Marathon Viewing The Latest Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to lounge on the couch and demolish a box of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful.

This year, a crop of new holiday movies aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

So, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, hopefully, on a good foot. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The popular band end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while followers will undoubtedly catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who are obliged to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity cast 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 agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. One can imagine their response. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor shows up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

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

Mr Sood is played by an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time 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 receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

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 main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a fellow in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

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

The secret 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 expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher