December Reykjavík operates on four hours of daylight and unlimited atmosphere. The city compensates for the dark with lights strung over every street, thirteen trolls arriving on schedule, steam rising from pools into freezing air, and a New Year’s Eve that resembles a cheerful citywide artillery exchange. It is the most distinctive month to visit the capital. Here is how to use it.
The December Essentials
1. The Christmas City Center
From late November, Laugavegur and the surrounding streets become one continuous light installation. The giant illuminated Yule Cat prowls Lækjartorg square (in folklore it eats anyone who got no new clothes for Christmas, which is the most Icelandic incentive scheme ever devised), an ice rink opens on Ingólfstorg, and the Christmas markets at Ingólfstorg and Hafnarfjörður’s Christmas Village run weekends through the season.
2. Meet the Yule Lads
Iceland’s thirteen Santas descend one per night from December 12: Spoon Licker, Door Slammer, Sausage Swiper, Window Peeper and colleagues, each with a criminal specialty. Children leave shoes on windowsills for nightly gifts. The National Museum hosts daily Yule Lad visits in season, and the lads’ mother Grýla, who eats naughty children, ensures behavioral compliance nationwide.
3. Northern Lights From the City’s Edge
Eighteen hours of darkness is aurora opportunity. The in town option is the Grótta lighthouse area; the better option is any tour or short drive beyond the light dome on a clear night. Check the vedur.is aurora forecast daily and keep evenings flexible.
4. Pools and Lagoons in the Snow
Bathing season peaks in December: Sky Lagoon’s infinity edge in the 3:30 pm sunset, the Blue Lagoon under early stars, or Sundhöllin’s rooftop hot tub with snow landing on your head. The contrast of 38 degree water and freezing air is the entire point of Icelandic winter.
5. Concerts and Christmas Culture
Harpa fills December with Christmas concerts from symphonic to pop, churches host choral evenings (Hallgrímskirkja’s are luminous), and museums run holiday programs. Jólabókaflóðið, the Christmas book flood, peaks now too: bookshops stay busy late because Icelanders still give books on Christmas Eve and read them that night.
6. Eat the Season
December specialties worth hunting: hangikjöt (smoked lamb), laufabrauð (paper thin decorated fried bread), jólabland (the orange soda and malt mix every Icelander defends), rice pudding with the hidden almond, and the queue at Brauð & Co somehow longer than ever. Restaurants book out for the holidays; reserve before you fly.
7. New Year’s Eve
The legend is true. The script: dinner, neighborhood bonfires (brennur) from about 8:30 pm, the entire nation pausing indoors at 10:30 to watch the Áramótaskaup TV comedy roast of the year, then at midnight tens of thousands of private fireworks launched simultaneously from every street in the city. Sales fund the volunteer search and rescue teams, so the chaos is charitable. Hallgrímskirkja’s surroundings give the classic panorama; any hilltop gives a private one.
Practicalities for December
Daylight runs roughly 11:20 am to 3:30 pm at the solstice: plan one outdoor highlight per day and lean into the long evenings. Streets ice over, so pack boot grips. December 24 to 26 sees shops and many restaurants closed or shortened (the 24th evening is the main family celebration); tours largely run throughout. Hotel prices dip beautifully in early December and spike for the festive week.
Day Trips That Shine in December
The Golden Circle in winter dress, the South Coast’s frozen waterfalls, ice caving under Mýrdalsjökull, and Sky Lagoon all run daily. See our full December in Iceland guide for the country wide picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Reykjavik worth visiting in December?
For atmosphere, it is arguably the best month: festive lights, aurora, pools in the snow, and the New Year spectacle.
How cold is Reykjavik in December?
Milder than expected: typically 28 to 37°F (minus 2 to plus 3°C), with wind chill and ice the real adversaries.
Is everything open over Christmas?
Tours mostly run; shops and restaurants close early on the 24th and reopen gradually from the 26th. Book holiday dinners well ahead.
