Christmas is nearly here, and where better to cultivate your festive feelings than in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? There are plenty of ways to transform your island from autumnal haven into a festive treat, whether you're starting from scratch or putting a wintery spin on your favourite locations, so here are a few ideas to help it feel like it could be Christmas every day for Tom Nook and friends.
Search for ornaments
The first step to pulling off any Christmas theme is decorations, and when the festive season comes to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the first thing you'll want to do is find some ornaments. These special crafting materials are only around for a short time, so whenever you see a Cedar tree decked out in fairy lights, give it a shake and collect the red, blue, and gold ornaments that drop to the ground.
Collect some festive DIY recipes
Once you've collected your ornaments, you'll need some inspirational DIY recipes to start bringing your grotto to life. You can find these in all the familiar places - gifted from villagers, washed up in bottles on the beach, or floating by in balloons. Play throughout the festive period to collect as many as you can, and grab a headstart by collecting the Ornament Wreath recipe from Isabelle.
Get building!
There's more than a dozen DIY recipes to collect, so once you've found them all (and collected all the ornaments you'll need), it's time to get crafting! No Christmas scene is complete without a tree, so why not start with a Big Festive Tree, or if you're building an indoor scene, grab a tabletop festive tree instead.
Find Jingloid
36 gyroids have made their way to Animal Crossing: New Horizons recently, but if you're looking to capture the Christmas spirit, you'll want to hope you dig up Jingloid. The tambourine-themed new arrival makes a noise that sounds just like Sleigh Bells whenever it jingles away to itself, instantly transforming any location into a festive hideaway as soon as you put some music on.
Make your Christmas playlist
Of course, to get the most out of Jingloid, you'll need to make sure you've got the Christmas tunes pumping too. KK Slider doesn't have a dedicated festive offering in New Horizons, but his impressive back catalogue is filled with alternatives; K.K. Steppe, Forest Life, and K.K. Aria are some great places to start, but experiment until you find your perfect vibe.
Spit and polish!
If you're literally all about the aesthetic, then you can add an extra touch of festive cheer to any item, just by polishing. Once you've completed three vacation homes in Happy Home Paradise, Wardell will teach you how to polish your furniture to give each item a glittery festive sparkle. Complete some more houses and new polish effects like Steamshine and BrrBrr can help make your items look like they've just come in out of the cold, or lend your island an extra frosty feel.
Cuddle up
Nothing's more Christmassy than a roaring fire, so set yourself up a fireplace and cuddle up warm with something hot from Brewster. Add to the vibe with a simple Set of Stockings, which you can grab from Nook's Cranny throughout December for 2,000 bells.
Experiment with the pattern editor
Can't find exactly what you're looking for? Make it yourself! The pattern editor is perfect, whether you're making something as simple as a specific decoration or as big as an ice rink for your villagers to play on. If you think you're lacking the artistic skill to make your own designs, why not see what the community has made? Browse forums or even dedicated sites to find beautiful designs.
Host a Christmas market
If you've pieced together quite the item collection over the past year, this Christmas season could be the time to make the most of it. Put the Nook Twins and the Able Sisters to shame by building your very own market, stocked with all your favourite festive items. Don't want to build the whole thing? Use the pattern editor to make some market stall-themed backdrops.
Dress to impress
Once you've got your island looking perfect, it's time to dress the part. That could mean gearing up in your favourite warm woolen wear, or making a special trip to the Able Sisters for their Reindeer gear or the fabulous festive dress. And if you want to really make your villagers' Christmas, keep your eyes peeled for the Santa outfit - complete with beard - if you want to channel St Nicholas himself.
Animal Crossing's "obscure references" were all "localized out completely" before its debut in the West, as Nintendo felt it needed to "change everything"
After unsuccessfully attempting to launch a Monster Hunter clone, this controversial dev is now supposedly releasing an Animal Crossing-like game on PS5
