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

‘Tis the season to slob out on the sofa and demolish a packet of festive treats in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful.

This year, a crop of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

So, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, optimistically, on a high. This film is the only 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt notice lots of references as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not legendary, but is great for fans and a solid start to the day.

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

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast 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.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

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

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who encounters Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, 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 captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

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 warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she meets a fellow in a bookshop who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.

A commentator recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics 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 what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher