Binge-Watching 2025's Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the time of year to relax on the sofa and consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a crop of fresh seasonal stories aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Thus, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, ideally, on a good foot. This is the sole 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while fans will no doubt notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day.

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity cast a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.

His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. You can guess their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some great jokes, some touching side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster'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) talks him into blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the remainder.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. En route, she meets a fellow in a bookshop who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Young 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 truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

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

So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder.

It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher