Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to slob out on the sofa and consume a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

This year, a selection of new holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

So, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the festive feeling, I watched as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Kicking off, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly catch lots of references as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor roped into a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming storylines, and the ensemble is excellent, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the stingy 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 unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a guy in a literary haven who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, 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: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

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

The answer is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known figures.

It’s gentle but sweet, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

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

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 what this is, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—seasonal comfort food.

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

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher