An eventful Christmas – Program ideas for the holidays

Budapest Roller Disco X Turbina (all white edition) – December 15. – Bekiarisz Efi 

Budapest Roller Disco is the perfect place for those in love with retro skating and disco. You can only attend this event on skates, however don’t feel intimidated by that, since the organizers are helping the beginners with preparation time and practicing together. The heart and soul of their event in December is the color white, which won’t only be recognizable through the decorations, but also through the outfits and makeup of the participants. All people interested are encouraged to not be shy, but to be creative with their outfits and to make the best out of the dress code. The tickets for the party only cost 3 500 Ft, but if you would like to attend workshops, they cost an additional of 3 500 Ft. Besides, you will have the chance to rent a skate for yourself. Further details can be found on this link.

Christmas postcard artistry workshop at Három Nyulak – December 17. – Bekiarisz Efi

The coffee shop Három Nyulak at Törökbálint offers you the chance to participate in a christmas postcard painting workshop, through the collaboration with Pingalló handicraft webshop. A christmas postcard can be the perfect gift, and the fact that it is even handmade, is only the cherry on top. The organizers of this event truly believe that through their event held on 17th of December the holiday spirit can be brought about greatly, and that here everybody will have the chance to slow down and to have a moment of childhood nostalgia. To participate, you don’t need any prior qualifications, since all the painting techniques used to create the watercolor picture will be demonstrated beforehand and practiced. Thanks to the coffee shop, painting can truly be a social, relaxing activity, because during the creating process they offer coffee and light background music. This program costs 13 500 Ft, which price includes all utensils you will need for the painting process. Besides, if you apply with your friends or acquaintances for this workshop, you can get a discount of 1 000 Ft/person. Further details can be found on this link.

Vintage Fashion Market – Varga Tamás 

The Vintage Fashion Market moves to Klauzál tér on all Sundays before christmas, with the help of organizers, Belvárosi Gardróbvásár. The event, in the name of sustainable dressing, offers the chance for fashionable recycling. The goal of the organizers is to raise awareness about fashion items, that is why they promote second-hand clothing over non-environmental friendly, fast fashion products. Besides having a look at the bazaar, one has the chance to participate in fundraising, by offering still functional, clean clothes. The clothing swap takes place within the framework of Green Market christmas market, where they await visitors with workshops, concerts and other additional programs. Further details can be found on this link.

Stroll at a charming light-park – Bogos Katalin 

As we approach the holiday season and the weather becomes colder, light-parks can provide a magical experience, so that even the darker months can be filled with some light. In Budapest there are multiple light-art exhibitions to visit. One of these is the one at Budapest Zoo Biodóm, called Fénydóm, where visitors can have a look at artworks of national and international artists. The interactive light installations and symbolic shapes showcase the beauty of nature and the effect of human activity. In contrast to that, at Lumina Park fairytale creatures and famous movie characters come to life. Here the lights and the music create a wonderful atmosphere, while the interactive games make the visit even more amusing. Another location is the Cinema Mystica light-park, in which taking a stroll offers a great experience, since the lights, the sounds and art are mixed together. Visitors can explore the boundaries of reality and fantasy through spectacularly new installations, during which they can experience the audiovisual miracle with all their senses. Besides the inner city location, it is worth mentioning the light-park built in the garden of the royal castle of Gödöllő. The magical place filled with lights was created with more than a thousand lights and breathtaking light sculptures. 

Gliding on ice – Varga Tamás

As the cold weather is coming so early and staying longer, ice skating, which is traditionally only a christmas activity, became a leisure activity available all winter long. Besides the most well known ice skating rinks of the capital, there are many inside and outside locations available in every district, and on top of that, these even await us with a wide range of programs. The Buda Ice Rink and Jégkert can be found at Széna square in the second district, here along with offering skating and ice hockey lessons, they offer the chance to try out curling, after that one has the option for eating and drinking at Jégkert. The Csepeli Jégpark at Budapest is a uniquely built ice skating rink corridor. The location at Rákóczi Ferenc street is actually a 800 square meter-sized ice island that is connected by two little rinks that can be beneficial for those just learning how to skate. A less known destination can be found at Újszász street, called Mátyásföld Ice Rink, which operates since 2021 and besides offering ice skating possibilities they organize an ice disco every Saturday. Bókay-garden ice skating rink in the eighteenth district with the name of Advent 24 awaits us  on December 15. and 22. with stage performances, between 6 PM and 8 PM with musical ice skating and also candle lighting ceremony. At this location delicacies, warm drinks and handmade christmas items will be sold too. 

The Nutcracker on ice – December 28. – Bekiarisz Efi

Nutcracker on Ice is back again at Vasas Jégcentrum. Most people think about the fairytale of the nutcracker, when they need to name some Christmas shows and performances. It’s not a surprise, since this story is one of the originals for hundreds of years and all adaptations bring success every christmas. It owes its popularity to its ability to mix in a dazzling way all the things christmas; the wait, the process of preparing, the ideal vibe, the gifts under the tree, pretty dresses, decorated homes and of course the fairytale like magic, which are all very important key elements of this story. This production is the perfect combination of ice theater and the story of the Nutcracker. It is available to watch multiple times this year from December 28. and the price of the tickets vary from 7 990 – 19 900 Ft.

Further details can be found on this link.

Written by: Katalin Bogos, cover photo: Canva 

Source: KGO