Winter Break in Helsinki is Packed with Free Activities

The entire winter break offering is compiled on the Youth Helsinki website.
Youth Helsinki(Link leads to external service)

Dance music and movies

The cultural centres of Helsinki provide things to do across the city. Annantalo will start its week on Saturday 14 February with the popular AnnanHouse electronic dance music event. Holiday Cinema will hold film screenings free of charge, featuring movies about friendship, and Teatteri Rollo’s performance Köpöttäjät (‘Plodders’) will take the audience on a playful journey into a world of plodding and chattering on Saturday 21 Feb at 14.00 (tickets: €10/6).

The performance will also be featured at Stoa’s Valentine’s Day event to kick off the winter break week on Saturday 14 February between 13.00–16.00. The programme also includes an alphabet rhyme concert by Pikku Papun Orkesteri and workshops (the event is free of charge, performance tickets: €11.10/7.10). Two winter break courses, one involving making art in nature and the other building fairytale creatures, will be held from Monday to Wednesday during the break week.

From Tuesday to Thursday, Kino Helios in Malmitalo will screen free winter break movies. The workshops will involve making arts and crafts inspired by films, such as doors to the dwellings of fairytale creatures.

Vuotalo’s open winter break week workshops will have attendees dream of life at the beach and build a miniature world as a collective work of art. The workshops will be held from Monday to Friday, and the finished work will be put on display in Vuotalo. In turn, the programme of Caisa includes a mechanics workshop for girls aged 7–10, where attendees will get to build their own vehicles and put together a small exhibition.

Hobby horse camp, DJing and cooking course for young people  

The winter break week will also feature dozens of events for young people. Tiivistämö in Suvilahti will provide music lovers with activities such as a K-pop dance competition qualifier round on Sunday 15 February and DJing lessons on Monday 16 February. The events are free of charge and suitable for all ages.

At a figurine workshop held at Malmi Youth Centre, attendees will get to make their own gaming or decorative figurines out of polymer clay on Wednesday 18 February, while at Youth Centre Silmu in Itä-Pasila, attendees will be cooking some winter break grub from Thursday to Saturday, 19–21 February.

The City’s youth centres will also hold excursions and camps, such as a hobby horse camp at Kulttuurilabra in Roihuvuori on Thursday 19 February. Kontula Youth Centre will hold a young people’s winter break fest on Saturday 21 February between 16.00–22.30. The winter break week programme is planned together with young people, who can also spend their break week enjoying their favourite activities at the youth centres.

Reading experiences, robotics workshops and shared activities at libraries  

The winter break is for reading! The City’s libraries have interesting reading materials for every child and young person, and the staff will be happy to suggest suitable winter break reading. Puistola Library’s reading party will have attendees get together to read on Thursday 19 February.

In addition to reading experiences, the libraries provide a wide range of other activities, such as arts and crafts, films, gaming and workshops. For example, at Oodi you can dive into the world of programming at robotics workshops held by Aalto University on Monday 16 February. For more information on these events, please visit the libraries’ own Helmet website.

Crafting face masks at the museum  

During the holiday break week from Monday to Friday, Helsinki City Museum visitors can craft their own face mask inspired by characters from Helsinki between 12.00–15.00. Children’s Town will also be open for play throughout the break week. The museum will be open between 11.00–19.00 on weekdays and 11.00–17.00 on Saturday and Sunday. Free entry.

Winter Bash for the whole family and free-of-charge swimming schools  

The City will also provide a variety of exercise activities during the winter break. A children’s exercise event at Töölö Sports Hall from Monday to Friday 16–18 February between 11.00–14.00 invites primary school pupils and their families to come and try out different sports, such as artistic gymnastics, circus and ball games. You can attend the event for the Sports Hall entrance fee (children €2.10 and adults €3.60).

Free of charge for the whole family, the Helsinki Winter Bash will be held in the Paloheinä outdoor recreation area on Thursday 19 February between 15.30–18.30. The event will feature a concert by the children’s music group Puistopartio. There will also be a variety of work machinery and vehicles on site, from a snow groomer to an ATV, a Zamboni and a mobile library, and as in previous years, the event will feature a wide range of winter activities. Free swimming schools will be held for ages 12–16-and 16–22 by the Vimma and Puhti sports services. Additionally, Itäkeskus Swimming Hall will hold a swimming event onTuesday 17 February between 9.00–14.00, featuring non-stop swimming lessons and other fun things to do. You can attend the event for the swimming hall entrance fee (adults €6, children €3.30, children under 7 free of charge).

Playgrounds offer indoor and outdoor play

During the school winter holiday, playgrounds in Helsinki offer a wide range of free guided indoor and outdoor activities for children of all ages and their families. The activities can be joined in without pre-booking. You can find the activities offered by each playground on the playgrounds’ own web pages.

You can heat up your own food and make your own coffee and tea in the playground kitchens.

During the winter holiday week, playgrounds are open from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 16.00. You can also come and play outdoors in the playground outside the opening hours.

Playgrounds that will be open during the 2026 winter holiday: Brahe, Ida, Intia, Kankarepuisto, Kipinäpuisto, Kotinummi, Kurranummi, Lohikäärmepuisto, Loru, Maasälpä, Mustakivi, Mäkitorppa, Orava, Rudolf, Ruoholahti, Rusthollari, Sanna, Strömberg, Trumpetti, Tuorinniemi, Ulvila, Viikkari ja Viiri.