Devouring 2025's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to lounge on the couch and consume a tin of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a selection of new holiday movies strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Thus, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the festive feeling, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the only 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves stuck in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt pick up on lots of references as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

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

Next: A Star in Panto

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is excellent, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Is this a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

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 is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to pay back the excess.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

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

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she meets a guy in a literary haven who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A critic recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

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

The truth is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but charming, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

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

So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

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

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher