Devouring This Year's Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

It is the season to lounge on the couch and demolish a packet of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a batch of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Thus, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

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

The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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 family members who are obliged to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor cast a "panto".

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero 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 pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the supporting actors is excellent, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the modern take 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 well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits 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 regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There's just enough time for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. 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 claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory cozy feelings.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s understated but charming, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

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 opens by name-dropping classic festive films 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 mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—holiday fare.

It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher