Light festivals with kids: winter evenings when nobody wants an early night
In December it's pretty much dark by half past four. That's exactly when the light art switches on along Amsterdam's canals, so the little ones can come along and still make it home for bedtime.
Animal parks open up after dark as well. At Beekse Bergen you walk past dragons made of light, and Ouwehands turns into a world full of magical creatures. In Enkhuizen you join the story shepherd of Texel on a hunt through the dark Zuiderzeemuseum, tracking down a band of mischievous gnomes. Some festivals you just wander into for free, others work with time slots.
Below they're grouped by type, with the dates and prices.
Free light festivals in town: just start walking
No ticket, no time slot. At these four you jump in wherever you like and head home the moment the smallest one dozes off on your shoulder.
GLOW Eindhoven: five kilometres of light for zero euros
An artwork made from a thousand selfies on 18 Septemberplein and a LEGO light piece called BRICK: during GLOW, Eindhoven turns into one big exhibition after dark. Fabellicht by Hugo Vrijdag was even made together with school kids from the region.
From 7 to 14 November a route of about 5 kilometres winds through the centre of Eindhoven, past around 30 light artworks. This year's theme is CONNECT. In Eindhoven the works are lit from 6.30pm to 11pm, and smaller routes run in Best, Oirschot, Veldhoven, Helmond and Lieshout until 10pm.
You don't need a ticket for any of it, except the drone show at Philips Stadion (€2 per person, book ahead). Five kilometres is a long way on little legs, but you can join the route anywhere. The whole route is wheelchair accessible. If you're sensitive to epilepsy, GLOW advises against visiting.
Chances are you'll still be taking photos at artwork number three while your little one is already at number four.
Amsterdam Light Festival: canals full of light, plus a quiz on the way
Artists from the Netherlands and far beyond create light art over and along the water. Amsterdam collective Touki Delphine, for example, builds huge light and sound installations out of discarded materials, and the Spanish collective Luzinterruptus often makes art you can touch or even walk into.
The fifteenth edition runs from 26 November to 17 January, every evening from 4.30pm to 11pm. On New Year's Eve the lights go off at 9pm. Around 20 artworks line a brand new 4.5 kilometre walking route, and looking is free.
Want to make more of it? The festival app, which goes live in November, has a Kids Walk with quiz questions and a scavenger hunt with a little prize at the end. It's meant for ages 7 to 12, younger ones can join with a bit of help, and you choose whether to walk the full route or half. The walks and the cruise of about 75 minutes need a ticket.
And yes, you're secretly gonna answer the quiz questions too. Looking for more in town? Check out kids activities in Amsterdam.
Enschede Lights Up: four evenings, then it's dark again
Light projections all through the city centre, and on Walstraat you'll find four metre tall light flowers: Crystal Flowers by Austrian artist Markus Anders.
It's a short one: 10 to 13 December, between 5pm and 10pm. It's the fifth edition and it's free. The route starts at Tourist Info Enschede on Langestraat 41, which stays open late on those evenings.
I Light U in Utrecht: for when the fairy lights are back in the box
The theme is Light Behind Light Behind Light: artists show you what's hiding behind what you see. Businesses around the station even switch off their own lights so the art stands out.
Right after the holidays wrap up, Utrecht kicks off I Light U. The sixth edition runs from 8 January to 7 February, every evening from 5pm to 11pm. It's free and you don't need a ticket. Walk about 2 kilometres and you've seen all the light art, roughly an hour in total. Start wherever you like.
An hour is just about right for a toddler in the carrier. More ideas in town at kids activities in Utrecht.
Light walks at animal parks: the park you know, but after dark
These need a ticket, and at Apenheul a time slot too. On the plus side, most of them stay open well into February.
Light Nights at Ouwehands Dierenpark: magical creatures in Rhenen
When the animals go to sleep, the lights come on. Across ten themed areas you see what happens when a new ice age arrives or lava takes over the world, and discover that animals from stories really exist.
This one's already on. From 17 October to 27 February the park in Rhenen lights up on selected evenings, this year with the theme Magical Creatures. The calendar on their site shows which evenings it's open.
Fun detail: ten light objects, each several metres tall, were designed by young artists from across the Netherlands through a drawing competition. Online tickets cost €19.50 for ages 3 to 9 and €22.50 from age 10. Book at least 7 days ahead and you save €4 per person. Want to see the animals in daylight too? Check out the tickets for Ouwehands Dierenpark.
Light Safari at Beekse Bergen: with a treasure hunt through the woods
You follow a lit path through nine fantasy worlds with more than 5,000 light figures, from mighty dragons to a gnome forest.
From 26 November to 28 February, Light Safari is open Thursday to Sunday from 5pm to 9.30pm. Entry closes at 8.30pm. From 21 December to 3 January, and during both weeks of the spring break, it's open every day.
There's a treasure hunt through the woods for junior explorers. Under 3 goes free. Online prices start at €17 for ages 3 to 11 and €19 from age 12; at the gate it's €22.50 and €24.50. Grab a presale ticket before 15 November and you save up to €5.50 per ticket.
You think you're good at finding stuff. Then your tiny explorer spots the next clue before you do.
Winterheul at Apenheul: back in the dark woods
After a year's break, the evening event is back. This time the nature of the Veluwe takes centre stage. By then the monkeys are fast asleep, but the Apenheul woods stay wide awake. Light projections of twelve animals that live on the Veluwe pop up in the dark, from the red deer to the stoat. Who spots the wolf first?
In winter Apenheul opens in the evening too: 11 to 13 December, and 18 December to 3 January. You book a half hour time slot, starting from 4.30pm. The last slot is 8pm to 8.30pm and the lights go out around 10.30pm.
Until 30 November you get the early bird price: from €17.50 for ages 3 to 12 and from €18.50 from age 13. Under 3 is free, but you still need a (free) ticket. The paths are wide and paved, though hilly in places.
Castles and museums lit up: an evening between old walls
These four you book in advance, and most only open around the Christmas holidays.
De Lumineuze Nachten at Kasteel de Haar: a castle garden full of light
A new story every year, with video mapping on the castle walls and a symphonic soundtrack that follows you round.
From 4 December to 3 January you can walk through the lit up gardens of Kasteel de Haar in Haarzuilens after dark. The route is about 2.2 kilometres and takes 60 to 90 minutes. Halfway there's a winter terrace with snacks and drinks. Your ticket comes with a fixed time slot.
Adults pay €24.50, ages 4 and up €19.50, and 3 and under go free. Parking is €12 if you buy it in advance and €13 on the spot. Most paths are gravel, and the castle says the gardens are suitable for wheelchairs.
Enjoying it even more than your preschooler? Totally allowed.
Zuiderzeelicht in Enkhuizen: the museum after closing time
This year you help the story shepherd of Texel find his lost collection of tales. You follow the trail of the mischievous sommeltjes (Texel's little gnomes) and meet mermaids and witte wieven along the way. That voice you hear? It belongs to actor Raymond Thiry.
The Zuiderzeemuseum opens in the evening for a light walk of about an hour and a half. You can go on 11 to 13 December, 16 to 23 December, 26 to 30 December and on 2 and 3 January. Start times are every fifteen minutes between 5pm and 9.30pm.
Tickets are online only, even if you have a Museumkaart. The museum recommends the walk for children aged about 6 and up. Some paths are unpaved, so wear sturdy shoes.
Feest van Licht at Museumpark Orientalis: early start welcome
Here you see how different cultures celebrate December, through stories full of wonder. According to the museum, the highlight is the biggest Christmas diorama in Europe.
From 15 December to 3 January the museum park near Nijmegen is open from 3pm to 9pm. The ticket desk closes at 8pm, and on 24, 25 and 31 December the park closes at 7pm.
Tickets are €17 for adults and €8 for ages 4 to 15. Ages 3 and under go free, and so does anyone with a Museumkaart or Museumkaart Kinderen. There's a family ticket for €40 as well.
Because it opens at three, you get to watch the lights come on. Handy if your crew has an early bedtime.
Archeon Licht Festival: legends in Alphen aan den Rijn
In one evening you travel from prehistoric times via the Romans to the Middle Ages, past life size light displays and lit up historic houses. There's a fire show along the way too.
This year's edition is called Legenden Ontwaken (Legends Awaken) and runs on selected evenings from 17 December to 30 January. You explore the grounds between 4pm and 8pm. The suggested route takes about an hour and a half and there's a treasure hunt.
Tickets are €17.50 for ages 3 to 9 and €19.50 from age 10.
Just across the border: De Grote Schijn in Antwerp
Looking for De Grote Schijn in Rotterdam's Kralingse Bos? There's no Rotterdam edition planned for now, so this year you pop across the border to Rivierenhof in Deurne, on the edge of Antwerp. Live in Zeeland or Brabant? You're there in no time.
Magic in the park, the organisers call it. You follow a glowing path through the dark, past trees that seem to whisper. Then all of a sudden, mist rolls across the path. Not a word is spoken, it's all light and sound. The route is brand new this year, with a few mysterious surprises along the way. At the end there's a little food village to warm up in.
De Grote Schijn runs from 29 October to 22 November and is closed only on Monday 16 November. You book a day and time slot online. A ticket is €19.99, or €16.99 for kids up to 12. The path can get muddy, so wear boots.
You're dodging puddles. Your little rascal is jumping in them with both boots.
Which light festival suits which age?
With a toddler, a festival without time slots is easiest, like GLOW or I Light U. You walk a bit and go home when you've had enough. At De Lumineuze Nachten and Feest van Licht kids aged 3 and under go free, at Light Safari and Winterheul it's under 3.
For school age kids there's the Amsterdam Light Festival Kids Walk, made for ages 7 to 12. The museum recommends Zuiderzeelicht from about age 6.
The Christmas holidays, 19 December to 3 January, give you the most choice: most of the festivals above are running then.