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There’s no need to pay for expensive streaming platforms to catch some great Christmas films.
Sometimes it seems like you need to have about 100 subscriptions to catch the best films and television - a costly business in these straitened times.
While it’s true that many films are exclusive to channels like Netflix and Disney+, there’s also an option that you’ve probably already paid for without thinking about it.
For the price of a TV Licence you get access to a large library of ever-changing films on the BBC iPlayer, while the likes of 4 on Demand, the STV Player, and My5 also have a catalogue of movies to choose from.
In the runup to Christmas, we’re looking at the best festive films you can catch without paying a penny - from classics of the genre, to cult gems and slightly rubbish-but-fun tv movies.
Here are 14 to get you feeling festive.
5. A Reservation for Christmas
Available on My5. Notable for starring Melissa Joan Hart, of 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' fame, she plays an event coordinator at a ski resort tasked with keeping the guest happy. When a newly-widowed old flame turns up at with his two cute kids she rethinks her priorities and romantic 'reservations'. | Contributed
6. Lost at Christmas
Available on BBC iPlayer. Filmed in just 12 days around Glencoe and Fort William, 'Lost at Christmas' is a pleasingly shoestring romcom written and directed by Ryan Hendrick and starring Kenny Boyle, Natalie Clark, Sylvester McCoy, Sanjeev Kohli, Clare Grogan and Frazer Hines. The setup is simple - two strangers stranded in the Scottish Highlands on Christmas Eve team up to try and get home in time for Christmas. Think of it as Scotland's 'Trains, Planes and Automobiles'. | Contributed
7. The Christmas Break
Available on the BBC iPlayer. Starring Justin Long, who's best known for appearing in horrors like 'Jeepers Creepers' and 'Drag Me To Hell' stars in this fun made-for-tv movie. It sees a couple travel from Chicago to spend Christmas with the wife's family in a small town in Ireland. A classic fish out of water premise, the holiday tests their patience and their marriage. | Contributed
8. Scrooged
Available on All 4. There have been numerous screen versions of Charles Dickens classic 'A Christmas Carol' but 'Scrooged' is perhaps the best. Bill Murray stars as a misanthropic TV executive whose life is turned around by three very different Christmas ghosts. Hilarious and touching. | Contributed