Devouring This Year's Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to lounge on the couch and demolish a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a batch of new holiday movies hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the festive feeling, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a high. This release is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after finishing their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers will undoubtedly pick up on lots of references as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some touching side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 familiar story progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a fellow in a book store who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.

An expert recently stated 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 touch of class and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a lengthy discussion 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 persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The secret is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known figures.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as well-worn: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher