It's still six weeks until the big day but the countdown has well and truly begun. The John Lewis Christmas advert - launched on Friday - marks the start of the festive season in the UK.
Christmas has always been an important date in the Barnardo's calendar; we were founded as a Christian organisation and derive our inspiration and values from that faith.
Those values, enriched and shared by many people of other faiths and of no religious faith, provide the basis for our work with the UK's most vulnerable children and young people.
Whether you celebrate Christmas in its Christian sense or mark it in some other way, it's undeniable that the John Lewis ad has become part of the festive culture of our country.
And I'm incredibly proud to say that Barnardo's is a part of it.
This year's much-anticipated Christmas advert features Moz the Monster and the department store has chosen Barnardo's as its charity partner. Proceeds from the sales of Moz cuddly toys, mugs and festive jumpers will be donated to Barnardo's to support our work with young carers.
Heartwarming
The two minute advert tells a heartwarming story of a little boy called Joe, who is kept awake by the 7ft imaginary monster who is living under his bed.
Every year it seems the nation pauses for a couple of minutes to drink in the consistently brilliant ads and appreciate the lovable characters, so it's wonderful that our vital young carers' services that support so many children will benefit from something loved by so many.
Our young carers' services support young people who look after a relative who has a disability, illness, mental health condition, or a drug or alcohol problem. It's estimated that there are around 700,000 of these incredible young people in the UK today. Some are as young as five when they start caring for a family member.
They cook, clean, administer medication, do the washing, shop and help to look after their siblings too. And this is on top of keeping up with their school work.
Many of these children take on all the stresses and strains of running a house at a very young age and this inevitably has an impact on their school attendance, their emotional health and their future.
But we also know that many young carers are extremely proud to care for their families, despite the negative impact it can have on them and their future.
Barnardo's project workers do all they can to make sure that this impact is lessened, that the family is receiving all the support it's entitled to and that the child is listened to and cared for.
Opportunity to be a child
What's also vitally important is that young carers also have the opportunity to occasionally just be a child, especially at Christmas, which can be a particularly tough time.
While many young people are thinking about which computer game to play or which book to read, young carers are worrying about getting the dinner ready and ensuring their mum's medication is taken on time.
This year's Christmas shoppers can help relieve the burden of children's caring responsibilities every time they buy a cuddly Moz, Moz mug or special Christmas jumper from John Lewis' menswear section.
And John Lewis is also launching a series of festive fundraising and volunteering events in their stores, including storytelling sessions which we hope people will enjoy.
Today, Barnardo's supports more than 272,000 children, young people, parents and carers every year, to transform their lives and overcome challenges to move towards a bright and happy future.
This is a brilliant and exciting opportunity to raise money to help us continue our vital work supporting hundreds of thousands of the UK's most vulnerable children, young people, parents and carers across the UK.
I hope people will take Moz into their hearts and help young carers to simply be children this Christmas.