🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. ‘Tis the season to relax on the couch and demolish a packet of festive treats in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a selection of fresh holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.” The repartee between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while devotees will no doubt pick up on lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge A familiar face shows up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a man in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known figures. It’s low-key but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the season to relax on the couch and demolish a packet of festive treats in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a selection of fresh holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.” The repartee between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while devotees will no doubt pick up on lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge A familiar face shows up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a man in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known figures. It’s low-key but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher