Whatever happens in the next month or two, Christmas 2020 will be like no other before it. As advertisers grapple with how to stand out during the festive season, you can keep up to date with the best seasonal creative right here. 

It might be November but it's already begining to look a lot like Christmas.

Mince pies have tentatively started to appear on the supermarket shelves, as of yet unlit festive lights dangle in waiting in cities across the world and brands have started airing their Christmas ads. 

So far we've seen the nail biting return of Aldi's Kevin the Carrot, a celeb-fronted charity push from M&S food, a magical, fun spot from Argos and a sentimental ballerina-inspired film from Amazon. 

As we get ready to shake the dust of the boots of 2020, The Drum will be exploring the in-depth strategies brands are taking to engage with customers amid what’s sure to be a holiday season like no other. 

In the meantime, we'll be rounding up the crème de la crème of Christmas creative for you each day, right here. Scroll down to see what brands have come up with already and click on the images to watch the ads in full.

Kevin the Carrot makes it back home in time for Christmas

Aldi has finally premiered its Christmas advert which sees Kevin the Carrot return to screens to mark the start of the festive season, bringing with him some much-needed wonder and magic. 

The country was left on tenterhooks and rooting for the plucky carrot’s safe return following his appearance earlier this week in a teaser advert. Just days ago, Kevin set the sky alight, Top Gun style, in a fighter jet escapade with co-pilot Turkey.

He was left perilously adrift with a flaming parachute, leaving fans asking Where is Kevin, and will he manage to get home to Katie and family in time for Christmas?

Determined to be reunited with his loved ones no matter what, Kevin is fortunate enough to find a few new friends to help. Getting him out of his snowy spot of bother is a friendly hedgehog, Harry, who gives him a lift in the ad created by McCann UK.

M&S bags Olivia Colman and Tom Hardy for charity-led twist on its 'food porn' ads

In a year when charity funding has declined almost 25%, this Christmas M&S Food has announced it will donate £2m to good causes, saying it's not a year for "Christmas advertising fairytales".

Central to this, M&S Food is shining a light on a number of important charities, partnering with nine world-famous actors who have added their unmistakable voices to nine brand new Christmas food ads, shot in its signature 'food porn' style.

The star-studded voiceover cast — which includes Tom Hardy, Olivia Colman, Helen Mirren and Chiwetel Ejiofor have all chosen to work with M&S, selecting charities close to their hearts to which M&S Food will make a donation on their behalf.

And M&S is doing the same for customers. Every time a customer signed up to its sparks loyalty scheme shops at M&S in-store or online at M&S.com, it will donate to their selected charity, from a range of 35 different causes.

M&S Food will also donate an additional £1million across a diverse range of charities including Shelter, Together for Short Lives and the 35 Sparks charities that M&S supports.  Through Sparks, M&S has donated £7.3 million since 2015.

Alongside the hero ads, M&S will run festive editions of its popular What’s New at M&S tasting panel, now in its third year.  

Very unveils tongue-in-cheek spot from Grey

Very.co.uk has launched a funny Christmas campaign, its first from Grey London, which encourages people to embrace every single moment in the countdown to December 25 instead of focusing on the clichéd portrayal of Christmas day.

The charmingly honest film sends the message that the best thing about Christmas is not just Christmas day but the combination of all the wonderfully festive moments in the build-up to Christmas, from Christmas lights and the all-important tree to Christmas jammies.

Javier Campopiano, chief creative officer Europe and creative chairman London at Grey, said: “It’s a different Christmas message, a message that offers the unfiltered point of view of someone who truly loves everything about Christmas, every single bit that makes it such a magical season.

“Not only is it different to what the brand and its customers have seen before, but we’re confident it’ll resonate right now when we’re facing the prospect of a very different festive period.”

Magical Argos campaign hones in on 'Book of Dreams' 

Despite scrapping its paper catalogue in June after 47 years, Argos has brought out the second chapter in its ‘Book of Dreams’ campaign, which once again taps into the nostalgia that people feel for flicking through the pages of its Christmas gift guide.

Though the original ‘Book of Dreams’ is currently out of print, Argos has brought out a Christmas gift guide to replace it. In the spot, two girls spot a box of magic tricks on the pages of the guide, which transports them off to the furthest reaches of the imagination, to a world where they have their own extraordinary magic show.

Last year saw Argos introduce the ‘Book of Dreams,‘ dropping its playful ‘Christmas Fool‘ character in favour of a more family-oriented spot. Both were created by The&Partnership.  

“Last year‘s Christmas ad performed extremely well for us,” explains Argos‘ senior campaign manager, Rob Quartermain. “This year, we‘ve taken that idea on another step. It felt like a really powerful and strong idea and something that‘s uniquely Argos.”

Amazon sets the barre high

This year Amazon tells the inspiring story of a determined young ballerina who inadvertently brings her community together amid the challenges of this year. 

Set to an arrangement of Queen’s ‘The Show Must Go On‘ the film features 17-year-old French ballet dancer, Taïs Vinolo as her character is forced to train from home due to the pandemic. 

While her dreams of dancing a lead role are cancelled due to Covid-19, she doesn't let this hold her back and she continues to practice her routine – dancing wherever and whenever she can. Inspired by her resolution and resolve, her sister and the community around her pull together to give her a stage and an audience in an emotional finale.

Last year, Amazon released a Love Actually-style spot, that featured a little girl playing Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, a flirty couple and its hallmark singing parcels. 

TK Maxx debuts stylishly dressed  'Lil' Goat'

For its Christmas ad this year, TK Maxx has introduced 'Lil' Goat' - a sassy, enviably dressed little goat.

As 'Lil' Goat' struts across a snowy landscape, her farmers watch her go by. The wife  questions her husband, “Did you buy the goat a designer outfit?” Gary, instead of conforming to the stoic farmer type, looks on tenderly with a tear in his eye and replies, replies proudly, “Yes, she’s had such a hard year. She bloomin’ well deserves it if you ask me”.  The ad concludes with the jubilant goat sliding freely across the icy terrain, embodying the off-price retailer’s spirited and often humorous nature to deliver an important message - after the year we’ve had, everyone deserves to feel special this Christmas.  

Last year TK Maxx adopted a daredevil skier called TK to show how shoppers can enter autopilot in its stores.

Lego goes on an adventure created by children as they play

The Lego Group celebrates the magic of the everyday as experienced by children through play. It showcases families coming together and experiencing the joyful, humorous adventures that children create and explore as they build, unbuild and rebuild with Lego products.

Part of its 'Rebuild the World' brand campaign, the playful storyline is set to a bespoke reimagining of ‘What a Wonderful World’

In the whimsical adventure, every story, animal and vehicle in the fun-filled celebration of children’s creativity are based on existing Lego products; princess knights calm dragons, astronauts celebrate their marriage with dinosaurs and giant chicken, and a Star Wars AT-AT takes a nap mid-crusade.

Pepsi Max gets all hip-hop

Adding to the list of brands producing spots soundtracked with grime and hip-hop, Pepsi Max has partnered with artists Kamakaze and TrueMendous who star in its Christmas spot. 

‘Christmas Refreshed‘ sees Pepsi shatter old Christmas traditions, offering an alternative view. ‘Traditional is so cliché‘ the rappers declare, and throughout the ad longstanding Christmas tropes are replaced with cool alternatives – Santa‘s sledge is replaced by a hench sound system, a festive jumper transforms into a sick Pepsi jacket. 

Facebook enlists football legend Ian Wright 

Portal from Facebook launches a brand new holiday campaign with national treasure and footballing legend, Ian Wright.

Each family moment in the campaign showcases how a different feature of Portal is helping the Wrights feel like they’re hanging out together. From the AI-powered Smart Camera, AR filters, through to Group calling and Rooms, Portal’s technology allows the family to focus on what matters; coming together during the holidays and keeping their family traditions - like making fun of Dad - alive.

Asda celebrates the Christmas we all need

This year, Asda was one of the first of the major supermarkets to launch its Christmas ad.

With England on the eve of its second lockdown, many are looking to the festive season to bring a little cheer to the end of 2020. Featuring the tagline, 'the Christmas we all need, at the prices we want' the spot sees the return of Asda super-fan Sunny and his wife and children as they try to bring some seasonal cheer to their Scrooge-like next-door-neighbor, Christine.

The spot has won praise for its no-frills approach to this year's festivities, acknowledging that "Christmas is going to be different this year so let’s really make the most of it."

Merry Crispmas from Walkers 

Walkers Crisps has released its Christmas offering starring YouTuber and Christmas No.1 holder, LadBaby, with supporting rolls from East 17's Tony Mortimer, Walking in the Air singer Aled Jones, and Walker's mainstay, Gary Lineker.

In the spot, the gang performs a medley of Christmas carols with lyrics adapted to herald the arrival of Walker's new sausage roll flavoured crisps. 

The ad was created in partnership with The Trussell Trust, the charity which supports food banks across the UK. The crisp brand has pledged to help LadBaby raise more money than ever in its name this Christmas. Walkers had already pledged £1m to The Trussell Trust earlier this year, as the charity needs more support than ever due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. 

This round-up will be updated as the Christmas ads roll on in.