Devouring This Year's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the time of year to slob out on the couch and demolish a packet of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a selection of fresh Christmas films aims to become part of our festive viewing—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Thus, in a helpful attempt to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, hopefully, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will undoubtedly catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a solid start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity tricked into a "panto".

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging 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. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their retort. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the latest spin on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by 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 determine how to reimburse the remainder.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a bookshop who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

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

It’s gentle but endearing, and perfect viewing while anticipating 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 opens by name-dropping classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher