IT'S THE JOHN LEWIS CAROL..

...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.

Viewers see her memories of her sister as they move through life together, including childhood snuggles on the sofa, teenage bedroom fights about borrowed clothing and Sally's sibling going into labour with her son.