Kids here don't stop playing outside when the weather turns, and neither do the city's events. This list gathers the open-air plans worth bundling up for: seasonal festivals at open-air museums, Christmas markets, Halloween parades, kids' races and summer sing-alongs. It updates on its own with the soonest dates first, so check back each season for the next reason to get everyone out the door.
#Stockholmsjul turns streets and squares across central Stockholm into a walk of Christmas lights, a million LEDs in all. Swedish Christmas figures get a modern look: moose, reindeer, deer, spruces, cones, angels and a giant mistletoe.
Kids can help pick the route on the free light map and spot the animals along the way. It suits families happy to walk a while in the cold.
A Christmas market on Djurgården that has run since 1903, with stalls of crafts in textile, wood, ceramic and wool, plus marzipan, Christmas bread and hand-dipped candles.
For kids, the draw is Santa's workshop, where they make their own Christmas craft, then dancing around the tree and carols in Seglora church. Much of it is outdoors, so dress for the cold.
Kungsträdgårdens julmarknad fills the park in central Stockholm with Christmas stalls run by students from the city's upper secondary schools. Kids can wander between the stands, look for a small gift and take in the holiday bustle.
It's a market rather than a show, so it suits families happy to browse. Toddlers in strollers do fine; school-age kids with a bit of pocket money get the most out of it.
An Advent market at Wenngarn Castle outside Sigtuna, with more than 40 hand-picked crafters in the orangery selling silver, ceramics, textiles, food and art. Open fires in the park serve glögg, sausages and kolbullar.
Kids can warm up by the fires and slip into the candlelit chapel for a short concert. It's a calm market without the crush, a good pick for families who find big city markets too much.
Sigtuna's traditional Christmas market takes over the old town's streets and squares with market traders, traditional Swedish Christmas food and a packed program. It grew out of the town's Christmas celebration in the early 1960s, when market stalls were first added.
It suits families happy to wander outdoors in the winter cold, browsing stalls with a stroller or small kids on shoulders, with choir singing along the way.
Nobel Week Lights is a light art festival that turns Stockholm's streets and squares into canvases during the darkest time of the year. International and local artists, designers and students build large-scale light artworks that interpret the Nobel Prize and the ideas behind it.
Kids walk from one glowing piece to the next, so it suits a toddler in a stroller as much as a curious teenager. Everything is outdoors.
Torekällberget, Södertälje's open-air museum, turns back the clock for a Christmas market in the style of the 1800s. Kids can step into the historic homes as the households get ready for Christmas, browse the market stalls on the square and catch live Christmas music around the grounds, with a sing-along too.
It suits families who like to wander at their own pace, and the weekend closes with a Lucia procession.
Skansen has celebrated New Year's Eve since 1893, and the midnight countdown on the Solliden stage is broadcast live on Swedish TV by SVT. Families count down together outdoors, with Stockholm as the backdrop.
It suits kids who can stay up late and cope with a crowd in the winter cold. Daytime visitors can explore the park earlier in the day; the evening is all about the countdown.
Kulturnatt is the evening when cultural venues all over Stockholm stay open late, each with a program of its own. Every place is its own organizer, so the night looks different depending on where you go, and there are guided walks outdoors too.
With small kids, pick two or three spots close together and leave it there. Older kids who like staying up get a rare night out in town.
Minimaran is a running race just for kids, ending with a finish at Stockholms Stadion. Children run out of Gärdet and through the Lill-Jansskogen woods before the last stretch to the stadium.
It suits kids who like to run, from first-timers to school-age runners ready for a longer course, and younger siblings get an event of their own.
Kids here don't stop playing outside when the weather turns, and neither do the city's events. This list gathers the open-air plans worth bundling up for: seasonal festivals at open-air museums, Christmas markets, Halloween parades, kids' races and summer sing-alongs. It updates on its own with the soonest dates first, so check back each season for the next reason to get everyone out the door.
#Stockholmsjul turns streets and squares across central Stockholm into a walk of Christmas lights, a million LEDs in all. Swedish Christmas figures get a modern look: moose, reindeer, deer, spruces, cones, angels and a giant mistletoe.
Kids can help pick the route on the free light map and spot the animals along the way. It suits families happy to walk a while in the cold.
A Christmas market on Djurgården that has run since 1903, with stalls of crafts in textile, wood, ceramic and wool, plus marzipan, Christmas bread and hand-dipped candles.
For kids, the draw is Santa's workshop, where they make their own Christmas craft, then dancing around the tree and carols in Seglora church. Much of it is outdoors, so dress for the cold.
Kungsträdgårdens julmarknad fills the park in central Stockholm with Christmas stalls run by students from the city's upper secondary schools. Kids can wander between the stands, look for a small gift and take in the holiday bustle.
It's a market rather than a show, so it suits families happy to browse. Toddlers in strollers do fine; school-age kids with a bit of pocket money get the most out of it.
An Advent market at Wenngarn Castle outside Sigtuna, with more than 40 hand-picked crafters in the orangery selling silver, ceramics, textiles, food and art. Open fires in the park serve glögg, sausages and kolbullar.
Kids can warm up by the fires and slip into the candlelit chapel for a short concert. It's a calm market without the crush, a good pick for families who find big city markets too much.
Sigtuna's traditional Christmas market takes over the old town's streets and squares with market traders, traditional Swedish Christmas food and a packed program. It grew out of the town's Christmas celebration in the early 1960s, when market stalls were first added.
It suits families happy to wander outdoors in the winter cold, browsing stalls with a stroller or small kids on shoulders, with choir singing along the way.
Nobel Week Lights is a light art festival that turns Stockholm's streets and squares into canvases during the darkest time of the year. International and local artists, designers and students build large-scale light artworks that interpret the Nobel Prize and the ideas behind it.
Kids walk from one glowing piece to the next, so it suits a toddler in a stroller as much as a curious teenager. Everything is outdoors.
Torekällberget, Södertälje's open-air museum, turns back the clock for a Christmas market in the style of the 1800s. Kids can step into the historic homes as the households get ready for Christmas, browse the market stalls on the square and catch live Christmas music around the grounds, with a sing-along too.
It suits families who like to wander at their own pace, and the weekend closes with a Lucia procession.
Skansen has celebrated New Year's Eve since 1893, and the midnight countdown on the Solliden stage is broadcast live on Swedish TV by SVT. Families count down together outdoors, with Stockholm as the backdrop.
It suits kids who can stay up late and cope with a crowd in the winter cold. Daytime visitors can explore the park earlier in the day; the evening is all about the countdown.
Kulturnatt is the evening when cultural venues all over Stockholm stay open late, each with a program of its own. Every place is its own organizer, so the night looks different depending on where you go, and there are guided walks outdoors too.
With small kids, pick two or three spots close together and leave it there. Older kids who like staying up get a rare night out in town.
Minimaran is a running race just for kids, ending with a finish at Stockholms Stadion. Children run out of Gärdet and through the Lill-Jansskogen woods before the last stretch to the stadium.
It suits kids who like to run, from first-timers to school-age runners ready for a longer course, and younger siblings get an event of their own.
