15 h. ago Christmas, Again review – laidback tale of a forlorn Christmas tree seller has authentic charm

Charles Poekel’s directorial debut has taken a decade to reach the UK, but its indie take on seasonal cinema brings low-key warmthThis is a New York drama so laidback that it has taken a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. First released in the US in 2015, it’s an ultra-low-budget debut from first-time director Charles Poekel, set almost entirely on a 24-hour pop-up Christmas tree stall. Poekel’s style is far too authentic-indie and unaffected to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But in its own low-key way, he pitches his film just right for a little squeeze of festive warmth.Kentucker Audley stars as Noel (it took someone in the film to joke about his name before I twigged). Noel is back for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, standing outside in the freezing cold and sleeping in a not-much-warmer caravan parked next to the trees. A few customers ask about the girl working with him last y...

Politics

37 h. ago The Dead of Winter by Sarah Clegg audiobook review – haunting Christmas tales

An esoteric blend of folklore and festivity reveals the lesser known, dark side of Christmas, from horse skulls and Yule cats to Icelandic ogresChristmas nowadays tends to revolve around family, food and a furtive visit from a pot-bellied stranger down the chimney. But in The Dead of Winter, the historian and folklorist Sarah Clegg reveals a lesser known side to the festive season, unearthing unsettling midwinter traditions and stories that fell out of favour in the Victorian age.Subtitled The Demons, Witches and Ghosts of Christmas, the book opens with Clegg embarking on a pre-dawn walk to a graveyard on Christmas Eve. She is recreating an old Swedish tradition called årsgång, or “year walk”, which is said to offer glimpses into the walker’s future along with “shadowy enactments of the burials of anyone who will die in the village this coming year”.Available via WF Howes, 4hr 21min Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Tinsel Town review: This cosy, classic Christmas film has just enough snark to stop it feeling sickly sweet, says SARAH OLIVER

Kiefer plays Bradley Mack, a washed-up Hollywood action hero furious to find himself starring in a British Christmas pantomime.

Politics

7 d. ago “I wear mine every day” Shoppers rush for this Christmas ring deal from Hope Rings

“I didn’t expect to love it this much, but the ring I bought from Hope Rings is the one I reach for every morning,” a recent buyer said as orders climbed ahead of the delivery cut-off.

Economics

1 week ago A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at Alexandra Palace review — slick but not spooky enough

At least we got a smoking hot Bob Cratchit

Politics

1 week ago I tried 20 Christmas sandwiches from UK supermarkets — the best was a tie

UK supermarkets have rolled out tasty sandwiches reminiscent of Christmas dinner. I set out to find which options are worth trying

Politics

1 week ago Google Christmas advert 2025 review: a breathtakingly cringe Love, Actually rip off

All of the Richard Curtis IP, none of the festive charm

Politics

2 w. ago Royal Ballet's The Nutcracker review: 'Spectacular Christmas magic'

Sir Peter Hall’s version of The Nutcracker returns to Royal Ballet with a bravura extravaganza which conjures the Christmas cheer right out of you

Politics

2 w. ago Review: The Family Plan 2 Meets the Morgans in Christmastime London, with Familiar Sights, Stale Action and Awkward Family Dyanmics

Review: The Family Plan 2 Meets the Morgans in Christmastime London, with Familiar Sights, Stale Action and Awkward Family Dyanmics  Third Coast Review

Events

2 w. ago Missoma’s jewellery advent calendar is the best for trendy pieces

The likes of Bella Hadid and Kate Middleton regularly wear jewellery from this brand

Politics

2 w. ago I unboxed Lookfantastic’s 2025 beauty advent calendar – is it the best value Christmas countdown?

The line-up for 2025 includes the likes of Elemis, Sol De Janeiro, Mac, Color Wow and Medik8

Sport

2 w. ago I’m in my 40s, and No7’s beauty advent calendars are perfect for mature skin

This year’s offerings from the beauty brand are worth more than ever

Politics

2 w. ago Next’s beauty advent calendar is cheaper than most, but one of the best

The Christmas countdown features a stellar lineup of products

Politics

2 w. ago M&S’s affordable beauty advent calendar has finally launched – here’s my full review

This year’s calendar includes Clinique, Colour Wow and Estée Lauder

Politics

2 w. ago Champagne Problems review – Netflix’s latest Christmas romcom lacks fizz

The streamer continues its annual onslaught of forgettable festive films with a mostly charmless romance set in FranceAt the risk of sounding like the Grinch, I must once again bemoan the release of Christmas movies before Thanksgiving; the temperatures may be dropping at long last, but it’s still too close to the gloominess of daylight savings and too far from the belt-loosening of the actual holidays to fully indulge in Netflix’s now-annual buffet of cheap Christmas confections. Nevertheless, their content conveyor belt rolls on, offering treats about as substantial and enduring as cotton candy beginning in mid-November.Like American chocolates that no longer, in fact, contain real chocolate but sell like gangbusters on Halloween anyway, the Netflix Christmas movie, like rival holiday movie master Hallmark, is relied upon, even beloved, for its brand of badness, for its rote familiarity (nostalgic casting, basement-bargain budgets, styrofoam snow, knowingly absurd premise) and unc...

Politics

3 w. ago Sephora Collection’s advent calendar has just dropped – and it’s perfect for teens

Expect entry-level beauty and an accessible price

Politics

3 w. ago Malice review – you’ll be bingeing David Duchovny’s new thriller until Christmas

The X-Files star is at his charismatic best as a ruthless multimillionaire who hires Jack Whitehall as a sinister nanny. It’s like The White Lotus meets The Talented Mr RipleyI can’t say I had “Jack Whitehall stars with David ‘The X Files/ Californication’ Duchovny in glossy TV thriller” on my 2025 bingo card, but here we are, and a good time with it can be had by all. Alongside, perhaps, a smidge of national pride to see the daft lad from Fresh Meat, Bad Education and Travels With My Father all grown up and holding his own.The glossy thriller in question is Malice, in which Whitehall plays Adam, a tutor promoted to manny (male nanny, for those not au fait with rich people’s terms), who is bent – for reasons as yet unknown – on ruining high-rolling businessman Jamie Tanner (Duchovny). Whether he has it in for the rest of the Tanner family and friends, or they are just doomed to be collateral damage, is not clear, but that doesn’t spoil the machiavellian fun. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Christmas Karma review – Dickens adaptation has as much Yuletide spirit as a dead rat in the eggnog

Gurinder Chadha’s leaden update of the hardy seasonal chestnut with Kunal Nayyar is joyless and nausea-inducingKeen though I always am to indulge any and every new riff on Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, and keen also to hear from Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, this cynically Christmassy movie is leaden, unconvincingly acted and about as welcome as a dead rat in the eggnog. It’s the worst Christmas film since last year’s Red One, in which Dwayne Johnson played the head of security for Santa Claus and more or less had us all rooting for anyone who could beat up Father Christmas.In this one, Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayyar lifelessly and joylessly plays a Scrooge variant called Mr Sood, part of the Ugandan south Asian community expelled by Idi Amin in his childhood, and embittered by early poverty. An early romance soured because of his obsession with money, and he has become a grasping and unpleasant old guy in London (cue stock footage of the London skyline) in the ra...

Events

3 w. ago Waitrose Christmas advert 2025 review: Keira Knightley stars in spectacularly cringe festive rom

What’s more Christmassy than going full Love Actually for your festive ad?

Politics

4 w. ago Disney Christmas advert 2025 review: This cute doodle will get on your nerves

This latest offering on the Christmas ad scene pays tribute to the power of the imagination... and Disney swag, of course

Politics