When it comes to movies, I’m one of those people that can rewatch their favorite works for dozens of times and never get bored of them. Same goes for Christmas films. When December arrives I instantly think of my most loved movies and cartoons that must be rewatched, like Home Alone, The Polar Express, Christmas with the Kranks, The Holiday etc.

However, as much as I enjoy watching these, I also love checking out the recently released films not to fall behind the world, if that makes sense. Every year I truly hope that I will find yet another great addition to my collection, so I can rewatch it for years to come. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet. Most of the recent movies are really dull, repetitive and soulless and you never want to go back to them ever again. The only thing that I really liked and would love to watch once more is an animated film called That Christmas, which came out last year.

So, the search for the perfect Christmas movie goes on. There are lots of premieres of 2025, so let’s jump right into the list.

p.s. I haven’t watched them all yet, a few movies will merely have a description of their plot.

Family Plan 2

I love the films that combine comedy and action. Usually they are quite unrealistic but this is one of those few cases when I am ready to forgive that flaw. This one tells the story of an ex-spy who now lives s normal life. But he has to face the consequences of his past life and protect his family from his enemies. Meanwhile trying to enjoy the Christmas holidays as much as possible. If you haven’t already guessed from the title, this is a sequel, so make sure to watch the first part as well in order to understand what’s going on.

A Merry Little Ex-Mas

A couple, that has been married for almost 20 years, decide to divorce. However, they’re spending the holidays together as a family, and that doesn’t go as smoothly as planned. It could have been a really fun film, but I have to be honest and say that it was mediocre. However, it has a beautiful small-town Christmas setting, as well as a good take-home message. When people split up, they usually like to blame one another for everything that went wrong, thinking that they themselves were only right. In this movie it shows how the ex-partners slowly came to realize their own mistakes and tried to fix them even after breaking up. So, it shows a good example of how you should work on a relationship.

Joy to the World

A bestselling author’s books are all about the perfect family, even though her life looks nothing like anything she describes in her novels. When her manager decides to film a live Christmas show with her family, she hires some random people to play the roles of her close relatives and asks her friend to pretend to be her husband. This movie reminded me a little of “Surviving Christmas”, which I dearly love, so hopefully I’ll get to enjoy this one as well.

Champagne Problems

If “Emily in Paris” was a Christmas movie, it’d be this one, cause it has a similar plot: an American woman travels to Paris for business. She thought she’d close the deal and went back home without any adventures, but things changed, when she fell in love with a guy. If you love French vibes combined with cozy Christmas atmosphere, you’ll like this one for sure.

Jingle Bell Heist

Okay, I know that robberies and crime are bad and unacceptable in real life but I do love the heist genre so much, I can’t help it. This movie tells about two strangers who have one mutual “enemy” and financial problems. In order to get revenge and hit the jackpot, they decide to team up and steal from one of the healthiest people in London. And, of course, everything happens around Christmas, so the festive atmosphere is guaranteed. The only con of this movie was that it was a little slow-paced and lacked more action, but in general I enjoyed it.

My Secret Santa

I generally like the having a double-life films cause they are usually very funny. In this one a woman transforms into Santa Claus in order to be able to pay for her daughter’s skiing classes. At first it seems like an easy task, but things get complicated when she falls in love with her manager, who doesn’t know that the woman he fancies works in his resort as a Santa. I haven’t seen this movie yet but it seems good so far.

Oh. What. Fun.

This one actually has a great message, as sometimes people don’t acknowledge all the hard work their moms and wives do, and often take it for granted. They only realize it once it’s too late. Same happens in the movie. A woman tries her best to have the best Christmas dinner, as her children are all coming home for the holidays. Her kids are so busy with their lives and problems that they ignore the only thing their mom asked them to do. So, she decides to rebel against her family and fulfill her dream on her own. Only when she leaves her family on Christmas Eve, they realize the magnificent role she played.

Merv

If you love cute stories about pets, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. When a couple breaks up, their dog Merv gets depressed. A veterinarian recommends Merv’s owners to spend more time together, so they decide to go on a trip to cheer their pet up. I have to warn you though that the majority of the movie doesn’t have the Christmassy vibes, as the couple heads to Florida to a dog beach. But the beginning and ending do have the perfect festive sceneries, so I still consider this a Christmas film as well.

Man vs Baby

This one is actually a mini-series, consisting of 4 short episodes. And it’s the second season (or a sequel) to a show called Man vs Bee, the main character of which is played by the incredible Rowan Atkinson. In the first season Rowan’s character was fighting a bee, who kept following him around. Now he’s stuck with a baby around Christmas and has to deal with him while trying to handle his own job problems. Some of the situations he ends up in are completely unrealistic, but I think that’s what makes it really funny.