Binge-Watching 2025's Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

It is the season to lounge on the couch and consume a box of mince pies in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful.

This year, a batch of new holiday movies strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

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

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity roped into a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their response. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some touching side stories, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts 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 sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There's just enough time for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a guy in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris.

An expert recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Young 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 truth.

The truth is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s gentle but sweet, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher