Christmas Adverts (2023) Teaching Ideas

There are a number of wonderful Christmas adverts for 2023, and many teachers enjoy sharing these with the children during the festive season and then trying different activities to extend learning in different subjects and topics. Here is a selection of our favourite adverts this year, with some suggested teaching ideas for each one. If you have any other ideas, add them to the comments below!

Please check that any videos are suitable before showing them to your children.

Don’t forget to explore our dedicated list of ideas based on Snapper: The Perfect Tree (the 2023 John Lewis Christmas advert), too.

Joy Ride (Amazon)

• Make a list of adjectives to describe the three women at the beginning and another to describe them during the flashback (0:45-0:50). Compare the two lists. What is the same, and what is different?
• Design new hats for the women.
• Use percussion instruments to create an accompaniment for the sledge ride.
• Write some dialogue between the three friends. Could you write these as direct and reported speech?
• The final tagline of the video is “Joy is shared”. Have a discussion about what makes you joyful.

Kevin and the Christmas Factory (Aldi)

• The advert is based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Make a list of all the similarities you can see.
• Create descriptions using alliterative double adjectives, like the greedy, gluttonous grape and the sulky, sour rhubarb.
• Collect rhyming words used in the advert.
• Design a Christmas feast.
• Find out how food is made in a factory. This video clip shows how chocolates are wrapped in the factory.

A Magical Christmas (Lidl)

• Create a fact file about racoons. This page from Britannica has lots of useful information.
• Make an obstacle course based on the raccoon’s journey.
• Make a list of other stories and films you know where something is lost or found, such as Dogger by Shirly Hughes or Kipper’s Toybox by Mick Inkpen.
• Create a social media post based on the advert.
• Make a map of the racoon’s journey and the obstacles he faces.

Shaun the Sheep x Baa-bour (Barbour)

• Write what the farmer might say at different points in the advert, such as when he shears a hole in his jacket (0:08) and when the animals give him the repaired jacket (1:05).
• Watch an expert shear a sheep in just 60 seconds. What other skills could you complete in just 60 seconds? Can you estimate how long one minute is without looking at a clock or stopwatch?
• Design a new jacket for a farmer. Could you make it using suitable materials?
• Make a list of items that need to be made from waterproof material, and explain why.
• Learn how to mend a hole in a piece of clothing. This video shows you how.