In depth · Christmas & New Year
Christmas in Reykjavík: the Yule Lads, the Oslo tree and the markets
In December, with only a few hours of daylight, Reykjavík lights itself up: twenty kilometres of lights, the Oslo tree on Austurvöllur and the creatures of Icelandic folklore all over town. Every event below comes from Visit Reykjavík, the city’s official tourism site; we add the 2026 dates as organisers publish them. By the ULTIMATE Reykjavík Editorial Team.
Updated October 2026
The Yule Lads and the Christmas Cat
Iceland’s Christmas has its own folklore: 13 mischievous Yule Lads visit children on the 13 nights before Christmas, leaving small gifts in shoes on the windowsill for the good and, Visit Reykjavík records, a potato for the rest. The Christmas Cat, a huge creature every Icelander knows, prowls for anyone without new clothes. From 1 December the Christmas creatures appear at the Hafnarhús, at City Hall and around the city.
The Christmas city
About twenty kilometres of Christmas lights are strung through the city, and the lighting of the Oslo tree on Austurvöllur, first lit more than half a century ago and now cut in the Norwegian grove of Heiðmörk, Visit Reykjavík records, marks the start of the Christmas city. City Hall turns one of its halls into a small Christmas forest, Laugardalur becomes a Christmas Valley of lights, and the Árbær Open Air Museum keeps its Advent programme. From 15 December many shops stay open until 22:00.
Hafnarhús The Árbær Open Air Museum
The Christmas markets
The Christmas Village in Hafnarfjörður, a short drive from the centre, fills the town square with wooden huts on December weekends: Icelandic design and crafts, hot chocolate and mulled wine, music, and visits from the Yule Lads. On Austurvöllur, the market sells handmade crafts, jewellery and treats such as smoked lamb. In Heiðmörk, the Reykjavík Forestry Association holds its market at Elliðavatnsbær every Advent weekend from 12:00 to 17:00, with a campfire, writers reading at 13:00 and children’s authors at 14:00, and Icelandic Christmas trees for sale.
Baking, books and the bells
The season begins with piparkökur, ginger biscuits, and laufabrauð, the “leaf bread” rolled paper-thin, carved into lace patterns and fried crisp, often made by the whole family around one table. On Christmas Eve Icelanders exchange books and read them by candlelight: the Christmas Book Flood, jólabókaflóð. The church bells ring in Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve ends in fireworks over the city.
Our advice
Dress for the weather and plan around the short days. Book restaurants early for the Christmas buffets (jólahlaðborð) and New Year’s Eve, and check opening hours: many museums and shops change their hours over the holidays. Our advice: walk the lit streets from Austurvöllur up Skólavörðustígur to Hallgrímskirkja after dark, then warm up in a geothermal pool.
Questions and answers
When do the Yule Lads come?
One each night on the 13 nights before Christmas, Visit Reykjavík says.
Where are the Christmas markets in Reykjavík?
On Austurvöllur, at the Christmas Village in Hafnarfjörður on December weekends, and at Elliðavatnsbær in Heiðmörk every Advent weekend.
Source: visitreykjavik.is (Christmas in Reykjavík, December in Reykjavík, the Christmas markets and the Heiðmörk market pages, read 28 October 2026). Dates change each year: check before you go.