Devouring This Year's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the couch and devour a packet of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a selection of latest Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

So, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

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

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity roped into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama.

His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their response. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response.

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

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

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

Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to reimburse the difference.

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 scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a man in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.

An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The secret is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known scientists and personalities.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling 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 classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a tale 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