Marathon Viewing 2025's Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.
‘Tis the season to lounge on the sofa and consume a tin of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.
This year, a crop of fresh holiday movies hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).
Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the festive feeling, I binged as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.
Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie
Kicking off, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.
The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after concluding their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”
The repartee between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly notice lots of in-jokes 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 superb for devotees and a good start to the day.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it.
8.45am - Tinsel Town
Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a "panto".
“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.
His Aladdin co-stars inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. One can imagine their retort. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some great jokes, some heartwarming side stories, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.
It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
10.19am - Christmas Karma
An actor shows up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second film in a row. Could this be a budding festive ritual?
This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a problem when he’s so the main character.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
12.04pm - Stuffed
Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”
But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.
There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess.
Pleasant yet unmemorable.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
A Classy Netflix Romance
This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings 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 assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she meets a man in a literary haven who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.
A critic recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required cozy feelings.
The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
A Charming Quest
Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.
The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known figures.
It’s understated but endearing, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
A Star-Studded Family Drama
Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.
Pfeiffer starts by mentioning classic festive films 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 premise, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret
The day’s waned in quality, but happily here’s a new entry in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher