Devouring This Year's Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and consume a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

This year, a crop of new Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The Jonas Brothers are trapped in the UK after finishing their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the non-fan, while devotees will certainly catch lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

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

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star roped into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some very funny lines, some touching storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor appears at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.”

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

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

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. En route, she meets a guy in a literary haven who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently stated 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 dash of elegance and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s gentle but endearing, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering 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 classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher