Tip of the day – What to do during Christmas in Athens with kids

• December 27, 2022

“THE CAROLS” at the Angeliki Hatzimichali Museum of Folk Art and Tradition

The Municipality of Athens, through the Organization for Culture, Sports, and Youth of the Municipality of Athens (OPANDA), presents, as part of the “Christmas in Athens” events, the exhibition “The Carols,” from December 7, 2025, to January 10, 2026, at the Angeliki Hatzimichali Museum of Folk Art and Tradition.

Christmas and New Year carols are not only passed on by word of mouth, from house to house, but also become art with threads, colors, patterns, clay, and metal. They become images that emerge from the patience, love, and inspiration of their creators.

The exhibition “The Carols” at the Angeliki Hatzimichali Museum of Folk Art and Tradition of the Municipality of Athens was born out of collective creation. The ladies from the “Aphigematika Kenetmata” group brought color and life to the carols of island and mainland Greece, as well as southern Italy, Cyprus, and Egypt. On more than forty different canvases, they embroidered with needle and thread the words we will hear on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from the voices of children who will knock on our door and ask us: Shall we sing? And depending on the region, they will sing their local variation.

Each embroidery we see in the Museum’s Christmas-themed exhibition space will transport us to the place where this variation with its distinctive melodic breath was born, the little local story that became a bearer of memory and will be heard either on the cobbled streets of an island, or in the snow-covered courtyards of the hinterland, or in the cities, in front of the light of a festive hearth that warms the family.

And the “embroidered carols” are accompanied by the inspired creations of the OPANDA Clay Center. The ceramics workshop teams created visual artworks and decorations with the four elements of nature, earth, water, air, and fire, giving the exhibition “The Carols” forms and shapes that transport you to their own festive and artistic dimension.

Thus, the works presented at the Museum are not just decorations, they are nods to a living tradition that persists and persists like a winter whisper, uniting people, groups, voices, and places.

The Angeliki Hatzimichali Museum of Folk Art and Tradition of the Municipality of Athens invites young and old alike to explore a space where craftsmanship meets the polyphony of Greek Christmas tradition, where song becomes image and image reawakens song. A celebration of collective creation and poetry, just as the spirit of Christmas invites us to do.

Exhibition curator: Stavroula Pisimisi, folklorist, director of the Angeliki Hatzimichali Museum of Folk Art and Tradition of the Municipality of Athens.

Information:
Exhibition duration: December 7, 2025 – January 10, 2026
Admission is free to the public.

“Angeliki Hatzimichali” Museum of Folk Art and Tradition of the Municipality of Athens: 6 Angeliki Hatzimichali, Plaka, tel. 210 3243987
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., closed on Mondays
*The Museum will be closed on the following public holidays: 25.12.2025, 26.12.2025, 01.01.2026, and 06.01.2026.

Christmas holidays at the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum

This Christmas we invite our little friends to 2 specially designed educational activities that will take place on Wednesday, December 24th at the Museum. We are waiting for you with a lot of imagination and creativity!

10:00 – 11:30 | “Ancient Toys at the Museum” | Educational program for children aged 9-12.

Our little friends will get to know ancient toys through a pleasant tour of the “Children’s World” at the permanent exhibition and through contact with copies of ancient toys under the guidance of the Museum’s archaeologists. Also, they will participate in an art workshop inspired by the ancient exhibits and will create their own ornament for the Christmas tree.

12:30 – 14:00 |  “Stories with Mythical Creatures” | Educational program for children aged 5 to 8.

Children will watch a puppet show with hand puppets of mythical creatures and learn their stories. Then, they will take on the task of discovering them on the first floor of the Museum’s Vases Collection. Finally, inspired by the relevant exhibits, they will create their own ornament for the Christmas tree.

All educational activities of the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum are free for children.

All children who participate in the programs will be offered a free treat, courtesy of the Museum’s Café, and a Christmas gift, courtesy of the HNAM Store.

Online reservation is required to participate in the programs: https://ds.namuseumlive.gr/el/hmerologio-drasthriothtwn/ 

Christmas at the Museum of Cycladic Art!

Patari Project, who will present the performance ‘Heracles, the Labors, the lion skin & the boat…’ (for kids 6+ years 0ld) on Sunday 14 December 2025, 12.00 – 13.00.

The great ‘Storyteller’ Giorgos Evgenikos will narrate tales about ‘the island goblins and their mischiefs’ (for kids 4+ years  old) on Sunday  21 December 2025, 12.00 – 13.00.

AFOU Group will present, in the form of a puppet show, the magical “A Christmas Carol”  (for kids 4+ years old) by Charles Dickens on  Sunday 28 December 2025, 12.00 – 14.00.

Check all  the programs of the museum depending on the age of your kid and book your tickets! 

Escape Center: Mini planetarium and more festive  activities

We welcome the festive season at Escape Center in Ilion (Shopping Center, 67 Demokratias Avenue) with free activities for children! We start with a mini planetarium on December 13 & 14, 11:00-15:00, and continue at our festive house on 20 & 21/12/2025 and 24/12/2025, 11:00-15:00, as well as 27-31/12/2025, 11:00-15:00, with elf performances, face painting, a magician, jugglers, crafts, letters to Santa Claus, photos with Santa Claus, mascots, stilt walkers, and giant bubbles! We look forward to seeing you there!