Devouring This Year's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

It is the season to relax on the sofa and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a crop of new seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Starting, ideally, on a high. This release is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers end up stranded in the UK after finishing their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the casual viewer, while followers will no doubt pick up on 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 superb for devotees and a good start to the day.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity tricked into a "panto".

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.

His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. You can guess their reply. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some touching sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Might this become 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 The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he receives 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 error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the difference.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. On the way, she runs into a fellow in a bookshop who offers 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 exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance 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.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

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

It’s understated but sweet, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the crowded field of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher