Enjoy a fun winter break in Helsinki

There are many ways to spend a winter break in Helsinki, both outdoors and indoors. Events for families with children and for young people are available across the city. Events are organised at youth centres, sports facilities, libraries, cultural centres and museums. The winter break programme is available on the Youth Helsinki website Youth Helsinki. 

A planetary disco at Helsinki City Museum

In the Your Body – The Sweaty History of Gyms exhibition at Helsinki City Museum you can train for free every day throughout the winter break. You can also get moving in the utopian Planetbic community performance on Friday 16 February from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be dancing at a planetary disco after the performance, with music chosen by DJ Bunuel. Entry to Helsinki City Museum is always free for those aged under 18 years.  

Workshops and movies for children at libraries

Libraries host a plenty of winter break activities, especially for children and families. There will be game tournaments, workshops and movies at libraries all over Helsinki. The Viikki Library allows you to build reading houses on Monday 19 February, and a wizard-themed escape room game will be arranged at Maunula Library on Tuesday 20 February.  The children’s area of Pasila Library has been transformed into a giant board game, Skidipeli, that can be played daily throughout the week starting at 12 noon. 

Playgrounds provide many fun activities

There are fun, free things to do during the winter holidays for families with children and schoolchildren at the playgrounds in Helsinki. Families with children are welcome to play, participate in guided activities and have fun at the playground, both outdoors and indoors. A holiday at the playground can be a short visit or you can come to the playground every day for the whole day. You can find more information about winter holiday events in playgrounds at hel.fi/playgrounds. 

Visit cultural centres for dancing, making art and watching movies

The winter break can be spent with free movies, workshops and hobby courses at the cultural centres of Helsinki. Annantalo invites primary school pupils to a Tanssiva talviloma (Dancing Winter Holiday) with dance-themed films, dance workshops and performances. 

During the winter break week, movies are shown free of charge also at Malmitalo and Vuotalo.  

Malmitalo Siivoushulinat, Cleaning Craze (Wed 21 – Thu 22 February) is jumping into a giant laundry and crafting soft feather dusters and hilarious vacuum cleaners. In Vuotalo, you can stop by a Ragamuf rug workshop (Mon 19 –  Fri 23 February). On Friday 23 February, Vuotalo arranges Ramadanrieha, which offers a variety of fun activities for the whole family, from fairytale sessions to pin workshops and from games to doing henna tattoos.  

A winter break with hobbies at youth centres 

Youth centres in different parts of the city organise excursions, events and workshops during the winter break week. Among others, a cosplay accessories workshop will begin at Malmi Youth Centre on Monday 19 February, and Tapulikaupunki Youth Centre will organise an ice fishing trip on Wednesday 21 February. During the winter break week, you can also try mixing, scratching and juggling when DJ Bootcamp begins on at Tiivistämö on Monday 19 February at 4 p.m. No previous experience is needed. 

You can also spend the winter break week at the youth centre just like that. We play, cook, watch movies and hang out with friends in the open evenings of the youth centres. The winter break programme is available on the Youth Helsinki website. Youth Helsinki/winterbreak 

Meet the Moomins and the PAW Patrol in Stadin talvirieha 

The traditional Stadin talvirieha (Helsinki Winter Bash), a winter break event for the whole family, will be arranged at Paloheinä recreation area on Wednesday, 21 February from 3.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. This year, the Winter Bash is starred by the Moomins and the PAW Patrol, children’s biggest favourites! The Winter Bash is free of charge. For more information about the event, see https://liikunta.hel.fi/en. 

The EasySport event for children of primary school age will take place at Töölö Sports Hall on 19–21 February. A variety of fun activities from Monday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

For 13–29-year-olds, a sports experiment evening will be arranged at Liikuntamylly on Wednesday 21 February from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., in which the participants can get to know new sports.   

Skating rinks and skiing rails invite you to spend time outdoors throughout the winter break week. You can check the status of skating rinks and skiing rails at https://ulkoliikunta.fi/en/. The city’s indoor swimming pools are also open according to normal opening hours.