Christmas in Iceland is a lovely time. Everyone is merry and there are lots of fun events happening. I purposefully decided not to include activities that not specific to Christmas on this list. You won’t hear me say, hunt for Northern Lights, go on a Glacier Walk, ride an Icelandic horse and so on  during this episode. While those activities are awesome, they can be experienced when it is not Christmas in Iceland.  Because the Christmas season in Iceland lasts for about a month, you will have lots of time to tick off some of the activities on  this list.

1. Try Icelandic Christmas Beer (jólabjór)

I am a big fan of tasty beers and Iceland has a thriving craft beer culture. In fact, one of my favorite episodes of this podcast is my interview about Iceland’s complicated and fascinating beer history with Óli the brewmaster at Ægisgarður brewery. Icelandic brewers start to offer their special Christmas brews around mid November. It is a glorious time and there are such tasty varieties. My two favorite are Egill’s Malt Jólabjór and Einstök´s Icelandic doppelbock. I highly recommend trying those and others while you are. I know that some Icelandic companies are exporting their beer, so you might find some Icelandic Christmas beer at a  distributor near you.

2. Laufabrauð

Next up is eating Laufabrauð, or leaf bread. Some people even call it snowflake bread. It is at type of bread that looks like a thin, flat cake. Geometric or leaf like patterns are cut into it and it is then fried quickly in fat or oil. It is only served during this time and it is yummy. Some people make it at home and many buy them from bakeries. Many of the supermarkets in Reykjavík carry them, but if you can get your hands on some fresh, homemade laufrabrauð, you are in for a treat.

3. Ice Skating in Ingólfstorg

Ice skating, in general, is an activity that you can do in Iceland at any time of the year at the Laugadalur sports center. However, ice skating outside in