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

It is the season to slob out on the sofa and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

Once again, a batch of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare 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 followers will undoubtedly catch lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star tricked into a "panto".

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

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

There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming side stories, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face shows up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There's just enough time for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a vacation 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 excess.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

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

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a guy in a bookshop who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A commentator recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The truth is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s understated but charming, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher