🔗 Share this article Devouring 2025's Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. It is the time of year to slob out on the sofa and demolish a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a crop of latest Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—maybe even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I watched as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Starting, optimistically, on a high. This film is the sole 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band are trapped in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The repartee between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will certainly 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 superb for devotees and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a pantomime. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the difference. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a literary haven who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but sweet, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the time of year to slob out on the sofa and demolish a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a crop of latest Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—maybe even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I watched as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Starting, optimistically, on a high. This film is the sole 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band are trapped in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The repartee between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will certainly 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 superb for devotees and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a pantomime. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the difference. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a literary haven who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but sweet, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher