Marathon Viewing 2025's Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the season to relax on the couch and demolish a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a crop of fresh Christmas films strives to join part of our festive viewing—maybe even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Thus, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the festive feeling, I binged as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This release is the only 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers are stranded in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while fans will certainly catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

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 relatives who will have to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming storylines, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the outset 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 singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There’s time for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to pay back the remainder.

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

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a man in a bookshop who offers to show her a festive 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 holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

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

The answer is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher