Marathon Viewing The Latest Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the time of year to relax on the couch and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a batch of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Kicking off, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the only 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”

The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will undoubtedly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who are obliged to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.

His pantomime cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some great jokes, some touching side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Is this a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to pay back the difference.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a man in a book store who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.

A commentator recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The truth is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s understated but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a combination of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher