Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to slob out on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful.

Once again, a selection of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

So, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Starting, ideally, on a high. This is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The popular band find themselves stranded in the UK after finishing their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”

The banter between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not legendary, but is great 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

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity cast a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.

His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits 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 regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - 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 warm and holiday-like all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she encounters a man in a bookshop who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The truth is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

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

So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

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