🔗 Share this article Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. It is the season to relax on the sofa and consume a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. Once again, a selection of new holiday movies hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the only 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will certainly catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for fans and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some touching side stories, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer shows up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur 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 well-known tale progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts 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 unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to reimburse the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she meets a guy in a bookshop who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. An expert recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the required heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to relax on the sofa and consume a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. Once again, a selection of new holiday movies hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the only 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will certainly catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for fans and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some touching side stories, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer shows up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur 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 well-known tale progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts 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 unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to reimburse the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she meets a guy in a bookshop who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. An expert recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the required heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher