Activities for children in Stockholm over the Christmas holidays

Enjoy fairytale adventures at Junibacken, home of Pippi Longstocking and other beloved Swedish children's book characters. Meet Alfons, Emil in Lönneberga and other characters brought to life through play and storytelling. 

The popular Christmas drama show "Christmas at the palace" is back at Hallwylska museet. Experience how the staff at this perfectly preserved family mansion at Hamngatan 4 prepared for Christmas in the olden days. What was life like for the staff in a house like this and how did the family celebrate Christmas? Get into the Christmas spirit with the museum's dramatised tour through the palace.

The Paradox Museum is open throughout the Christmas holidays for surprising experiences and tricksy illusions. There are over 70 interactive exhibitions here, all offering new perspectives on things. Take the opportunity to take fun photos at the various stations and immortalise all the fun.

The world-famous warship Vasa sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was salvaged from Stockholm harbour in 1961. At the Vasa Museum, you can admire the ship up close and delve into the story of Vasa through exhibitions about its construction, sinking, and recovery over 300 years later. Get to know the people surrounding the ship and the ship's sculptures and decorative carvings that were meant to evoke both admiration and fear.

Tom Tits is open throughout the Christmas holidays with fun scientific experiments for large and small. Explore technology, biology and illusions over four floors, through experiments and experiences using the whole body and mind.

The Etnographic Museum will have a music theme over the Christmas holidays. The museum's collections include loads of instruments from all corners of the world. Some can be played by visitors, and they'll be brought out during the Children's World Orchestra workshop that takes place during the Christmas holidays.

At the Historical Museum, the Christmas holiday is as enjoyable as it is educational. Discover the world of the Vikings, live as they did in the Middle Ages, and explore thousands of artefacts and historical stories. Additionally, there are tricky missions to embark on, such as the Time Traveller and the History Detectives.

Take part in the hieroglyphics workshop at the Mediterranean Museum where you can learn to write and decipher hieroglyphs, wander around the museum or go on a family tour. The family tours are aimed at children aged 5–12 and highlight time, space and exciting objects around the museum.

Something mischievous is afoot in the castle halls… Santa's little helpers have hidden themselves, and now the castle needs help to find them! A number of silver elves are displayed in the grand castle halls, and with the help of maps, you must locate them. Everyone who submits their map will receive a reward.

Stockholm's Museum of Photography is open every day, even on Christmas Eve. Go on a guided tour and experience a photography exhibition with the whole family.

The Viking Museum invites you to a festive season in the spirit of the Vikings. Experience life as a travelling trader, meet Viking-era merchants, and enjoy family-friendly tours in Swedish or English. Regular tours are enhanced with historical Christmas anecdotes. Don't miss this year's Midwinter Sacrifice on 28th December.

Celebrate the Christmas holidays at the Scenkonstmuseet! Create party hats and New Year drums in the studio with glitter and colour. Explore the costume cupboard for New Year inspiration or a new style ahead of 2025.

The Royal Armoury, Sweden's museum of royal history, is housed in beautiful basement vaults next to the Royal Palace. View a huge collection of fascinating objects and artefacts from the time of Gustav Vasa. There are special areas for children and exciting holiday activities.  

At the Technical Museum, there are lots of fun activities for curious children and teenagers during the Christmas holidays. For example, you can embark on a 3D adventure, explore the forest up close, enjoy space ice cream made with liquid nitrogen, and watch the 50-metre-long model railway in action.

Explore fascinating exhibitions about dinosaurs, space, animals, and the history of the Earth, participate in family tours, and learn more about our mighty nature. Combine your visit with an immersive film experience at Cosmonova, where you can dive into the depths of the oceans, journey through the universe, and join the Jönsson gang on a new heist.

The Post Museum in the Old Town tells the story of the postal service and postmen in Sweden. In the interactive exhibition, Post, the whole family can follow the journey of the mail through history, with singing letterboxes and work clothes to try on, and for the youngest visitors there's also the popular play exhibition Postis, where you can sort packages and deliver letters just like real postmen.

At Upplevelsemuseet, visitors are free to look, touch, smell, taste and try out exciting things from all over the world. You can, for example, hold an enormous tooth fossil, taste sweets from different countries, learn more about ancient cultures and challenge your fear of heights with VR.

For over 30 years, ArkDes has invited children, young people, adults, amateurs, and professionals to exhibit their gingerbread houses at their museum on Skeppsholmen. This year, participants have interpreted the theme "comeback", after the exhibition took a break in 2023. Which gingerbread house is your favourite?

Get to know researchers, authors, and Alfred Nobel himself at the Nobel Prize Museum in the Old Town. You'll find interactive exhibitions, exciting objects, and thought-provoking stories from the long history of the Nobel Prize. During the Christmas holidays, for example, you can learn more about the body in the workshop or test, solve, read, and imagine in the children's room, the Bubble Room. You can also become a treasure hunter in the exhibition and taste the Nobel Prize in chocolate form in the café.

It doesn't get much more Christmassy than Christmas at Skansen. There's fun and festivities for all ages, from Christmas crafts and pony rides to the traditional advent Christmas market, with masses of presents and goodies. Peek into the various houses and farmsteads to see how Christmas was celebrated in olden days.

There's always something fun happening at the Kulturhuset Stadsteatern! Browse a book in the children's library, create in the creative workshops, or try out new ideas in workshops and courses. An exciting programme awaits over the Christmas holidays full of fun activities: there will be plenty of films and popcorn, and the Creative Workshop is open every day for arts and crafts.

At O'Learys Tolv Stockholm Event Center you'll find 5000 square metres of fun and activities, such as bowling, adventure golf, arcade games, shuffleboard, table tennis and darts. 

There's a cosy atmosphere in Hågelby Park over the Christmas holidays. Grill your own sausages, pet the animals, borrow games and play at Café Anna Giertz, take a reflective walk or participate in one of the activities organised during the Christmas holidays.

Do you feel like staying indoors but still doing something fun? The activity centre BallBreaker in Kungsholmen has everything from bowling to shuffleboard, sports simulators and masses of other activities for all levels and ages.

The Artipelag art gallery in Värmdö combines art and design with food and activities in a beautiful archipelago setting. With a large art gallery exhibition, restaurant, café, and shop, you can easily while away a few hours here during the Christmas holidays. During the holiday, there will also be a Christmas workshop where children can create their own artworks and sculptures.

Combine food with fun at La Botanica in the Mall of Scandinavia! Sweden's largest buffet is served here, with vegetables, fish, meat, and dishes from America, Italy, and Asia. There's guaranteed to be something to suit all tastes here, even the fussiest of diners. After eating, head to their games zone, where you can challenge each other in everything from shuffleboard to mini-golf.

At Exit Games, players must collaborate to solve challenging riddles in escape rooms. The rooms have various themes, from secret submarine missions to encounters with mob boss Al Capone. The challenges are tailored for both children and adults who come together to think outside the box, have fun together, and hopefully break free in the end.

You can play boules and eat French food all year round at Boulebar. If you visit the Boulebar locations in Liljeholmen, Haga and Radhuset you can enjoy both French Christmas music and boules throughout December. Bring along your family and friends for a fun outing.

When you've had enough of Christmas movies, lounging on the sofa and chocolates, it could be time for a bit of an adrenaline kick with some speed and excitement. At Järfälla Go-Kart, people of all ages can hop into a go-kart and zoom around the track. There's a special track and karts for the younger ones, while the older members of the group can really step on it in extra fast racing karts. They have tracks both outdoors and indoors, and both are open year-round.

Vrex in Bromma is a VR experience centre where you solve various challenges and missions with your team. There are 300 square metres to play on, and with the help of the latest technology, you can conquer games like Skull Adventure and Zombie Apocalypse. A minimum of four players is required per game, and the minimum age is 11 years.

Take a day trip out to Hellasgården in Nackareservatet nature reserve and get a taste of the great outdoors just outside the city centre. Go for a long walk, have a coffee, grill sausages and more. If it's cold enough, there's a sledging hill, cross-country ski tracks and a lake to ice skate on.

Experience the feeling of floating in the air - the same feeling as jumping out of an airplane. The world's highest wind tunnel makes it possible, and of course the right equipment ensures that you fly safely. Before the flight, you're given a safety briefing, then you just take off while your group looks on. Suitable for children aged three and up.

Get your body moving at the JumpYard activity centre. Play dodgeball, jump on trampolines and do parkour, among other things. Action and adventure for all the family, or take your friends along and get sweaty together.

Every year around Christmas time, NK decorates its Christmas windows with landscapes, figures and other amazing displays that attract the curious to peek into the festive world. This year's theme is the mystique of Christmas. Make an outing of it and combine it with a visit to a patisserie and a cup of hot chocolate for the ultimate cosy feeling.

Say hello to animals, ride ponies and grill sausages at Aspuddenspark in Aspudden, south of the city. They also have a large playground that draws in crowds of kids (and parents) of all ages.

Check out the sparkling Christmas lights that illuminate Stockholm every year. With a Map of Lights from #Stockholmsjul you can go on a walk around the city centre and check out the streets and squares that are bedecked with Christmas lights. You'll find the map on #Stockholmsjul's website and at hotels and tourist offices.

Take a trip to Södertälje and Sydpoolen, where water fun is on the agenda. You'll find slides, a lazy river, bubble beds, a hot tub, and water toys, and for the very little ones, there's the mini adventure pool Pigge's Lagoon. Perfect for energetic children and adults who want to warm up in the pool for a while.

Does the family need a bit of relaxation over the Christmas break? This popular Japanese spa has lowered its minimum age to 13 years, with an overnight package that includes access to the Japanese baths, activities, overnight stay and breakfast buffet.

Birka Bowling & Dart is an enormous bowling alley that's been drawing in bowling aficionados and keen amateurs since the 1970s. There's also a restaurant here so you can combine your bowling with a burger.

Klättercentret arranges Christmas holiday camps for children and young people who want to learn to climb. Everyone can learn to climb here, whatever your level of experience. Learn through games, technique practice and group exercises.

Stockholm Skatepark at Fryshuset has pretty much everything a skater could desire. There's a mini ramp, concrete bowl, a large street area and Stockholm's only vert ramp. They also run a skate camp for young skaters over the Christmas holidays.

Laserfortet is Stockholm's largest laser arena, where you can play Laserforce, participate in the Prison Island challenge inspired by the game Fort Boyard, or try out paintball on a 1000 square metre indoor field. Laserfortet is suitable for both adults and children; Laserforce is recommended for ages 6 and up.

Popular Cosmonova shows 3D films about the planet and animals. A popular and immersive cinema experience with the largest domed screen in Sweden. Pay a visit to the Museum of Natural History while you're there.

The cosy neighbourhood cinema Zita on Birger Jarlsgatan shows films for cinephiles of all ages. At weekends and school holidays, they have a special programme, Barnens Bio - Children's Cinema - featuring children's films, both classics and new films. This year they'll be showing films including The Muppets Christmas Carol and The Brothers Lionheart.

Stockholm Film Festival invites you to a Christmas holiday camp where children, together with experienced film educators, can create their own short films. Using storyboard sketches, participants construct their own story, which will be shown at the end of the day. After the workshop, you can take your film home to watch it again and again.

Kulturhuset Stadsteatern's branch in Skärholmen is home to Europe's only cinema for children and young people, and they'll be hosting a film fest over the Christmas holidays. The films being shown include The Journey to Melonia, Despicable Me 4, and My Neighbour Totoro. Cinema tickets cost 50 kronor each and include popcorn. The Creative Workshop is also open every day so you can craft before the film starts.

In Pippi Moves into Villa Villekulla, the audience follows Pippi Longstocking as she moves into her new home. Together with her friends, she embarks on adventures, where the notorious villains Dunder-Karlsson and Blom, as well as policemen Kling and Klang, also make an appearance. The performance, which lasts approximately two hours including an interval, is suitable for children from five years old depending on their familiarity with theatre, and is staged between Christmas and New Year.

The Great Christmas Adventure is described as a magical outdoor theatre for the whole family. Meet the great August Strindberg, who calls Christmas humbug. With the help of tricky Christmas puzzles, Christmas ghosts, and skilled actors, he must be convinced of the magic of Christmas. The theatre concludes with presents for the children and mulled wine for the adults.

All ages and abilities can enjoy skiing at Hammarbybacken. Pre-book your Skipass and rent skis online on their website, and check which lifts and runs are open at the moment.

Several artificial ice rinks open up around Stockholm when it gets cold enough, including rinks in Kungsträdgården and Vasaparken. Don't miss Scandinavian Ice Adventure, new for this year. You'll find information on where and when the rinks are open on Stockholm city's website.

When the snow finally covers the city, it's time to pull on your salopettes and get out onto the slopes with a sledge. There are lots of great sledging slopes in central Stockholm, we've listed some of the best below.

Vitabergsparken, Södermalm
Tanto, Södermalm
Stora Blecktornsparken, Södermalm
Vasaparken, Vasastan
Observatorielunden, Vasastan
Rålambshovsparken, Kungsholmen
Kronobergsparken, Kungsholmen
Humlegården, Östermalm

You'll find numerous open-air natural skating spots outside the city where you can skate when the ice is at least 20cm thick. Be careful and never skate alone or without safety equipment. You'll find information on the various lake and sea-skating spots on Stockholm city's website.