A Brixton housing estate is the setting for Oxfam’s 2026 Christmas television advert, a 90-second film about a boy whose Christmas list turns out to be for his neighbours.
The advert, titled The List, was filmed on the Loughborough Junction Estate in Brixton. It follows nine-year-old Neel, who releases a balloon carrying his Christmas list from the balcony of his block of flats.
His wish inspires the people around him to sew, mend and shop second-hand in an effort to make his dreams come true. On Christmas Day, Neel delivers the gifts next door to a young mother and her daughter, revealing that his wishes were for them all along.
Alya Al-Khatib, Head of Brand and Creative at Oxfam, said: “The Loughborough housing estate was chosen for the advert as we wanted a neighbourhood setting that would bring to life the community spirit at the heart of our Christmas campaign ‘The List’.”
She added: “By filming among real homes and familiar streets, the advert brings the young boy’s story to life, showing how Christmas can be about looking beyond our own wish lists to the people who live around us.”
Ms Al-Khatib said the wider campaign invites people to carry that spirit into their own festive giving. “Our wider Christmas campaign invites people to carry that spirit of community, kindness and care into their own giving,” she said.
“By choosing meaningful gifts and sharing their own alternative Christmas list with friends and family, people can support Oxfam’s work to fight poverty and tackle the inequalities that cause it.”
With nearly half the world’s population still living in poverty, Oxfam hopes the campaign will remind people that small acts of generosity can support its wider mission to address global inequality and hardship.
The advert ends with the question: “If a gift could change the world, what would be on your list?” People in Brixton and across the UK are invited to sign up to Oxfam’s The List at oxfam.org.uk/thelist, a digital alternative Christmas list featuring meaningful gifts, from a pre-loved book or second-hand fashion to an Oxfam Unwrapped charity gift or a donation towards a fairer world.
The advert is one of several festive moments across the capital this month. Oxford Street’s Christmas lights switch on tonight, while Seven Dials Market will bring daily snow to Covent Garden in the run-up to Christmas.
