Marathon Viewing The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the season to relax on the sofa and consume a tin of festive treats in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a crop of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Thus, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Kicking off, ideally, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The Jonas Brothers end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hindered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while followers will no doubt catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star tricked into a pantomime.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some touching storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second film in a row. Could this be a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the difference.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a guy in a literary haven who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

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

It’s low-key but charming, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother 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 begins by referencing holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but happily here’s a new addition in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare.

It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher