryside – kind of like life is meant to be. I almost think that pre-lockdown we were heading for something else – a world where everyone was so busy they stop responding to messages, remembering birthdays and spending time together. No-one had time to enjoy the countryside, go for walks and embrace what is truly real. That said, it would have been nice to have a had a gentler reminder of why we’re here – without the devastation of a pandemic and all that goes with that. The sheer awfulness of people being alone in hospital, scared and alone, and our wonderful NHS handling it all as they always do. The teachers going in to school to care for key workers children – forgotten it sometimes seems, and everyone else who made sacrifices for the good of others. The John Lewis advert captures some of that. The characters reaching out to strangers, inclusion – and diversity. A nod perhaps to the Black Lives Matter movement and the learnings from that for us all. The touching acts of kindness that make us all human, and enrich all our lives. Maybe, just maybe, the advert gives us a sense of hope that everything will be ok – which it will.
What happened to Excitable Edgar?
Excitable Edgar will always have a special place in our hearts. In 2019 he stole our hearts with his well intentioned efforts to join in – and he was finally accepted by who he was by a kindly girl. We have lots of Excitable Edgar teaching resources you can use if you prefer to – and you can show your children the video right here!
Give a little john lewis advert love teaching resources
If you’re looking for teaching activities to go along with the John Lewis 2020 Christmas advert, you’re in the right place! We’re working hard to create LOTS of new resources, for now, have a look at our Give a Little Love John Lewis Advert Writing Activity. This helps children to unpick the meaning behind the advert, and give their own opinions.
You can also explore our wellbeing primary resources, including our gratitude jar activity that is a brilliant resource any time of the year.
Are you looking to help promote a bit of kindness this Christmas – and hopefully for longer? Then our Give a Little Love Kindness Cards are for you!
If you’re a fan of kindness (and who isn’t?) then this Kindness Advent Calendar uses the theme of the advert and applies is to every day of Advent.
On the theme of kindness, this I Want to be Kind Writing Activity is spot on and is a great way to draw out the benefits of kindness for all, and ways to help children develop compassion.
For some downtime, our Give a Little Love Mindfulness Colouring Sheets are just the ticket! Ask children to reflect on their year and the positives they can draw from 2020 (there are definitely some!).
