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

‘Tis the season to slob out on the sofa and demolish a tin of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful.

Once again, a selection of new holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—potentially even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

So, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the sole 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band are stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor cast a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His pantomime cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

A familiar face pops up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Is this a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts 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 lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There's just enough time for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a man in a literary haven who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

An expert recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but sweet, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

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

Pfeiffer begins by referencing holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher