I have a real issue with the John Lewis Christmas advert. It's driving me crackers, says Stephen Dixon

Let's be clear, there's nothing wrong with the advert itself. Pulls on the heart strings a little bit although admittedly it doesn't say much about Christmas, it's more Halloween with its monster size, present eating Venus Fly Trap.

But what I don't like is it being pegged as "the start of the Festive season". Why on earth are people saying that?

WATCH: The 2023 John Lewis Christmas Advert

For a kick off, they've only been doing these big productions since 2007. It's hardly a decades old British tradition.

It's a comparatively new phenomenon to squeeze every last drop out of the ever decreasing British budget.

Now I'm no scrooge. I love giving and getting Christmas presents, I love a good Christmas spread and advertising plays a key role in that, fair enough.

But why then are so many people EXCITED about an advert being launched?

Are we so far removed from what Christmas is meant to be about?

As a Christian, for me it is a time to mark the birth of Jesus, but it is also a time to celebrate and relax in the love of family.

Spending that time together, eating, drinking, laughing and showing our love thought gifts is just wonderful. It's also a magical time for the children. That wonder and excitement, hoping Father Christmas will come, is just a joy to behold.

But to applaud adverts as something which matters to Christmas, to how we celebrate, how we get into the festive spirit is (Christmas) crackers.

If we think an ad matters, starts the season, holds importance beyond just trying to flog us something, then we've not just lost the meaning of Christmas - we've lost the plot.