A family-run hardware store in Powys has returned with a heart-warming festive advert, encouraging people to ‘give what you can’ this Christmas.

In 2019, Hafod Hardware became a global sensation after they created a touching Christmas advert starring then two-year-old Arthur Lewis Jones.

This year Arthur and his family, who have owned Hafod Hardware for all but 17 years since it opened in 1895, have returned to our screens.

Despite only being posted on 2 December, the advert - which you can watch below - has already collected 13,000 views.

Arthur, who is now three years old, is seen running around the family home and the hardware store, where his great-grandparents Alan and Pauline cameo behind the counter, grabbing household items on his mother Laura’s Santa list, which turns out to be a shopping list.

Thomas Lewis Jones, Arthur’s father and owner of the shop alongside Alan, Pauline and Laura, said: “Arthur was really great to work with this year. He’s a year older now which made a big difference.

“I still can’t believe he didn’t drop the eggs.”

Thomas also said the overriding message of the advert is to ‘give what you can’ after a particularly trying year. He said: “Following a very difficult year for many with Covid-19 having such a negative impact on individuals and businesses alike, we were very much in two minds as to whether or not we would create another video this year.

“The logistics of filming in the shop were going to be very challenging, together with having any direct involvement from others.

“As Christmas drew closer and with the overwhelming support from our customers near and far, we felt like we should attempt to give something back.

“Taking a slightly different direction this year, we wanted to make this film less about the business but more about the people behind it. You could say we wanted to make a non-commercial commercial.

“We didn’t feel it would be appropriate to put a focus on spending money that people may not have, so the overriding message this year is literally to ‘give what you can’ – we hope the choice of song reflects our sentiment.”

Hafod Hardware’s Christmas 2019 advert took the world by storm, collecting 2.7 million views, and led to Arthur receiving worldwide fan mail from places such as Switzerland, Texas and Bhutan.

“We always had the worry over how we would ‘top’ last year’s effort, given the success that followed, but the initial reaction has been great,” Thomas said.

“We have already had thousands of views in the first couple of hours with so many mentioning how it has brought a smile to their faces in an otherwise desperate year.”