Athens does Christmas outdoors. A giant tree lights up Syntagma Square, the squares fill with lights and stalls, and on Christmas Eve kids go door to door singing the kalanda. Here's what we checked, from the Christmas Factory at Technopolis to skating at Ice n Skate.
Athens switches on its big Christmas tree in Syntagma Square with an open-air evening of live Christmas music. Kids watch the tree and the square's new decorations light up at the same moment, then the concert carries on.
It suits kids who like music and lights. Teens may find the concert less of a draw.
Each winter Technopolis in Gazi turns into a Christmas village run by Santa and his elves. Kids move between hands-on workshops, a theater show and a fun park with slides, a carousel, bumper cars and an ice rink.
It is come-and-go, so it suits a few hours on a weekend afternoon. Younger kids head for the rides and lights; school-age kids get the most from the workshops and show.
Each Christmas the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center turns its park and Canal into a lit-up holiday world. Kids skate on the outdoor ice rink by the Canal fountains, wander under giant light installations after dark, and make gifts at Makers' Market workshops.
It suits families who want a come-and-go outing: skate, walk the park, browse stalls. New Year's Eve brings a big open-air party with fireworks at midnight.
Christmas BOOM Village is a children's Christmas festival at Anassa City Events, the event space in Goudi.
The ticket shop files it under kids' festivals, so it suits families looking for a Christmas outing built around children rather than a seated show for adults.
A Christmas stage show where Mickey and his friends board a Christmas train. Kids sit in the audience at the Avlaia Theater in Pasalimani, Piraeus, and watch the familiar characters on stage.
It suits preschoolers and early primary kids who know Mickey and his friends. Older kids may find it young.
The Magic Christmas Chimney is a Christmas theater show for children, back for its 10th year. It plays in cinema halls and a municipal theater.
The show is performed in Greek, so it suits kids who follow the language best.
Stavros Niarchos Park is the 21-hectare green space around the Renzo Piano-designed cultural center that houses the Greek National Opera and the National Library. Kids can run the Great Lawn, try the Sound Garden, find their way through the Labyrinth and play at the playgrounds.
Fountains in the seawater canal dance to music through the day. It is the world's largest public Mediterranean garden.
Ice n Skate is a year-round rink with an 800 square meter pad of natural ice. Kids can skate freely, take figure skating lessons, or join ice hockey and curling programs. Staff help pick skates and give beginners balance tips, and a supervisor is on the ice on weekends and holidays.
A café overlooks the rink, and there is a skate shop, lockers and a party room.
A Christmas stage show from the Sofi Koukouvagia company, inspired by Dickens' tale of the miser Scrooge. He meets the spirits of Christmas, travels into his past and future, gets moved and scared along the way, and ends up a kinder man.
It suits kids who can sit through a full-length play and follow Greek dialogue, and families after a holiday outing with a clear message about kindness and giving.
Maro and the Kalikantzaroi is a children's play from the Morfes Ekfrasis company, staged at a drama school over the winter holidays.
The show is performed in Greek, so it suits kids who follow spoken Greek. Children who don't may find the story hard to keep up with.
The Nutcracker, the Christmas ballet, staged by the Grand Classical Ballet in the theater of the Peristeri Exhibition Center in west Athens.
Kids follow the story through dance and music. It suits children who can sit quietly through a ballet in a theater seat, and makes an easy holiday outing near the Anthoupoli metro.
Lalalilalo Christmas Surprise is a Christmas theater show made for toddlers and preschoolers. A cast performs it at Morfes Ekfrasis, a drama school.
The show is in Greek, so it suits kids who follow Greek. It is pitched at the very young, so older siblings in school may find it too babyish.
Giorgos Hatzipavlou does stand-up comedy written for kids, and it is in Greek. He jokes about school, pets, foreign languages, children's songs, toys, friends, parents' advice and the odd habits of grown-ups, plus a Christmas set for the season. Kids laugh at their own lives; parents laugh at being reminded what it was like to be a kid. It suits school-age kids who follow spoken Greek well.
A Christmas theater show for children, staged at the historic Olympia Theater in central Athens. Its Greek title is Ο Πλανήτης των Χριστουγεννιάτικων Δέντρων.
It's a seated, ticketed play, a good holiday outing for families whose kids enjoy sitting through a live show.
On New Year's Eve in the town of Doroupoli, the presents polish their wrapping for the biggest night of the year. Best friends Ribbon and Bow fly around the Earth and find it needs gifts no box can hold: water, trees, clean air. Three actors and an onstage pianist tell it with harmony singing and video projections, and the message is about sticking at it and caring for the planet.
Athens does Christmas outdoors. A giant tree lights up Syntagma Square, the squares fill with lights and stalls, and on Christmas Eve kids go door to door singing the kalanda. Here's what we checked, from the Christmas Factory at Technopolis to skating at Ice n Skate.
Athens switches on its big Christmas tree in Syntagma Square with an open-air evening of live Christmas music. Kids watch the tree and the square's new decorations light up at the same moment, then the concert carries on.
It suits kids who like music and lights. Teens may find the concert less of a draw.
Each winter Technopolis in Gazi turns into a Christmas village run by Santa and his elves. Kids move between hands-on workshops, a theater show and a fun park with slides, a carousel, bumper cars and an ice rink.
It is come-and-go, so it suits a few hours on a weekend afternoon. Younger kids head for the rides and lights; school-age kids get the most from the workshops and show.
Each Christmas the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center turns its park and Canal into a lit-up holiday world. Kids skate on the outdoor ice rink by the Canal fountains, wander under giant light installations after dark, and make gifts at Makers' Market workshops.
It suits families who want a come-and-go outing: skate, walk the park, browse stalls. New Year's Eve brings a big open-air party with fireworks at midnight.
Christmas BOOM Village is a children's Christmas festival at Anassa City Events, the event space in Goudi.
The ticket shop files it under kids' festivals, so it suits families looking for a Christmas outing built around children rather than a seated show for adults.
A Christmas stage show where Mickey and his friends board a Christmas train. Kids sit in the audience at the Avlaia Theater in Pasalimani, Piraeus, and watch the familiar characters on stage.
It suits preschoolers and early primary kids who know Mickey and his friends. Older kids may find it young.
The Magic Christmas Chimney is a Christmas theater show for children, back for its 10th year. It plays in cinema halls and a municipal theater.
The show is performed in Greek, so it suits kids who follow the language best.
Stavros Niarchos Park is the 21-hectare green space around the Renzo Piano-designed cultural center that houses the Greek National Opera and the National Library. Kids can run the Great Lawn, try the Sound Garden, find their way through the Labyrinth and play at the playgrounds.
Fountains in the seawater canal dance to music through the day. It is the world's largest public Mediterranean garden.
Ice n Skate is a year-round rink with an 800 square meter pad of natural ice. Kids can skate freely, take figure skating lessons, or join ice hockey and curling programs. Staff help pick skates and give beginners balance tips, and a supervisor is on the ice on weekends and holidays.
A café overlooks the rink, and there is a skate shop, lockers and a party room.
A Christmas stage show from the Sofi Koukouvagia company, inspired by Dickens' tale of the miser Scrooge. He meets the spirits of Christmas, travels into his past and future, gets moved and scared along the way, and ends up a kinder man.
It suits kids who can sit through a full-length play and follow Greek dialogue, and families after a holiday outing with a clear message about kindness and giving.
Maro and the Kalikantzaroi is a children's play from the Morfes Ekfrasis company, staged at a drama school over the winter holidays.
The show is performed in Greek, so it suits kids who follow spoken Greek. Children who don't may find the story hard to keep up with.
The Nutcracker, the Christmas ballet, staged by the Grand Classical Ballet in the theater of the Peristeri Exhibition Center in west Athens.
Kids follow the story through dance and music. It suits children who can sit quietly through a ballet in a theater seat, and makes an easy holiday outing near the Anthoupoli metro.
Lalalilalo Christmas Surprise is a Christmas theater show made for toddlers and preschoolers. A cast performs it at Morfes Ekfrasis, a drama school.
The show is in Greek, so it suits kids who follow Greek. It is pitched at the very young, so older siblings in school may find it too babyish.
Giorgos Hatzipavlou does stand-up comedy written for kids, and it is in Greek. He jokes about school, pets, foreign languages, children's songs, toys, friends, parents' advice and the odd habits of grown-ups, plus a Christmas set for the season. Kids laugh at their own lives; parents laugh at being reminded what it was like to be a kid. It suits school-age kids who follow spoken Greek well.
A Christmas theater show for children, staged at the historic Olympia Theater in central Athens. Its Greek title is Ο Πλανήτης των Χριστουγεννιάτικων Δέντρων.
It's a seated, ticketed play, a good holiday outing for families whose kids enjoy sitting through a live show.
On New Year's Eve in the town of Doroupoli, the presents polish their wrapping for the biggest night of the year. Best friends Ribbon and Bow fly around the Earth and find it needs gifts no box can hold: water, trees, clean air. Three actors and an onstage pianist tell it with harmony singing and video projections, and the message is about sticking at it and caring for the planet.
