Marathon Viewing 2025's Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a selection of latest Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, hopefully, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The repartee between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while devotees will undoubtedly notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

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

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming side stories, and the ensemble is excellent, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative unfolds as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a fellow in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - 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 the reality.

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including other 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—festive fodder.

It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher