Marathon Viewing This Year's Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to lounge on the couch and demolish a tin of mince pies in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a selection of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

So, in a helpful attempt to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the festive feeling, I watched as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

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

The musical trio find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”

The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly catch lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

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

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star roped into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in renowned British drama.

His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Might this become a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the remainder.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a man in a literary haven who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known figures.

It’s understated but sweet, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning 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 unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new offering in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a narrative as old as time: 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