The days are dark by mid-afternoon in December, so the city fills them with light. The Aleksanterinkatu Christmas lights go on in late November, markets take over the squares, and the season carries on through Lucia, Independence Day torches and a children's New Year's Eve party. Here's what we checked, from the carousel at St. Thomas Christmas Market to the light art of Lux Helsinki.
Each year central Helsinki opens Aleksanterinkatu as its Christmas street, with a traditional opening out on the street itself.
It suits families with strollers as much as older kids, and kids who like animals most of all.
Tuomaan Markkinat is Helsinki's oldest open-air Christmas market, filling Senate Square with food stalls and gift stands. At its heart sit a carousel and a restaurant yard where families can stop and taste Christmas flavors.
Kids come for the carousel and the treats, parents for unhurried gift shopping. It is a come-and-go market, so a short visit works as well as a long one.
A Christmas market on Manta, the square around the Havis Amanda statue next to Kauppatori. This year Manta gets its own covered ice rink, with a small winter world of food, market stalls and a program built around it.
It works as a come-and-go stop: a skate, a snack and a wander between the stalls. Kids who like skating will get the most out of it.
Korkeasaari, Helsinki's zoo on its own island, gets into the Christmas spirit. Kids can visit Santa's workshop, follow an activity trail around the zoo and see how the animals live through a Helsinki winter.
The festive program comes with regular zoo entry, so it suits families already planning a zoo day. It is a come-and-go visit.
Every Independence Day, students from across the Helsinki region carry torches through the city center, from Hietaniemi Cemetery to Senate Square. Participants are asked to wear their student caps.
For families, this is one to watch from the sidewalk. Kids who like a parade get a festive look at how Finland marks the day. Best for kids fine with the cold.
Tchaikovsky's Christmas ballet, in a version set in the wintry Finnish town of Porvoo. On Christmas night Klaara is swept into a dream: an army of mice, a duel with the Mouse King, and a nutcracker who turns back into a prince.
The sets, costumes and dancing tell the story with no spoken words. For many families it is their yearly Christmas outing.
Glims is an old farmstead in Espoo kept as a museum, and on this Christmas Saturday there are things to see in the buildings and out in the courtyard. Kids can watch a work demonstration, meet alpacas in the yard and make Christmas decorations at a workshop.
It suits families after a peaceful day they can come and go from. Part of it is outdoors, so dress for December.
Each year Finland's Lucia is crowned in Helsinki Cathedral, then walks through the cathedral with the Lucia procession. The tradition brings light and hope to the dark winter.
Kids watch the crowning and hear the singing. It suits families who enjoy music and a calm, formal evening.
Kids decorate gingerbread cookies with icing and sprinkles at the Hotel and Restaurant Museum's returning Christmas workshop. The museum supplies the cookies and all the decorations, in partnership with baking brand Dr. Oetker, so there's nothing to bring. It's drop-in: walk in any time during a session, decorate at your own pace, and leave when you're done. Adults can tour the museum's food and drink exhibition on the same ticket.
Tuomo Rannankari, the singer and host Finnish kids know from children's TV, leads a Christmas concert with a story running through it. Tuomo realizes he left the most important wish off his letter to Santa, and three elf musicians familiar from television (Heini Ikonen, Anssi Salminen and Veikko Muikku) help him get the message there in time. The songs are his own Christmas and winter tunes, all in Finnish.
Tapiola Choir sings a family Christmas concert, with Mauri Kunnas's book "12 lahjaa joulupukille" (12 gifts for Santa) running through it as the story.
The story is told in Finnish, so it suits kids who speak the language or already know the book. For everyone else it is still an evening of live choir music and cheerful Christmas mood in Tapiola Church.
Lux Helsinki fills the winter dark with light art: projections, glowing sculptures and installations in squares, parks and streets across the city.
Some installations are designed especially for children. At the last edition, kids sledded down snowy mounds that were part of an artwork at Lasipalatsi Square.
Helsinki's city New Year celebration at Kansalaistori Square opens with a children's event in the early evening, so families can mark the New Year together without waiting up for midnight.
Last year that meant a gig by Hevisaurus, the Jurassic heavy rock band, topped off with a family-friendly fireworks display. Expect an outdoor crowd in the winter dark. The main concert starts later in the evening.
The days are dark by mid-afternoon in December, so the city fills them with light. The Aleksanterinkatu Christmas lights go on in late November, markets take over the squares, and the season carries on through Lucia, Independence Day torches and a children's New Year's Eve party. Here's what we checked, from the carousel at St. Thomas Christmas Market to the light art of Lux Helsinki.
Each year central Helsinki opens Aleksanterinkatu as its Christmas street, with a traditional opening out on the street itself.
It suits families with strollers as much as older kids, and kids who like animals most of all.
Tuomaan Markkinat is Helsinki's oldest open-air Christmas market, filling Senate Square with food stalls and gift stands. At its heart sit a carousel and a restaurant yard where families can stop and taste Christmas flavors.
Kids come for the carousel and the treats, parents for unhurried gift shopping. It is a come-and-go market, so a short visit works as well as a long one.
A Christmas market on Manta, the square around the Havis Amanda statue next to Kauppatori. This year Manta gets its own covered ice rink, with a small winter world of food, market stalls and a program built around it.
It works as a come-and-go stop: a skate, a snack and a wander between the stalls. Kids who like skating will get the most out of it.
Korkeasaari, Helsinki's zoo on its own island, gets into the Christmas spirit. Kids can visit Santa's workshop, follow an activity trail around the zoo and see how the animals live through a Helsinki winter.
The festive program comes with regular zoo entry, so it suits families already planning a zoo day. It is a come-and-go visit.
Every Independence Day, students from across the Helsinki region carry torches through the city center, from Hietaniemi Cemetery to Senate Square. Participants are asked to wear their student caps.
For families, this is one to watch from the sidewalk. Kids who like a parade get a festive look at how Finland marks the day. Best for kids fine with the cold.
Tchaikovsky's Christmas ballet, in a version set in the wintry Finnish town of Porvoo. On Christmas night Klaara is swept into a dream: an army of mice, a duel with the Mouse King, and a nutcracker who turns back into a prince.
The sets, costumes and dancing tell the story with no spoken words. For many families it is their yearly Christmas outing.
Glims is an old farmstead in Espoo kept as a museum, and on this Christmas Saturday there are things to see in the buildings and out in the courtyard. Kids can watch a work demonstration, meet alpacas in the yard and make Christmas decorations at a workshop.
It suits families after a peaceful day they can come and go from. Part of it is outdoors, so dress for December.
Each year Finland's Lucia is crowned in Helsinki Cathedral, then walks through the cathedral with the Lucia procession. The tradition brings light and hope to the dark winter.
Kids watch the crowning and hear the singing. It suits families who enjoy music and a calm, formal evening.
Kids decorate gingerbread cookies with icing and sprinkles at the Hotel and Restaurant Museum's returning Christmas workshop. The museum supplies the cookies and all the decorations, in partnership with baking brand Dr. Oetker, so there's nothing to bring. It's drop-in: walk in any time during a session, decorate at your own pace, and leave when you're done. Adults can tour the museum's food and drink exhibition on the same ticket.
Tuomo Rannankari, the singer and host Finnish kids know from children's TV, leads a Christmas concert with a story running through it. Tuomo realizes he left the most important wish off his letter to Santa, and three elf musicians familiar from television (Heini Ikonen, Anssi Salminen and Veikko Muikku) help him get the message there in time. The songs are his own Christmas and winter tunes, all in Finnish.
Tapiola Choir sings a family Christmas concert, with Mauri Kunnas's book "12 lahjaa joulupukille" (12 gifts for Santa) running through it as the story.
The story is told in Finnish, so it suits kids who speak the language or already know the book. For everyone else it is still an evening of live choir music and cheerful Christmas mood in Tapiola Church.
Lux Helsinki fills the winter dark with light art: projections, glowing sculptures and installations in squares, parks and streets across the city.
Some installations are designed especially for children. At the last edition, kids sledded down snowy mounds that were part of an artwork at Lasipalatsi Square.
Helsinki's city New Year celebration at Kansalaistori Square opens with a children's event in the early evening, so families can mark the New Year together without waiting up for midnight.
Last year that meant a gig by Hevisaurus, the Jurassic heavy rock band, topped off with a family-friendly fireworks display. Expect an outdoor crowd in the winter dark. The main concert starts later in the evening.
