Marathon Viewing This Year's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to relax on the sofa and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a selection of new Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

So, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, optimistically, on a high. This release is the only 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The banter 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 private planes, trains and automobiles.

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

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor cast a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.

His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. One can imagine their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a holiday 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 devise a plan for how to return the difference.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a bookshop who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher