'Tis the season to settle in for some cosy comfort viewing (or perhaps some festive-set action drama!). From charming rom-coms to a journey through snowy scenery, SBS, SBS World Movies and SBS On Demand have a feast of Festive Favourites ready for you.
FEEL-GOOD FUN
Single Bells
If you love a good rom-com, then you’ll be delighted at the idea of two funny and charming seasons to enjoy with this Dutch series. It all starts with unlucky-in-love Mina, whose loud and warm-hearted family adores Christmas. So much so that every year, everyone gathers a week in advance to usher in the Christmas spirit. When Mina (Julie Van den Steen) gets dumped a week before Christmas, her family springs into action. Every day, until Christmas Day, one of them will arrange a blind date for her. The goal? To find a man for Mina, so that for the first time in years, she doesn't have to sit at the festive table as the only single. Mina protests, but her family are determined, and so the dating game begins. Will Mina find love, or face a line-up of losers?
She’s not the only one whose life might be about to change: her mother and father are keeping a secret, her sister Daffy and her girlfriend have big news, and her other sister Babs and her husband are having a bit of a marriage crisis. That’s the good thing about a rom-com series – there’s room for multiple storylines to unfold. And in season two, another Christmas with the family sees someone dropping a bombshell and the family looking to send someone else on a series of dates – only this time, they are aiming for the worst dates possible!
Single Bells season 1 is streaming at SBS On Demand. Season 2 arrives at SBS On Demand on Tuesday 16 December.
Stream free On Demand
Single Bells
series • romance • Dutch
series • romance • Dutch
Never Mind The Buzzcocks Christmas Specials
Festive fun on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Credit: Tom Dymond
See Never Mind The Buzzcocks Christmas Specials on SBS at 8.30pm each Monday from 1 December to 22 December. Find more Never Mind The Buzzcocks at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
series • comedy
MA15+
series • comedy
MA15+
CASTLES, SNOW AND STUNNING SCENERY
Alpine Train at Christmas
Join an alpine christmas on the Bernina Express. Credit: Claudio Thoma / Freshfocus
Travelling along the highest and steepest railway track in Europe, and over almost 200 bridges, the journey takes in stunning views. Alpine Train at Christmas also takes viewers to meet with people who live and work with the mountains of the Alps as their backdrop, from a family-run bakery gearing up for Christmas to a farm preparing for the winter months and a toy workshop.
Alpine Train at Christmas airs 7.30pm Saturday 6 December on SBS and will be streaming at SBS On Demand after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
Alpine Train at Christmas
program • holiday • 2024
PG
program • holiday • 2024
PG
A Warwick Castle Christmas
Preparing costumes for Christmas at Warwick Castle. Credit: SBS On Demand
A Warwick Castle Christmas airs 8.30pm Saturday 20 December on SBS and will be streaming at SBS On Demand after it airs.
FESTIVE FLICKS
Deck the halls, whip up a bowl of speculaas popcorn (all those lovely festive spices!) and get comfy on the couch: it’s festive film time! Christmas zombies, with singing, dancing and fighting? Check! Anna and The Apocalypse. An eternally popular ‘80s fave? The Gremlins are waiting to serve up mayhem. Italian comedy? In Legend of the Christmas Witch six primary school students suspect their missing teacher is Belfana, a folkloric old woman who is said to bring presents to children on Epiphany Eve. Feel-good rom-com? Try See You Next Christmas, 'Twas the Date Before Christmas or Miracle in Motor City.
Find more in the Festive Flicks focus on SBS World Movies weeknights 1-5 December, with titles including Happy Christmas, Silent Night, Everybody’s Fine and Korean skyscraper action drama The Tower, plus Holiday Harmony earlier in the evening on Tuesday 2 December (check the TV Guide for exact times), and in SBS On Demand’s Festive Flicks Collection.
Holiday Harmony will be streaming at SBS On Demand from 25 November.
Upcoming On Demand
Holiday Harmony
family • holiday • 2022
family • holiday • 2022
The Tower is also streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The Tower
action • thriller • 2012
action • thriller • 2012
FESTIVE FEASTS
Ainsley, Jamie, Kirsten, Marcus and more
Whether you’re looking for festive recipes or just some jolly good viewing to sit back and smile at (because with Ainsley Harriott in the mix, you know there’s going to be an abundance of singing, dancing and kitchen cheer!), SBS Food’s favourite chefs are here to deliver what you need. You’ll find Ainsley, Mary Berry, Jamie Oliver and chocolate queen Kirsten Tibballs bringing festive cheer to Friday nights on SBS Food through to 19 December, while Saturday afternoons on SBS Food are also jam-packed with festive viewing, from New Zealand series Christmas at the Castle (see below) to Christmas specials from Rick Stein, Mark Moriarty, Marcus Wareing, Paula McIntyre, Justine Schofield and more.
Check the TV Guide for program screening times on SBS Food, and explore an abundance of festive ideas from your favourite chefs in SBS On Demand’s Festive Feasts Collection. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find:
Stream free On Demand
The Chocolate Queen Christmas Special
program • holiday • 2023
G
program • holiday • 2023
G
Stream free On Demand
Christmas in Provence
episode • Michel Roux's French Country Cooking • holiday • 44m
PG
episode • Michel Roux's French Country Cooking • holiday • 44m
PG
Stream free On Demand
Off Duty Chef Christmas Special
series • holiday
PG
series • holiday
PG
Christmas at the Castle
Festive tradition meets New Zealand charm in this eight-part series that combines Christmas and Boxing Day recipes with festive games and ideas for homemade gifts. Leading New Zealand chef Mark Gregory opens the doors to Merksworth Castle, which sits on cliffs overlooking Auckland's Waitematā Harbour, and guests including his daughter Analiese (yes, that Annaliese Gregory, host of A Girl's Guide to Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking), food writer and TV and radio host Annabelle White and chef Ollie Maurice join in the cookie and fun. From playing Christmas zombie games to making fortune cookie Christmas crackers, homemade dog treats and cherry mince pies, it’s cheery good fun.
Double episodes of Christmas at the Castle are airing on Saturday afternoons from 1.30pm on SBS Food, which episodes available at SBS On Demand after they air.
Stream free On Demand
Christmas at the Castle
series • holiday
PG
series • holiday
PG
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