🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. ‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the couch and consume a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a batch of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an evil Santa, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt pick up on lots of references as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is excellent for devotees and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming storylines, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor pops up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters Mr Sood, the modern take 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 classic narrative unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted 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 different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a channel's original festive film—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 (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the difference. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a guy in a literary haven who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but sweet, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. 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 reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the couch and consume a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a batch of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an evil Santa, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt pick up on lots of references as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is excellent for devotees and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming storylines, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor pops up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters Mr Sood, the modern take 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 classic narrative unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted 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 different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a channel's original festive film—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 (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the difference. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a guy in a literary haven who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but sweet, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. 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 reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher