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

‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the couch and demolish a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a selection of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I watched as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This release is the only 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while followers will certainly notice lots of references as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

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

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity cast a "panto".

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their retort. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor shows up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”

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

There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess.

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 setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to do a deal for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a guy in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory cozy feelings.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite 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 expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s gentle but endearing, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

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

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher