The shows, festivals, workshops and seasonal fairs coming up soon, all picked for kids. The list updates itself, so whatever is on next sits at the top. Check back before the weekend or a school holiday, when the calendar fills up fast and the good workshops book out.
A puppet show about Mies and Dorus, two mice who hibernate for seven months, hence the name Seven Sleepers. They bed down in the Snoepmannetje's candy shop, until Mies nibbles a new candy and something very strange happens. Kids follow Dorus and Wasco the raccoon on a quest to break the spell.
A good pick for kids who follow spoken Dutch and enjoy a story with a bit of suspense.
A neighborhood lantern parade for Sint-Maarten, the Dutch tradition when children carry lit lanterns through the streets after dark. This one gathers at the Vruchtenbuurt shopping street and has been running for more than a decade.
It suits preschoolers and young primary-school kids who can walk with a lantern in hand. Join the local families.
Museumpark Archeon, the history museum park in Alphen aan den Rijn, fills with twinkling lights, crackling fire baskets and a covered Christmas market selling home decor, clothing and gifts.
Kids can make a candle or their own Christmas souvenir, watch the laser show and winter shows in the Arena, and hear the Dickens choir. It suits families who like browsing; kids who dislike shopping may tire of the stalls.
De Club van Sinterklaas, the crew from the Dutch Sinterklaas films, puts on a new musical stage show each year, with Sinterklaas making an entrance. Kids sing and dance along to the Club's hits, with live music, humor and fireworks.
The party starts at the door with a Pieten band, then a Pieten disco in the hall. It is all in Dutch, so it suits kids who know the songs.
Sinterklaas sails into Scheveningen harbor on his pakjesboot, the gift boat, and The Hague turns out to greet him. Once the boat docks, he is welcomed on stage, then sets off with his entourage on a ride through the streets of The Hague.
It suits kids who still believe and families who want to see the tradition up close. It is less fun for kids who hate crowds.
Lennox is eleven, and his dad has a mysterious illness. When his dad forgets his lucky necklace before a hospital appointment, Lennox and his best friend go after him. This music theater show, inspired by the children's book Lennox en de gouden sikkel, tells the story with acting, live music and visuals.
It suits kids who like adventure stories about courage and friendship.
A children's theater show built on Pim Lammers' popular picture books, with live music, cheerful songs and plenty of humor. Kids meet a lamb who would rather play in the mud than in the meadow, and a farm full of animals with ideas of their own.
A festive outing for young animal lovers and their parents. It is performed in Dutch, so it suits kids who follow Dutch.
A hands-on library workshop about how people in the Middle Ages turned sheep's wool into warm clothes. A medieval woman talks about life in her time and brings lots of objects for kids to look at, touch, smell and maybe even taste.
Then each child felts their own bracelet, little ball or magic stone. It's led in Dutch, so it suits kids who follow spoken Dutch.
A no-pressure evening walk through a lit-up Scheveningen, in support of KWF Kankerbestrijding. You pick a route along the boulevard and through the dunes, passing light spots and music on the way.
It suits families with kids who can walk a while in the cold and dark, and who like being out after bedtime for once.
The Pepernotenexpres is the Sinterklaas event at Stoomtrein Katwijk Leiden, a narrow-gauge railway museum outside Leiden. Kids board a festively decorated train for a loop along the Valkenburgse Meer and meet Sint and his Pieten, on the train or in the museum.
It suits toddlers and primary-school kids who still believe in Sint.
Amare marks its anniversary with an extra-festive Family Sunday. The whole building fills with music, dance, theater and creative activities, so families can move between orchestra and dance shows, hands-on workshops and smaller surprises all day.
It suits families who want a full cultural day out under one roof. The program runs in Dutch, so kids who follow Dutch get the most from the shows and workshops.
Sinterklaas and his Pieten stop by the Cool Event ice rink on the Kurhausplein in Scheveningen, the winter rink by the sea.
The 600 m² rink comes with festive lights, music and the smell of hot chocolate. It suits preschool and primary-school kids who want to see the Sint and skate on the same outing.
A Sinterklaas lunch at De Prael Den Haag, with a game show for the family alongside the meal.
It is a sit-down afternoon rather than a quick visit, so it suits kids who can stay at the table for a while and families who want the Sinterklaas outing and lunch in one plan.
BOUT! is a youth dance show by Plan D where everything goes wrong: water spurts, the power cuts out, the gutter clogs and the pipes nearly burst. The kids in the audience get pulled in to connect, tape, saw, drill and build to save the day.
As they build, the pipes make music. It ends with the audience building one big chain reaction.
Kids find out what children played with in Roman times, about 2,000 years ago: balls, dolls, marbles and knucklebones, often made by the kids themselves.
Then they get to work with clay and felt alongside an (almost) real Roman lady and make a Roman toy of their own. It suits kids who like history or making things with their hands.
A sing-along party of the cheeriest Sinterklaas songs, led by Félice van der Sande, a Muziek op Schoot teacher. Kids sing, play music games and dance, all to live music.
It suits young kids getting into the Sinterklaas season. The songs are in Dutch, so kids who know them from home or school will get the most out of it, though anyone can dance along.
Rapunzel is a Christmas pantomime performed in English by AATG, using a script by pantomime writer Alex Jackson.
The cast came through auditions and includes a junior chorus of kids alongside the adult and dance choruses. A good pick for families who want a holiday show their kids can follow in English.
Lichtjesavond is the evening Delft's old center lights up for winter, part of the city's Delft Verlicht season. Families wander the lit streets and canals, stopping for Christmas choirs, concerts and theater in churches and venues, with plenty happening outdoors too.
It suits kids who are happy on foot on a cold winter evening. A silent disco and sing-alongs give them something to join in, not just watch.
Every winter the Kurhausplein in Scheveningen turns into a covered 600 m² ice rink, with lights, music and the smell of hot chocolate. First-timers can wobble around on double-blade skates while confident skaters do laps, so mixed-ability families all get on the ice.
Because it's covered, it stays warm and dry whatever the weather. A second, longer rink on the boulevard adds skating with a view of the sea.
A family exhibition at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden that puts the creatures of ancient myths center stage, not the heroes who outwit them. Kids meet a giant snake, fish-tailed men, a snake-haired woman and a winged horse, each with its own story and power.
The creatures are grumpy after 100 years hidden in the museum, and kids set out to cheer them up.
The Royal Christmas Fair is an open-air Christmas market on Lange Voorhout, in the center of The Hague. There's nothing to book: you walk in, browse the stalls and leave when the kids have had enough.
It works as a short stop on a winter walk through the city center, and suits families who want some festive atmosphere without planning around a set start time.
A temporary Christmas ice rink floats on the Nieuwe Rijn in the historic center of Leiden, under the city's festive lights. Kids skate on rental skates from the rink, with the old town all around them.
The rink is part of Leiden's Winter Wonder Weeks, so a visit pairs easily with the Christmas market, the old-fashioned fair and the Christmas circus in the same city center.
The shows, festivals, workshops and seasonal fairs coming up soon, all picked for kids. The list updates itself, so whatever is on next sits at the top. Check back before the weekend or a school holiday, when the calendar fills up fast and the good workshops book out.
A puppet show about Mies and Dorus, two mice who hibernate for seven months, hence the name Seven Sleepers. They bed down in the Snoepmannetje's candy shop, until Mies nibbles a new candy and something very strange happens. Kids follow Dorus and Wasco the raccoon on a quest to break the spell.
A good pick for kids who follow spoken Dutch and enjoy a story with a bit of suspense.
A neighborhood lantern parade for Sint-Maarten, the Dutch tradition when children carry lit lanterns through the streets after dark. This one gathers at the Vruchtenbuurt shopping street and has been running for more than a decade.
It suits preschoolers and young primary-school kids who can walk with a lantern in hand. Join the local families.
Museumpark Archeon, the history museum park in Alphen aan den Rijn, fills with twinkling lights, crackling fire baskets and a covered Christmas market selling home decor, clothing and gifts.
Kids can make a candle or their own Christmas souvenir, watch the laser show and winter shows in the Arena, and hear the Dickens choir. It suits families who like browsing; kids who dislike shopping may tire of the stalls.
De Club van Sinterklaas, the crew from the Dutch Sinterklaas films, puts on a new musical stage show each year, with Sinterklaas making an entrance. Kids sing and dance along to the Club's hits, with live music, humor and fireworks.
The party starts at the door with a Pieten band, then a Pieten disco in the hall. It is all in Dutch, so it suits kids who know the songs.
Sinterklaas sails into Scheveningen harbor on his pakjesboot, the gift boat, and The Hague turns out to greet him. Once the boat docks, he is welcomed on stage, then sets off with his entourage on a ride through the streets of The Hague.
It suits kids who still believe and families who want to see the tradition up close. It is less fun for kids who hate crowds.
Lennox is eleven, and his dad has a mysterious illness. When his dad forgets his lucky necklace before a hospital appointment, Lennox and his best friend go after him. This music theater show, inspired by the children's book Lennox en de gouden sikkel, tells the story with acting, live music and visuals.
It suits kids who like adventure stories about courage and friendship.
A children's theater show built on Pim Lammers' popular picture books, with live music, cheerful songs and plenty of humor. Kids meet a lamb who would rather play in the mud than in the meadow, and a farm full of animals with ideas of their own.
A festive outing for young animal lovers and their parents. It is performed in Dutch, so it suits kids who follow Dutch.
A hands-on library workshop about how people in the Middle Ages turned sheep's wool into warm clothes. A medieval woman talks about life in her time and brings lots of objects for kids to look at, touch, smell and maybe even taste.
Then each child felts their own bracelet, little ball or magic stone. It's led in Dutch, so it suits kids who follow spoken Dutch.
A no-pressure evening walk through a lit-up Scheveningen, in support of KWF Kankerbestrijding. You pick a route along the boulevard and through the dunes, passing light spots and music on the way.
It suits families with kids who can walk a while in the cold and dark, and who like being out after bedtime for once.
The Pepernotenexpres is the Sinterklaas event at Stoomtrein Katwijk Leiden, a narrow-gauge railway museum outside Leiden. Kids board a festively decorated train for a loop along the Valkenburgse Meer and meet Sint and his Pieten, on the train or in the museum.
It suits toddlers and primary-school kids who still believe in Sint.
Amare marks its anniversary with an extra-festive Family Sunday. The whole building fills with music, dance, theater and creative activities, so families can move between orchestra and dance shows, hands-on workshops and smaller surprises all day.
It suits families who want a full cultural day out under one roof. The program runs in Dutch, so kids who follow Dutch get the most from the shows and workshops.
Sinterklaas and his Pieten stop by the Cool Event ice rink on the Kurhausplein in Scheveningen, the winter rink by the sea.
The 600 m² rink comes with festive lights, music and the smell of hot chocolate. It suits preschool and primary-school kids who want to see the Sint and skate on the same outing.
A Sinterklaas lunch at De Prael Den Haag, with a game show for the family alongside the meal.
It is a sit-down afternoon rather than a quick visit, so it suits kids who can stay at the table for a while and families who want the Sinterklaas outing and lunch in one plan.
BOUT! is a youth dance show by Plan D where everything goes wrong: water spurts, the power cuts out, the gutter clogs and the pipes nearly burst. The kids in the audience get pulled in to connect, tape, saw, drill and build to save the day.
As they build, the pipes make music. It ends with the audience building one big chain reaction.
Kids find out what children played with in Roman times, about 2,000 years ago: balls, dolls, marbles and knucklebones, often made by the kids themselves.
Then they get to work with clay and felt alongside an (almost) real Roman lady and make a Roman toy of their own. It suits kids who like history or making things with their hands.
A sing-along party of the cheeriest Sinterklaas songs, led by Félice van der Sande, a Muziek op Schoot teacher. Kids sing, play music games and dance, all to live music.
It suits young kids getting into the Sinterklaas season. The songs are in Dutch, so kids who know them from home or school will get the most out of it, though anyone can dance along.
Rapunzel is a Christmas pantomime performed in English by AATG, using a script by pantomime writer Alex Jackson.
The cast came through auditions and includes a junior chorus of kids alongside the adult and dance choruses. A good pick for families who want a holiday show their kids can follow in English.
Lichtjesavond is the evening Delft's old center lights up for winter, part of the city's Delft Verlicht season. Families wander the lit streets and canals, stopping for Christmas choirs, concerts and theater in churches and venues, with plenty happening outdoors too.
It suits kids who are happy on foot on a cold winter evening. A silent disco and sing-alongs give them something to join in, not just watch.
Every winter the Kurhausplein in Scheveningen turns into a covered 600 m² ice rink, with lights, music and the smell of hot chocolate. First-timers can wobble around on double-blade skates while confident skaters do laps, so mixed-ability families all get on the ice.
Because it's covered, it stays warm and dry whatever the weather. A second, longer rink on the boulevard adds skating with a view of the sea.
A family exhibition at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden that puts the creatures of ancient myths center stage, not the heroes who outwit them. Kids meet a giant snake, fish-tailed men, a snake-haired woman and a winged horse, each with its own story and power.
The creatures are grumpy after 100 years hidden in the museum, and kids set out to cheer them up.
The Royal Christmas Fair is an open-air Christmas market on Lange Voorhout, in the center of The Hague. There's nothing to book: you walk in, browse the stalls and leave when the kids have had enough.
It works as a short stop on a winter walk through the city center, and suits families who want some festive atmosphere without planning around a set start time.
A temporary Christmas ice rink floats on the Nieuwe Rijn in the historic center of Leiden, under the city's festive lights. Kids skate on rental skates from the rink, with the old town all around them.
The rink is part of Leiden's Winter Wonder Weeks, so a visit pairs easily with the Christmas market, the old-fashioned fair and the Christmas circus in the same city center.
