Pienten Helsinki

Renewed Little Helsinki is here! Faster, clearer and more sustainable

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0300

Little Helsinki has found a wonderful new home! We’ve left our old WordPress site behind and moved entirely to a new platform. Of course, all the familiar content and tips have been packed along with us. While we’re still polishing the site here and there, you’ll definitely notice right away that the new site runs considerably faster than the old one.

Smoother reading experience and a more stable future

We wanted to make the site not only faster, but also easier to read. From now on, for example, browsing through long articles will be easier thanks to the new table of contents. At the same time, we’ve made the site more affordable to maintain than before. This way we can ensure that Little Helsinki continues to serve you. Our partners also now have clearer and better-functioning advertising spaces available.

Merry Christmas!

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 08:47:15 +0200

It's time to give thanks for this year and wish all our little friends a wonderful and peaceful Christmas season!

Behind the link below you'll find Little Helsinki's Christmas gift for all of you: with a printable gift card you can promise your little ones, friends, relatives, neighbors, or anyone special new exciting adventures for next year! This intangible gift creates memories and promises quality time together, and what could be better than that. A visit to a new playground, a forest adventure together, spotting fun sculptures with friends, or a museum trip with the whole family are the best and most unforgettable Christmas gifts!

Helsinki in Children's Books

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 21:00:00 +0200

Several children's books about Helsinki have been published with beautiful illustrations. Pienten Helsinki compiles a directory of Helsinki-themed children's books and welcomes suggestions for other children's books that feature Helsinki and Helsinki's children's culture.

Some of the works in this list are already out of print, but they're worth asking for at libraries and used bookstores.

Helsinki in Children's Books - Directory

Hilma-täti ja kuutamoseikkailu
Lehtinen N., Muhonen A. Avain. 2021.

Hooray for Helsinki!
Hämäläinen K. Savolainen S. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi. 2011.

Submit Your Event to Pienten Helsinki

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0200

Pienten Helsinki collects event information mainly independently, actively monitoring the capital region's event offerings. Event tips are carefully curated to ensure that the trusted event recommendations for families with children remain worthy of that trust. Many years of experience in curating children's events and expert knowledge from experience ensure that you can rely on Pienten Helsinki's tips. Of course, errors do happen along the way, so it's always a good idea to always check the latest event information on the event organizer's website.

Advertisement: Set Sail on a Skidit Cruise!

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 21:28:01 +0200

This article is commercial content in cooperation with Tallink Silja Oy.

Skidit cruise to Stockholm on a rare Saturday departure March 16-18, 2024!

In less than a week, we'll pack our suitcases and head to springtime Stockholm. This time, we're joining the popular Skidit cruise on a rare Saturday departure March 16-18, 2024! On this trip, children are especially well catered for and are absolute guests of honor on the ship.

Children's Own Presidential Election 2024

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 09:29:12 +0200

Little Helsinki's Children's Own Presidential Election 2024

Today, Sunday, Finland votes for a new president of the republic on the official voting day of the first round. In the presidential election, only adults can vote, but Little Helsinki decided to give children voting rights and the opportunity to have a say.

The children's own republic's play president election voting has ended and the vote counters have been working hard counting an surprisingly large number of votes. We now have the winner, the republic's new play president.

Little Helsinki Receives Helsinki Cultural Achievement 2023 Award!

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 00:05:26 +0200

Little Helsinki has been awarded the Helsinki Cultural Achievement 2023 award

I had the great honor of receiving the Helsinki Cultural Achievement 2023 award on Friday, January 5, 2023, at Oodi's Maija Hall. This was a great joy for me, for Little Helsinki, and for Helsinki's children's culture. The award was given for the first time in its history to a children's culture operator, and I find this extremely delightful. And best of all, an honorable mention was given to the world's best Skidit collective

Little Helsinki Gift Card

Sat, 02 Dec 2023 18:32:08 +0200

Little Helsinki's experience gift card is the best Christmas gift!

Behind the link below you'll find Little Helsinki's Christmas gift for everyone: with a printable gift card you can promise your little ones, friends, relatives, neighbors, or anyone fun new adventures for next year! This intangible gift creates memories and promises shared time together, so what could be better than that.

You can find the printable version of the gift card behind this link.

Pienten Helsinki as an app on your phone!

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 20:28:26 +0200

Now you can download Pienten Helsinki as an app on your phone!

Did you know that Pienten Helsinki also works as a PWA app? You can install Pienten Helsinki on your Android or iPhone by opening the page in Chrome or Safari browser and selecting "Add to Home Screen" from the share menu.

A PWA app differs from a traditional app in that you don't need to install it separately through app stores. The content is the same as in the browser, but the page loads faster and brings all the latest tips to your phone's screen one click away. For example, you can add all the "Where to go this week" tips to your phone's home screen using the instructions above through the following link:
www.pientenhelsinki.fi/category/minne-talla-viikolla

How is Pienten Helsinki's Content Created?

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 23:46:39 +0200

Updated 14.8.2022

Hi Pienten Helsinki friends!

I received a message asking why Pienten Helsinki doesn't feature all of Helsinki's children's events and what sets this website apart from other similar event sites.
I think it's worth answering this publicly and explaining Pienten Helsinki's background thinking more broadly.

Pienten Helsinki is a project that started as one mother's parental leave project and now operates as a side hobby. The website is currently funded mainly out of pocket, with some advertising revenue helping to cover hosting costs. You can read more about advertising spaces and collaboration opportunities in the site's media kit.

The reason why, for example, the "Where This Week" posts don't necessarily feature all organized events is due to four reasons.

1. I create almost every single weekly activity list by hand, nearly every Sunday, and I select very carefully which events I recommend to readers. Only events that I have sufficient background information about or that I know from my own experience are well-executed make it onto the list. Every event that ends up on the list is something I would take my own children to (ages 6 and 9).

I also want to bring new ideas to everyday life, so the list includes things like Albertin living room and playground ideas, to make it easier to come up with things to do during the week and to lower the threshold for getting out. The event listings also include events that aren't primarily children's events, but that work well with kids too. This is because I want to broaden the idea of what children's events are, and on my part, I hope to promote more child-friendly thinking (examples include Öljysäiliö 468 and the Open Doors at the Presidential Palace).

2. The second reason is Pienten Helsinki's focus on creating content for a specific target group: families with children under ten years old.

3. The third reason is that I search for all event information by hand and sometimes get tips as well. Unfortunately, it's possible that some great events might slip past me. All event tips are also very welcome!

4. The fourth reason is to exclude clearly commercial event advertising without a separate agreement. Since Pienten Helsinki operates mainly at my own expense, unfortunately I cannot offer clearly commercial operators free advertising spaces. There are exceptions of course, but this is why the site no longer features, for example, theatre roundups or shopping mall children's events. I apologize for this policy and hope you understand. It's possible to purchase various marketing and visibility campaigns on Pienten Helsinki at very competitive rates for a very well-targeted audience. You can read more about advertising spaces and collaboration opportunities in the site's media kit.

I'm also a passionate children's culture enthusiast (I would be a fan of Pikku Pappu's Orchestra even without kids) and a big supporter of community and doing things together. It was surprising to notice a few years ago how challenging it was to follow children's culture events and get information about them, so that was a big reason why Pienten Helsinki was born.

Since Pienten Helsinki is mostly volunteer work that I don't get paid for, it also doesn't have an amazing marketing budget. So thank you if you tell others about Pienten Helsinki—that's more valuable than gold!

And of course, thanks go to you thousands of page readers, which is why all of this is done week after week! 😘

Feel free to ask and share your thoughts—all kinds of feedback are welcome!

Best,
Mari / Pienten Helsinki & Pienten Suomi

Photo from the Central Library Oodi, which is dedicated of course also to the little ones at Pienten Helsinki's request ❤️

A More Child-Friendly Helsinki?

Sun, 05 Feb 2023 10:22:10 +0200

This article was first published in 2019.

Little Helsinki is full of children's events and tips for doing things with kids. Behind it, however, is also an idea and a goal of a more child-friendly Helsinki and a world where children are an important part of this city and its everyday life and celebrations. What is your child-friendly Helsinki, which operators deserve praise for being child-friendly and where is there room for improvement? Now we're looking for child-friendly actions and operators who have earned their thanks!

#onthesideofthechildren - Helsinki's early childhood education crisis deepens

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 09:30:00 +0200

Helsinki's early childhood education crisis is deepening and now extends to school-age children, as the City of Helsinki announced on 8.12.2022 that it will continue closing playgrounds and from January onwards, 39 of the city's playgrounds will be closed at least until summer 2023. Due to the playground closures, hundreds of 1st and 2nd grade children will be left without after-school club places. At the same time, Helsinki is also increasing the occupancy rate of daycare centers (100% → 105%) with the aim of admitting more children to early childhood education.

The City of Helsinki's political will must change to be child-friendly, and the best interests of children must be the primary consideration in all decisions. Only we adults can be #onthesideofthechildren, so thank you for signing the petition for more child-friendly solutions to the early childhood education crisis and for sharing this important message with Helsinki's city leadership.

Help Ukraine's Little Ones!

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 13:46:00 +0200

Hi Little Helsinki friend

I've decided to continue creating "Where This Week" stories throughout the spring, as I know they bring joy to children through time spent together. Since normalizing children's lives is now important, I want to do this and hope it will also help the cultural sector that has been facing difficulties. Creating these stories has been important for me too—I've felt empty without them.

If you want to support my work, I'm incredibly grateful for every euro donated through UNICEF for Ukraine's children. Through the Little Helsinki fundraising page, you can make even a small donation.
Thank you to those who have already donated—together we make something bigger.

Uutela Star Trail 2020

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 12:00:00 +0200

#uutelastartrail

Welcome to Uutela Star Trail!

Article published 11.12.2020, updated 19.2.2021

Would you like to see the starry sky? Would you venture out even when it's dark? Welcome to a flashlight adventure to the wonders of the starry sky!

*The signposts for the Uutela Star Trail were removed from the area at the end of January 2021, but you can still explore the Star Trail using a virtual map and guides. The link to the map and guides can be found in this article.
Have fun adventures under the starry sky!

Where to Go This Week series goes on hiatus

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:20:00 +0200

It is with mixed feelings that Pienten Helsinki announces the temporary halt of the Where to Go This Week articles, which have been published almost weekly for just over three years, due to a poor event situation and sudden cancellations. The series takes a break starting 23.11.2020. However, the goal is to compile a list of independent tips and ideas to replace the weekly article that is going on hiatus.

Pienten Helsinki's funding situation is also uncertain, so I cannot yet promise anything about the website's future. 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Best wishes to all cultural operators and to all of us!

- Mari / Pienten Helsinki
mari (a) pientenhelsinki.fi

Small Helsinki's 2019 Year Review and Child-Friendly Actions Vote

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 23:45:26 +0200

Small Helsinki's 2019 Year Review

Small Helsinki's second full year in 2019 was a real success in terms of visitor numbers and other contacts. In 2019, the website was visited well over half a million times and the six thousand follower mark was broken on Facebook and the thousand follower mark on Instagram. The year also brought an extremely interesting Families' City Trail project with Heidi, as well as other great collaborations and many rewarding meetings.

Survey: Impact of Small Helsinki

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 23:03:38 +0200

Hi, would you have a few moments to help and answer a quick survey about the impact of Small Helsinki?

The survey is answered anonymously and takes only a few minutes to complete.
If the survey doesn't work below this article, you can also find it here.

Thank you in advance 💙

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Park Hideaways News

Mon, 27 May 2019 22:24:41 +0200

There have been many inquiries about the Park Hideaways from summer 2019. Unfortunately, the hideaways did not receive city funding (with the reasoning that "the project will have minimal impact") and Little Helsinki is unable to self-fund the project this summer, so in summer 2019 Park Hideaways will unfortunately not be organized in Helsinki and Espoo.

Thank you to all the park hideaway seekers from last summer, the partners who maintained the hideaways, and especially Lotta Maija who created the visual identity of the hideaways!

Collaboration with Pienten Helsinki?

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 19:30:17 +0200

Hey! Could you help?

Pienten Helsinki has grown in a year from one mother's hobby into a website with over a hundred articles. Although I love creating and maintaining the site and the year has given me many wonderful meetings, experiences and new skills, the financial side is growing large in terms of maintenance costs and I'm actively seeking various ways to fund the site's upkeep.

Would you like to collaborate (commercially) with Pienten Helsinki, or do you have a project or work where I could be helpful? I’m happy to welcome all ideas. There are also various events and campaigns coming up where different collaboration models will play an important role.

Follow Little Helsinki!

Sat, 03 Mar 2018 12:07:05 +0200

Hey!

Did you know that Little Helsinki can also be followed on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I’m also happy to hear praise, criticism, wishes, dreams, suggestions, and tips for upcoming events or anything else on your mind, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Little Helsinki on Facebook

Little Helsinki on Instagram

Little Helsinki on Twitter

Best regards, Mari / Little Helsinki mari@pientenhelsinki.fi