Devouring This Year's Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and demolish a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

This year, a batch of fresh Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the only 2025 title on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity roped into a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

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

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor shows up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative unfolds 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 captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There's just enough time for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the difference.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she encounters a fellow in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

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

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known figures.

It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

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

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher