Devouring 2025's Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the season to lounge on the sofa and consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a crop of new holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for fans and a good start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor cast a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama.

His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

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

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

A familiar face appears at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted 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 distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There’s 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 gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an error 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.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she encounters a fellow in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures.

It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling 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 starts by mentioning 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 execution it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—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