Devouring 2025's Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the sofa and demolish a box of mince pies in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

Once again, a selection of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, optimistically, on a high. This film is the only 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The repartee between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for fans and a solid start to the day.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star cast a "panto".

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama.

His Aladdin cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is cracking, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer shows up at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets 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 exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The secret is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s understated but endearing, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling 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 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 concept, but in execution it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher