Planning the month ahead? This list pulls together the family events coming up over the next few weeks, soonest first: children's theater, museum workshops, festivals, exhibitions and seasonal parties. It updates on its own as new events are added, so check back before each weekend. Every listing has its dates, ages and price, so you can see at a glance what suits your kids.
Danish artist Thomas Dambo, known for the giant trolls hidden in nature around Copenhagen's western suburbs, brings his trolls inside ARKEN. The exhibition is full of troll sculptures made from recycled materials, with a playful look at what trash is and what it could become.
After the galleries, kids can build their own troll in a dedicated workshop. It suits curious kids who like making things as much as looking.
Two tree keepers are handed a small seed to plant, tend and watch grow. Their daily routines fill up with big feelings, and a gentle, comic rivalry grows between them as the tree quietly gets bigger and stronger.
It is a calm, thoughtful show rather than a loud one, with room for laughter along the way. It suits small kids ready to sit and watch, and holds the grown-ups too.
An open house at the nature center on Amager Strand, all about the fish and crabs of the Øresund. Educators guide families through dissecting a fish with scissors and tweezers, looking at it inside and out.
At the water tables, kids learn the gentle way to hold a crab and how to tell a male from a female. It suits curious kids who like to touch things.
A puppet show of the Brothers Grimm folk tale about a table that sets itself, freely retold by puppeteer Karina Nielsen of Teater AstaBasta. She tells the story with puppets, objects and music.
The narration is in Danish and carries much of the story, so it suits kids who follow Danish best.
Kids turn detective inside DR Byen, the home of Danish broadcaster DR. Master detective Kristian is busy on Ramasjang, so he needs children to work out which Ramasjang villain is behind the strange goings-on in the building.
With a guide, kids follow clues through DR's corridors, solve riddles and send their answer straight to Kristian. It suits Ramasjang fans who follow Danish easily.
Denmark's longest Christmas parade has marched down Amagerbrogade for more than 50 years. The procession stretches over a kilometer: Santas, vintage cars, nisse children (Danish Christmas elves), Disney and cartoon characters.
It suits kids who like a spectacle and don't mind standing in a big, cheerful crowd. Families who find crowds hard may prefer a quieter Christmas outing.
A calm, intimate classical concert made for small children. Kids get close to the musician and hear, and see, how a classical instrument sounds and looks up close, with each concert built around a different instrument.
The pace is slow and the room is relaxed: there is space for curiosity, and nobody expects a toddler to sit still the whole time.
A big new library exhibition built around The Comet Is Coming, the Moomin story where the world teeters on the edge of disaster and the Moomins find their way through it together. It is about friendship, joy and coping when things feel uncertain.
It suits families who already know the Moomins, and kids old enough to talk about a story with a bit of worry in it.
Nytorv and Gammeltorv, two neighboring squares in central Copenhagen, turn into what the organizers call Denmark's largest Christmas market, with rows of Christmas stalls and the market's own glühwein.
For kids the draw is the outdoor ice rink, where skates are lent out on the spot, plus a chance to meet Santa. It works best as a stop on a city-center walk rather than a whole day out.
A puzzle game played inside Ukendt Land, the National Museum's exhibition on expeditions to far-off places. Families follow explorer Carsten Niebuhr, scanning a key at stations along the way: decode hieroglyphs, measure a pyramid with his instrument, hunt for a hidden autograph in Persepolis.
There are no points. Kids do the stops they like, then free a djinn trapped in a chest from the expedition at the last one.
De små synger is Denmark's favorite children's songbook, and this family musical brings its pages to life. Emil falls asleep to his grandmother's lullaby and wakes in a dream land full of characters from the songs: the baker on Nørregade, the ten little cyclists, Ole in his new car.
It's a sing-along show, so it suits kids who already know the songs from home.
Folketeatret's Fyrtøjet turns H.C. Andersen's The Tinderbox into a colorful musical mixing theater, streetdance, 3D animation and new songs. The story stays as kids know it: the poor soldier coming home, the witch, the dogs with eyes as big as teacups, the Round Tower and a princess dreaming of freedom.
It also becomes a tribute to mothers and sons at war, a better fit for school-age kids than toddlers.
Folk og Røvere i Kardemomme By is a family play with songs and a Danish family tradition since 1982, now celebrating its 45th anniversary. Kids meet strict Aunt Sofie, kind Police Chief Bastian and the three robbers Kasper, Jesper and Jonatan, who tiptoe around town stealing and stirring up trouble.
It is best for kids who follow Danish and enjoy a bit of mischief on stage.
Tivoli Gardens turns into a Christmas market for the season, with thousands of twinkling lights, pine trees and snow-covered stalls. Kids can visit Santa in his home to share their wishes, ride the Elf Train and the Forest Carousel, and meet the forest animals.
All the regular rides stay open too, so younger kids get the Christmas rides while older kids chase the bigger thrills.
Mesters Jul is a puppet play based on Thomas Winding's stories about Mester, a much-loved little dog. It's Christmas on Frikadellevej: Mester wants to play, but Thomas is busy decorating the tree and making porridge for the nisse.
The story is about the season's most important gift, time together. It suits small kids who know Mester already and ones meeting him for the first time.
A new Christmas market in central Copenhagen, with wooden stalls selling handmade decorations, crafts and food from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
For kids, the draw is an interactive Christmas world: talking trees wake up and tell the Christmas tale of Julius Kleine, with music and entertainment on the square each day. Snack on warm æbleskiver while you browse. It suits a relaxed stroll, not a full day out.
Børnemuseet in Frederiksberg turns its creative workshops into Christmas gift workshops. Kids decorate boxes and fridge magnets, paint jewelry trays or a porcelain mug, and decorate T-shirts, tote bags, pencil cases and pot holders.
In the soap workshop they cast scented soap or mix their own lip balm in a small glass jar. Each activity is paid with the museum's activity coins, so kids choose what to try.
Det Kongelige Teater's Christmas ballet: George Balanchine's 1954 version of The Nutcracker, with Tchaikovsky's score played live and a stage full of child dancers.
Marie gets a nutcracker from her godfather, and at midnight it leads her past dangerous mice, dancing snowflakes and waltzing flowers to the Sugar Plum Fairy. Best for kids who can sit still through a classic ballet.
Bakken, the world's oldest amusement park, turns its lanes in the Dyrehaven forest into a lit-up Christmas village. Kids can meet Santa, skate on the new rink, explore the new cake land and catch the Christmas parade, while prankster elves stir up mischief among the market stalls.
A good fit for a festive family outing, with a few rides mixed in.
Teater Patrasket's puppet and music version of Tage Danielsson's Swedish Christmas classic that Swedes watch on TV every Christmas Eve. Karl Bertil has a holiday job at the post office and sees some people get piles of presents while others get none, so he delivers the rich families' parcels to the poor.
Told with puppets and music. Suits kids who can follow a story with a moral twist.
Frilandsmuseet's historic farms and houses dress up for an old-fashioned Danish Christmas. Kids watch elf theater, make yarn gnomes and Christmas lollipops, play Christmas bingo, follow a treasure hunt through the farmyards and meet the pigs and goats.
The decorated rooms show how Danes once celebrated, from a farmer's lavish table to a poor heath farmer's cabbage tree. Expect long outdoor walks between buildings.
Kronborg, the UNESCO-listed castle in Helsingør, fills with Christmas stalls, food and live carols. Kids hunt for the yule goat, meet Santa when he dances around the tree in the decorated ballroom, hear Christmas tales, watch Frozen and make decorations to hang at home.
The market spreads through the castle halls and courtyard, up and down plenty of stairs with no elevator, so a baby carrier beats a stroller.
Early on Christmas Eve, Cirkeline sits in her matchbox watching the stars. She and her mouse friends Frederik and Ingolf get ready: wrapping presents, braiding paper hearts, singing and playing. They head into the snowy forest for a Christmas tree and meet a sneaky cat, funny forest elves and Knud the snow mouse with the red nose.
Teater V's yearly Christmas show for the youngest kids and their grown-ups.
Planning the month ahead? This list pulls together the family events coming up over the next few weeks, soonest first: children's theater, museum workshops, festivals, exhibitions and seasonal parties. It updates on its own as new events are added, so check back before each weekend. Every listing has its dates, ages and price, so you can see at a glance what suits your kids.
Danish artist Thomas Dambo, known for the giant trolls hidden in nature around Copenhagen's western suburbs, brings his trolls inside ARKEN. The exhibition is full of troll sculptures made from recycled materials, with a playful look at what trash is and what it could become.
After the galleries, kids can build their own troll in a dedicated workshop. It suits curious kids who like making things as much as looking.
Two tree keepers are handed a small seed to plant, tend and watch grow. Their daily routines fill up with big feelings, and a gentle, comic rivalry grows between them as the tree quietly gets bigger and stronger.
It is a calm, thoughtful show rather than a loud one, with room for laughter along the way. It suits small kids ready to sit and watch, and holds the grown-ups too.
An open house at the nature center on Amager Strand, all about the fish and crabs of the Øresund. Educators guide families through dissecting a fish with scissors and tweezers, looking at it inside and out.
At the water tables, kids learn the gentle way to hold a crab and how to tell a male from a female. It suits curious kids who like to touch things.
A puppet show of the Brothers Grimm folk tale about a table that sets itself, freely retold by puppeteer Karina Nielsen of Teater AstaBasta. She tells the story with puppets, objects and music.
The narration is in Danish and carries much of the story, so it suits kids who follow Danish best.
Kids turn detective inside DR Byen, the home of Danish broadcaster DR. Master detective Kristian is busy on Ramasjang, so he needs children to work out which Ramasjang villain is behind the strange goings-on in the building.
With a guide, kids follow clues through DR's corridors, solve riddles and send their answer straight to Kristian. It suits Ramasjang fans who follow Danish easily.
Denmark's longest Christmas parade has marched down Amagerbrogade for more than 50 years. The procession stretches over a kilometer: Santas, vintage cars, nisse children (Danish Christmas elves), Disney and cartoon characters.
It suits kids who like a spectacle and don't mind standing in a big, cheerful crowd. Families who find crowds hard may prefer a quieter Christmas outing.
A calm, intimate classical concert made for small children. Kids get close to the musician and hear, and see, how a classical instrument sounds and looks up close, with each concert built around a different instrument.
The pace is slow and the room is relaxed: there is space for curiosity, and nobody expects a toddler to sit still the whole time.
A big new library exhibition built around The Comet Is Coming, the Moomin story where the world teeters on the edge of disaster and the Moomins find their way through it together. It is about friendship, joy and coping when things feel uncertain.
It suits families who already know the Moomins, and kids old enough to talk about a story with a bit of worry in it.
Nytorv and Gammeltorv, two neighboring squares in central Copenhagen, turn into what the organizers call Denmark's largest Christmas market, with rows of Christmas stalls and the market's own glühwein.
For kids the draw is the outdoor ice rink, where skates are lent out on the spot, plus a chance to meet Santa. It works best as a stop on a city-center walk rather than a whole day out.
A puzzle game played inside Ukendt Land, the National Museum's exhibition on expeditions to far-off places. Families follow explorer Carsten Niebuhr, scanning a key at stations along the way: decode hieroglyphs, measure a pyramid with his instrument, hunt for a hidden autograph in Persepolis.
There are no points. Kids do the stops they like, then free a djinn trapped in a chest from the expedition at the last one.
De små synger is Denmark's favorite children's songbook, and this family musical brings its pages to life. Emil falls asleep to his grandmother's lullaby and wakes in a dream land full of characters from the songs: the baker on Nørregade, the ten little cyclists, Ole in his new car.
It's a sing-along show, so it suits kids who already know the songs from home.
Folketeatret's Fyrtøjet turns H.C. Andersen's The Tinderbox into a colorful musical mixing theater, streetdance, 3D animation and new songs. The story stays as kids know it: the poor soldier coming home, the witch, the dogs with eyes as big as teacups, the Round Tower and a princess dreaming of freedom.
It also becomes a tribute to mothers and sons at war, a better fit for school-age kids than toddlers.
Folk og Røvere i Kardemomme By is a family play with songs and a Danish family tradition since 1982, now celebrating its 45th anniversary. Kids meet strict Aunt Sofie, kind Police Chief Bastian and the three robbers Kasper, Jesper and Jonatan, who tiptoe around town stealing and stirring up trouble.
It is best for kids who follow Danish and enjoy a bit of mischief on stage.
Tivoli Gardens turns into a Christmas market for the season, with thousands of twinkling lights, pine trees and snow-covered stalls. Kids can visit Santa in his home to share their wishes, ride the Elf Train and the Forest Carousel, and meet the forest animals.
All the regular rides stay open too, so younger kids get the Christmas rides while older kids chase the bigger thrills.
Mesters Jul is a puppet play based on Thomas Winding's stories about Mester, a much-loved little dog. It's Christmas on Frikadellevej: Mester wants to play, but Thomas is busy decorating the tree and making porridge for the nisse.
The story is about the season's most important gift, time together. It suits small kids who know Mester already and ones meeting him for the first time.
A new Christmas market in central Copenhagen, with wooden stalls selling handmade decorations, crafts and food from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
For kids, the draw is an interactive Christmas world: talking trees wake up and tell the Christmas tale of Julius Kleine, with music and entertainment on the square each day. Snack on warm æbleskiver while you browse. It suits a relaxed stroll, not a full day out.
Børnemuseet in Frederiksberg turns its creative workshops into Christmas gift workshops. Kids decorate boxes and fridge magnets, paint jewelry trays or a porcelain mug, and decorate T-shirts, tote bags, pencil cases and pot holders.
In the soap workshop they cast scented soap or mix their own lip balm in a small glass jar. Each activity is paid with the museum's activity coins, so kids choose what to try.
Det Kongelige Teater's Christmas ballet: George Balanchine's 1954 version of The Nutcracker, with Tchaikovsky's score played live and a stage full of child dancers.
Marie gets a nutcracker from her godfather, and at midnight it leads her past dangerous mice, dancing snowflakes and waltzing flowers to the Sugar Plum Fairy. Best for kids who can sit still through a classic ballet.
Bakken, the world's oldest amusement park, turns its lanes in the Dyrehaven forest into a lit-up Christmas village. Kids can meet Santa, skate on the new rink, explore the new cake land and catch the Christmas parade, while prankster elves stir up mischief among the market stalls.
A good fit for a festive family outing, with a few rides mixed in.
Teater Patrasket's puppet and music version of Tage Danielsson's Swedish Christmas classic that Swedes watch on TV every Christmas Eve. Karl Bertil has a holiday job at the post office and sees some people get piles of presents while others get none, so he delivers the rich families' parcels to the poor.
Told with puppets and music. Suits kids who can follow a story with a moral twist.
Frilandsmuseet's historic farms and houses dress up for an old-fashioned Danish Christmas. Kids watch elf theater, make yarn gnomes and Christmas lollipops, play Christmas bingo, follow a treasure hunt through the farmyards and meet the pigs and goats.
The decorated rooms show how Danes once celebrated, from a farmer's lavish table to a poor heath farmer's cabbage tree. Expect long outdoor walks between buildings.
Kronborg, the UNESCO-listed castle in Helsingør, fills with Christmas stalls, food and live carols. Kids hunt for the yule goat, meet Santa when he dances around the tree in the decorated ballroom, hear Christmas tales, watch Frozen and make decorations to hang at home.
The market spreads through the castle halls and courtyard, up and down plenty of stairs with no elevator, so a baby carrier beats a stroller.
Early on Christmas Eve, Cirkeline sits in her matchbox watching the stars. She and her mouse friends Frederik and Ingolf get ready: wrapping presents, braiding paper hearts, singing and playing. They head into the snowy forest for a Christmas tree and meet a sneaky cat, funny forest elves and Knud the snow mouse with the red nose.
Teater V's yearly Christmas show for the youngest kids and their grown-ups.
