Binge-Watching 2025's Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to lounge on the sofa and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a batch of latest holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even finding a spot alongside timeless staples 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 get into the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a high. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly notice lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

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

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

His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

A familiar face pops up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Might this become a fresh holiday staple?

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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

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 scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to do a deal for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a man in a literary haven who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The answer is somewhere, 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 endearing, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering 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 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—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 discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher