Get into the Christmas spirit with us

Christmas time is approaching and the Royal Djurgården is transformed into a cozy and atmospheric Christmas deram. We have collected the best tips to get into the Christmas spirit and brighten up the cold and dark winter.

Photo: Skansen

Inaugurate Christmas

Christmas gets off to a flying start on November 13-14 when Rosendal’s Garden invites you to cozy Christmas evenings to inaugurate the season with food, music and mingling! The greenhouses are decorated for winter, lanterns and light installations illuminate the garden and the Christmas tree stands and attracts both children and adults! The Nordic Museum also celebrates Christmas properly with an opening on 1 December. There will be music, Christmas crafts and the big lighting of this year’s tree.

Christmas decorations

In November, the island’s shops begin to be filled with Christmas decorations. Both the Skansen boutique and the Nordiska Museum shop always offer a range of traditional decorations as well as modern ones. Perfect for those who want to decorate their home with Christmas crafts. Starting from Rosendal’s Garden’s Christmas evenings, you can find a lot of beautiful decorations there. Their plant shed has everything from Christmas flowers to Christmas baubles and garlands.

The flavors of Christmas

That the island is filled with heavenly Christmas tables is a given, but the question is where to start? Plenty of restaurants on Djurgården have iconic and classic Christmas tables that you can’t miss, but also some innovative and unique ones. No matter what you want, it’s here, but be sure to secure your spot in advance, because if there’s one thing Christmas tables are more than tasty, it’s that they’re extremely popular! Read more about Christmas tables here.

During Christmas time, it is also important to have daily fika intake. Lots of our cafes and bakeries all serve Christmas classics as well as new exciting fika options. Gingerbread cookies from Rosendals Garden’s wood-fired bakery are one of our tasty must-haves. But it is also here on Djurgården that you will find the best saffronbuns and the warmest mulled wine.

Christmas markets

One of the best things about the Christmas season is all the fantastic Christmas markets that you can visit. One of Stockholm’s absolute best and most classic markets can be found at Skansen. With a feel from the turn of the century, you can enjoy crafts, mulled wine, dancing and much more. Skansen’s Christmas market is every Advent weekend, but on the first Advent weekend you can explore lots of other magical markets as well:

Try international Christmas traditions and flavors at the Maritime History Museum’s incredibly popular Baltic Christmas market! On November 30, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be represented with food, crafts and activities.

From November 30 to December 1, you can also find crafts and explore a Viking-era Christmas market at The Viking Museum. If you are looking for soft presents, you will probably find several at the Friends of Handiraft school which invites you to a Christmas market and open house on November 30.

Crafts and workshops

There is nothing more rewarding than being able to create with your own hands. At Djurgården there are lots of courses and other fun where you can create fantastic Christmas presents and decorations. At Prins Eugen’s Waldemarsudde, there were workshops in tying your own Christmas wreaths together in November, but also a lecture about Christmas flowers on December 11.

What better activity than some christmas baking? Rosendal’s Garden has their very own gingerbread dough and it’s popular for a reason. It is available in different variants to suit everyone’s preferences. Maybe buy some baked ones that are ready to decorate! They also have other delicacies in their shop such as jam, schnapps spice and apple mulled wine and apple juice from their orchard.

In addition to the Nordic Museum’s Christmas opening, which will host a craft workshop, this year’s tree is inspired by craft – the tree is to be filled with Christmas roses that pay tribute to women in textiles and public education for 500 years. They start by celebrating the homecrafts 125 years on November 27 and then it will be Christmas knitting-after work and other activities on December 4.

Explore Swedish Christmas traditions

The Nordic Museum offers a series of exhibitions that unearth the roots of some of our oldest and most beloved traditions that belong to Christmas and wintertime. Holidays and traditions through the cultural history of Sweden and the Nordics is one of the Nordic Museum’s areas of expertise. By the way, did you know that Artur Hazelius, the Nordic Museum’s founder, himself helped create the modern Lucia celebration and the big New Year’s celebration at Skansen?

Lucia concert

On 14 and 15 December, Frida Hyvönen will visit the Great Hall at the Nordic Museum. Frida offers her own material and Christmas songs in a mix she calls ‘a slightly divine Christmas with Frida Hyvönen’. Frida Hyvönen, backed up by a group of musicians, fills the mighty Great Hall with Christmas spirit. Frida Hyvönen from Robertsfors in Västerbotten made her debut in 2005. She has released seven studio albums and won several Grammys and other awards for both lyrics and composition.