Shopping During the Holidays 2012/13

NK, photo by Jeppe Wikström, Stockholms Visitors Board

(EDIT: click here for information for 2013-14!) I just posted a list for which days major museums close during the holidays. Another popular activity during this period is shopping! Stores, of course, do close on certain days during the holidays. A good rule of thumb for Christmas is that stores tend to be open on the 24th, closing early, and closed on the 25th. Basically the same applies for New Years... closing early on the 31st and closed on the 1st. They all generally have extended opening hours in the mad rush up until Christmas. Smaller shops can be closed on the 24th and 31st as well. Here are the opening hours for the major shopping centers and department stores in Stockholm:

• NK Department Store: 10am to 2pm on Dec 24th, closed on Dec 25th, 10am to 5pm on Dec 31st and closed on Jan 1st.
• Åhlens Department Store: 10am to 2pm on Dec 24th, closed on Dec 25th, 10am to 6pm on Dec 31st and closed on Jan 1st.
• Mood Shopping Center: 10am to 2pm on Dec 24th, closed on Dec 25th, 10am to 5pm on Dec 31st and closed on Jan 1st. 
• Gallerian Shopping Center: 10am to 2pm on Dec 24th, closed on Dec 25th, 11am to 5pm on Dec 31st and closed on Jan 1st. 
• Sturegallerian Shopping Center: 10am to 2pm on Dec 24th, closed on Dec 25th, 10am to 2pm on Dec 31st and closed on Jan 1st.

Liquor stores, called Systembolaget, are all closed on the 23rd through 26th of December. They are also closed on the 30th and close at 2pm on the 31st of December. So you better plan your beer, wine, champagne & liquor purchases accordingly!

Photo by Henrik Trygg, Stockholms Visitors Board

The week between Christmas and New Years (called mellandagarna, literally "the middle days") is the biggest shopping week of the year in Sweden with some incredible sales. Just keep your eyes open for signs saying REA ("sale") or MELLANDAGSREA ("middle day sale"). If you are staying at the Rival Hotel and need information on the opening hours for specific smaller shops, drop me a line or stop by and talk to me. If you are wondering about restaurant opening hours... those are way too varied to write a list here on my blog, but you can check an earlier blog entry about restaurants to get a general idea of what to expect!