Binge-Watching The Latest Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the sofa and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

This year, a crop of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

So, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, ideally, on a high. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while fans will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor 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 positive start to the day.

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star roped into a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. You can guess their response. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

A familiar face pops 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 musical taxi operator who encounters 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

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

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. En route, she runs into a fellow in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.

An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

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

The truth is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a story as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher