2019's Holiday Ads Will Give You All The Festive Feels

Lee Moran
Updated

The holidays are here.

And with the festive cheer comes the inevitable onslaught of holiday and Christmas advertisements.

As 2019 draws to a close, companies around the world are once again doing their darndest to get people to part with their hard-earned cash via emotional or funny ads.

British department store John Lewis elicited “Game of Thrones”-themed jokes online with the introduction of Edgar the adorable (yet dangerously excitable) dragon to follow its opinion-splitting 2018 spot featuring music legend Elton John.

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” singer Mariah Carey took center stage in potato chip-maker Walkers’ ad, while McDonald’s UK’s promo told the heartwarming tale of an animated family and “reindeer” turned into reality.

And then there is that controversial Peloton commercial.

Check out the best ads below. We’ll update as new ones arrive.

Related...

11 Best Christmas Commercials From Across The Pond

2016's Holiday Ads Will Make You Laugh, Cry And Everything In Between

2017's Holiday Ads Will Make You Feel All Warm And Fuzzy Inside

2018's Holiday Ads Will Help You Forget The News Cycle Of Doom

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1. Don’t Over-Shop

Every host&rsquo;s worst nightmare is to have guests leave their home hungry, so people tend to purchase and prepare far too much for large meals, leading to mountains of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/reducing-food-waste-during-holiday-season">uneaten leftovers</a>.&nbsp;<br /><br />When grocery shopping, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/02/meal-planning-will-make-your-life-better_n_7484278.html">pre-plan</a>&nbsp;your list to make sure you don&rsquo;t over-shop. If you have some vegetarians, opt for a smaller turkey. If there are a lot of kids, try making something picky-eater-friendly, like mashed potatoes.<br /><br />Most of all, prepare food that makes for good leftovers: There&rsquo;s nothing like a cold turkey and cranberry sandwich. But day-old fondue? Not so much.

2. Don’t Toss Odds And Ends Of Veggies While You Cook

Those small bits of zucchini or carrot left over after you chop may not look great on your meticulously Instagrammable entree, but they are <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fight-food-waste_us_577d3367e4b0a629c1ab79bf">good for other things</a>: Use veggie bits to make dishes like vegetable stock, veggie omelets or <a href="http://eatdrinkandsavemoney.com/2015/01/13/quiche-recipes-help-get-rid-leftovers/">quiche</a>.

3. Let Guests Serve Themselves

This is just practical, since whoever prepared the huge meal is probably too exhausted to serve each and every guest. But more importantly, if you lay food out buffet style,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/reducing-food-waste-during-holiday-season">people can select only what they really want</a>,&nbsp;and there is less chance of food getting left uneaten and tossed.&nbsp;

4. Don’t Lose The Leftovers

If you have too much food left, bag some up for guests to take home. Otherwise, put&nbsp;it all in tupperware to eat for lunch over the next couple days. And if you honestly can&rsquo;t take the sight of another cold turkey sandwich or pea soup, just<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/easy-ways-to-fight-food-waste-at-home-save-money_us_57ae0c1de4b069e7e5051bbd"> freeze what&rsquo;s left</a> for future use.

5. Donate Non-Perishable Food

Any non-perishable items that weren&rsquo;t used ― such as canned cranberry sauce and gravy, or powdered mashed potatoes (I won&rsquo;t tell your mother-in-law you don&rsquo;t make it from scratch) ― can be donated to <a href="http://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank/?referrer=https://www.google.com/">your local food bank</a>.

6. No Matter How Excited You Are, Don’t Rip Wrapping Paper

Tossing wrapping paper after one use&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/dec/19/not-easy-being-green-wrapping-paper">takes a toll on the environment</a>. Yeah,&nbsp;half the fun of getting gifts is violently tearing them open on Christmas morning ― but try to encourage kids to unwrap gently so the paper can be reused.&nbsp;Even better,&nbsp;opt for recycled alternatives like newspapers or brown bags.&nbsp;

7. Regift Any Clothes You Don’t Want

Got another ugly sweater or awkward pair of socks from your least favorite uncle? Don&rsquo;t toss them: The average <a href="http://www.weardonaterecycle.org/">American throws out 70 pounds of clothing</a> each year ― and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/2013_advncng_smm_fs.pdf">85 percent</a> of it ends up in landfills, where it decomposes, releasing greenhouse gases that <a href="http://www.planetaid.org/what-we-do/for-the-environment/recycling-textiles">contribute to climate change</a>.<br /><br />Instead, regift it to someone else, or just&nbsp;<a href="http://www.goodwill.org/?gclid=CIXgi5D35NACFceEswodOtoPig">donate it to your local Goodwill</a>.

8. Give Less Altogether

Instead of having every person buy presents for every other person in the family, try a gift-swap instead.<br /><br />With games like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/04/secret-santa-rules_n_4384844.html">Secret Santa</a> or <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/holiday-gift-exchange-names_us_567038a9e4b0fccee16fe680">White Elephant</a>, each person walks away with only one gift. Secret Santa presents tend to be selected with the specific recipient in mind, and White Elephant lets players trade gifts with the group for something else they want.

9. Get The Right Kind Of Christmas Tree

Is it better to buy a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christmas-tree-real-or-fake-better_us_58415410e4b0c68e04803d02">real tree you&rsquo;ll use once or a fake tree you can re-use</a> for years? It turns out, the reusable one might&nbsp;be worse for the environment.<br /><br />Fake trees are often made of toxic, non-recyclable materials and will end up in landfills once they&rsquo;re tossed. What&rsquo;s more, the vast majority are imported from China, meaning they have a major carbon footprint from shipping.&nbsp;<br /><br />If you get a real tree, make sure you buy local and dispose of it correctly: Experts <a href="http://sfenvironment.org/news/update/rock-around-a-green-holiday-tree-this-season">recommend replanting</a>&nbsp;or recycling it. If you&rsquo;re lucky enough to live in an <a href="http://sfenvironment.org/solution/how-do-i-recycle-my-christmas-tree-in-san-francisco">eco-friendly city like San Francisco</a>, you can just leave it by the street and it will get recycled. In New York City, you can <a href="https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest">bring it to select city parks to get it recycled</a> into mulch to nourish other plants.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.