IT'S THE JOHN LEWIS CAROL..

Festive tradition rolls around again ...and it's back to its tearjerky best

- NATASHA WYNARCZYK

JOHN Lewis tugs the heartstrings and dips into 90s nostalgia for its eagerly awaited Christmas advert.

After releasing two teaser ads, the retailer has finally unwrapped The Gifting Hour, its two-minute film about a woman's last-minute quest for the perfect present for her younger sister.

Heroine Sally races into a John Lewis at closing time and, as she frantically searches a rack of dresses, stumbles out of a wardrobe into her childhood home.