Things I Watched During Christmas 2025! 📺🎄🎁🎅🏻

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. In this blog, I will be taking you through some of the Christmas specials of shows I watched during the holidays, both acting and non-acting, along with a Christmas movie and a TV Special of the comedy that is the prequal to Motherland. So without further ado, here are some of the festive things I watched during the holidays. 

Professional:

Elf:

This film starring Will Ferrell is of course my favourite for many reasons. I may have not been raised by Elves, but the theme of being different hits me every time. And I still can’t get over him and Jovie's connection, especially when she starts singing and that it’s one of the only songs I can hit on key! But all in all this is the ultimate stimming film at this time of year, and if it helps me regulate every Christmas then so be it! 

Home Alone & Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. 

I also watched snippets of the Home Alone franchise, specifically the first 2 as they’re so iconic. But it’s mainly the moment Kevin gets left alone and slapstick from the “Wet Bandits” that bring me back to it, as the humour of it helps me regulate myself when things get abit stressful. 

Merry Madagascar:

After having the second film of this franchise as my stimming film, this festive special really brought some nostalgia. I used to remember copying line by line certain moments, one of which was when the gang saw first hand why delivering the presents instead of going to the post office is the most magical moment. But if there were another “Penguins of Madagascar” film, I do hope Private and Cupid somehow get their love to rekindle, as I’ll never get over it in this festive adventure. 

Shrek The Halls:

This special of the famous Ogre was once again a classic not to miss out on. After watching it many times before, it still hits me on how before meeting Fiona, Christmas wasn't a thing for Shrek. Now as an autistic adult, this mini-film taught me that you don't have to celebrate the festive season the same as everyone else, you do it in your own unique way. I guess there is definitely a thing or two we can learn from Shrek himself.

Tinsel Town:

The newest film I’ve watched and going to review is Tinsel Town, starring many celebrities, including Kiefer Sutherland, Rebel Wilson and Danny Dyer.

This tells the story of Hollywood actor Brad taking part in a community pantomime after not reading his contract properly. But soon he realises that the simplest things in life are the smallest moments in life.

Kiefer Sutherland took on the role of stuck up Hollywood actor Brad. He was your typical actor who only cared about themselves and not anyone else (and you do get a lot of people like that), but overtime, and with the story of people like Albert (who I’ll mention in a moment), he managed to find a new outlook on life. And Kiefer was brilliant and being both arrogant and friendly. And I do like how he had to try and get used to the genre that is pantomime. But one obstacle that was in his way was his ex wife Grace (Alice Eve) and his daughter Emma (Matilda Firth). I get why she was hesitant for Brad to see her, but at one moment I did wonder if Brad not seeing Emma was more for her benefit. But you know when you're wrong, when Emma decided to go to see Brad herself. And her watching the pantomime with friend Spencer (Lance James who clearly had a disliking of Brad), made her realise that being with Brad on a regular basis is the right thing. Rebel Wilson took on the role of Jill, the choreographer for the pantomime. You could tell how much the pantomime meant to her, and why it’s important for local theatres. This also I guess represents real life, as not only do pantomimes celebrate the year on a high, but also open the year in style. And it’s through Jill’s outlook where she and Brad got close. Danny Dyer took on the role of Kieron, Jill’s ex who made her life difficult and didn’t take much of a liking to Brad. But after an altercation with regards to their daughter Cara, Kieron and Brad realised they had more in common than they thought, and Kieron was then seen supporting Brad at the pantomime. 

Other characters helped Brad gave him a new outlook on life. These included roomie Albert (Derek Jacobi), who he had to life with following a burglary in his apartment. And his story of his pantomime history gave Brad a wake up call on the important things in life and why the genre is so important. There were also David and Danny aka the Ugly sisters (Jason Manford and Asim Chaudhry), who got bras confused when it came to the jokes of how pantomime works, but knew that it wasn’t deliberate. There was also Cassandra (Meera Syal), the director of the pantomime who secretly was getting annoyed at brads work ethic, and Brenda the fairy godmother (Maria Friedman), who had a soft spot for Brad. There were also Izzy and Callum who played Cinderella and Prince Charming (Savannah Lee Smith and Lucien Laviscount), who deep down had romantic feelings for each other. After Brad finding out about the history between the pair, it looked like his tactics of getting them together did the trick, and I loved their chemistry whilst rehearsing and performing. And finally Mawaan Razwaan took on the role of Nigel. What I liked about him was that he was your typical guy who appeared anywhere and everywhere. From being a limo to a bartender, he was always with Brad wherever he went. But he was a key part in the story, and Brad wouldn’t be where he was if it wasn’t for Nigel. 

I wouldn’t say I have any downsides to it, as there was humour that got me going (like the American and British cultures clashing), and Nigel making another appearance when you least expect it. These included the call and response of the pantomime which confused Brad, but I found it hilarious. And also how Brad got mad for the status of his acting career, but in pantomime, teasing the actor about their career is meant to be the joke. 

Overall I would give it a full house! It was funny, entertaining, and after a set back on not being able to do a pantomime this year, it really got my love of the genre going again. 

Amandaland: 

I also watched the Christmas special of Amandaland, starring Lucy Punch, Joanna Lumley and seeing Jennifer Saunders.

In this special, we saw Amanda and the family go to her aunt Joan’s to recreate a Christmas Amanda had when she was little, but a secret that felicity is keeping will only ensure chaos.

I could tell that Amanda really wanted Christmas to go to plan, but throughout it, felicity wasn’t as keen. We could then see why when we saw the appearance in aunt Joan, who was an eccentric individual. Although I don’t think I would want to go to her house during Christmas dinner, especially with what she was serving. But towards the end of the special, there was a deeper reason as to why she was the way she was, which made it all the more special. 

Two people that were joining Amanda were Anne and Mal. Anne being upset about missing Christmas with her family, but a hilarious addiction to Joan's wine soon got her forgetting about her past troubles. With Mal, a plan to have a solo Christmas soon didn’t go to plan when he ended up driving Amanda and Co to aunt Joan’s in Wales. But as he stayed, he soon realised that it was the best decision he made, even if he got constantly mistaken for Amanda’s beau. But it was Anne and Mal that soon made the discovery, which linked to Amanda’s paternity. But when it was revealed to be a smaller secret, I couldn’t help but find myself giggling along to it!

I think my only downside to it was that I just wanted more. And it was one of the very few episodes from when it started that actually made me laugh. That just shows I made the right decision to watch this show.

Overall I would give this Christmas special a 5 out of 5. It was funny, chaotic and Jennifer Saunders made a great addition to the sequel of Motherland. I can’t wait for when the second series officially starts, and if aunt Joan will make more appearances! 

Personal: 

Gladiators Christmas Special:

The Celebrity Special of the iconic show was brilliant. I admire Fury’s speech to Nicola Adams during Duel, and I was glad to see Nitro back where he belongs. The contenders really did well, and despite a tough challenge in the eliminator, they all did a brilliant job. I just can’t wait until the next series starts. 

The Masked Singer Christmas Special:

During the holidays I watched the Christmas Special of the Iconic guessing game. It was also one of the first shows where I knew most of the celebrities, but I loved the pantomime twists, having appearances from famous actors who do a lot of pantomime. My favourite one had to be Basil Brush

Strictly Come Dancing:

The Christmas special was a show to remember, as it had everything and anything. Brown and Michelle did a jive to remember, Jodie and Neil did an emotional couples choice, and Nicolas and Luba did a wonderful Vienesse Waltz. Congratulations to Scarlett and Vito for winning the special, as their dance looked spectacular! And as it was definitely the final appearance for Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman, they definitely ended their run of hosting the show in style!

Celebrity Masterchef Christmas Cook-off:

At the end of my holiday period I watched the Christmas cook-off of the iconic cooking competition. It was so great having Vito come and help John and Grace with the judging of recipes but with an Italian twist, as the first round consisted of food he would have at Christmas. The second challenge involved making a main and dessert based on what they would have at Christmas. I was quite surprised that Iain took the Golden Whisk, but then again I could see why John and Grace chose him. But kudos to the other contestants, which were GK Barry, with her highlight being her Yorkshire Pudding with a smiley face), Kola Bokini, who made a Pistachio cake that looked divine, and Nikki Fox, where she definitely showed her family love when made her own version of a trifle.

Gogglebox:

During Christmas, the TV critics celebrated in style. Alfie made Andrew cry doing a Love Actually tribute, and Amira and Amani played an game. Izzi was prepping Christmas dinner, whilst David and Shirley talked about a Christmas party. The Malone’s also gained a new addition to the family in the form of Buddy the dog, really making the grandchild happy. Lee showed Jenny a funny ornament, and Jake told Michael, Sally and Harry a funny story on Michael being a sibling instead of a dad. Abbie watched Georgia putting on her dogs jumper, and Ellie was telling Izzi about trying for another baby. finally, Mary was laughing at Giles’ inflatable outfit, and Pete told Sophie about sneaking a snack in the Christmas cupboard. They also reacted to some more brilliant TV during the festive period. “A Mary Berry Christmas” saw Gladiator Nitro helping Mary making Gingerbread Snowman, with Mary and the goggleboxers not being able to get over his muscles, and “Michael McIntyres Christmas Wheel” seeing Mel Giedyroc asking Joanna Paige and Matthew NAME aka Gavin an Stacey about how many calories to consume on Christmas Day. “You Bet! on Tour” saw couple Glen and Georgia breaking chainsaw record, and “Coronation Street” saw the Abi Carl and James love triangle hearing up. “Final Destination Bloodlines” seeing a coin cause all sorts of chaos leaving me and the goggleboxers unable to look, and let's just say the scenario it was set would be a living nightmare. “First Dates At Christmas” saw math's teacher Bobbi and doctor Rebecca where despite the math's talk they got on well, and “Gladiators Celebrity Special” saw Sam Thompson and Joe Wicks go head to head. “A Ghost Story For Christmas: The Room In The Tower” saw Roger telling the story of the time he saw a ghost in the tower, and “Squid Game: The Challenge” involved the final 4 players play Red Light Green Light, which resulted in player 183 getting eliminated and 302 injured but 72 taking the crown. Finally, “Romesh Ranganathan’s Parents Evening” saw the celebrities and goggleboxers guess the components for Christmas dinner at whether spoons, and “The Repair Shop At Christmas” saw Dams Helen Mirren getting a cello fixed.

And that is it for my blog on Christmas specials I saw in 2025. Let me know which shows you saw during the season of goodwill and what you thought of them! 

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)