Enjoy a fun winter break in Helsinki
Schoolchildren have a winter break in Helsinki on 19–25 February. The winter break week offers exhibitions, events and workshops, but also free-form hanging out in different parts of the city. Most of the city’s winter break programme is free of charge.
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 that can be played daily throughout the winter break week starting at 12 noon. Set on the streets of Stadi, the Skidipeli game takes players on an adventure as pawns amidst the familiar scenery of Helsinki.
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.
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. In the playground you can play, meet friends, participate in guided activities or just hang out or go on adventures. During the winter vacation week, we organize trips to Korkeasaari, for example, and schoolchildren are invited to a trip to the climbing park! Indoor playgrounds also have the option of heating food and making tea or coffee. 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, and AnnanHouse: Tanssivat eläimet disco (dancing animals disco) for the whole family (Fri 23 February from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m).
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 a jump into a giant laundry and crafting soft feather dusters and hilarious vacuum cleaners. In Caisa’s Animoin! I Animate! workshop (Mon 19 – Tue 20 Feb) you will learn about making stop motion animation. Adventure Art Winter Holiday courses and Circus courses will be held at Stoa (Mon 19 – Wed 21 Feb). 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. DJ Bootcamp will begin on at Tiivistämö on Monday 19 February at 4 p.m. No previous experience is needed, and you can make new friends at Tiivistämö and find a multi-skilled music community.
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
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. The Winter Bash is free of charge. This year, the Winter Bash is starred by the Moomins and the Paw Patrol, children’s biggest favourites! For more information about the Winter Bash, 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 ball and racquet games, an obstacle course and lots of other fun activities from Monday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A sports experiment evening will be arranged for 13–29-year-olds at Liikuntamylly on Wednesday 21 February from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., in which the participants can enjoy diverse sports and get to know new sports.
Artificial ice rinks, and skating rinks subject to weather conditions, 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.