Building Snowboys
Staying inside and avoiding the freezing weather sounds good in theory, but it may get a little lonely. Thankfully, in Animal Crossing, you can find snowballs on the floor and kick them around until they're big enough to roll and turn into a Snowboy who will talk to you until he melts away. Snowballs can be found in the open areas of the map and start appearing around mid-December (for the Northern hemisphere). To make a perfect Snowboy, the bigger snowball should be the height of your characters eyes, and the other snowball just slightly smaller. Get it right and your Snowboy will give you a large snowflake that you can use in for DIY recipes! Speaking of...
DIY Recipes
Paired with the large snowflakes kindly gifted by your new Snowboy friend, you can take your trusty net outdoors and catch smaller snowflakes fluttering around your island to craft seasonal DIY recipes. If you want to customise your island to get you in the festive mood, this is the perfect way to do it. This collection of furniture is great to immerse yourself in a snowy, virtual wonderland - and, if you're like me, then you also crave the satisfaction of having every single DIY recipe and crafting it at least once. You can also make the cutest DIY items from the ornament and Toy Day recipes!
Brewster's Cafe
If you've been playing New Horizons since its release, then I'm sure you remember the dread the community felt everyday, longing to find out if everyone's beloved pigeon would be added to the game. At last, after over a year of waiting, Brewster and his cafe was added to the 2.0 update in November of 2021. Make the most of it. Cosy up in The Roost and embrace the warm atmosphere and famous blends of coffee. Yes, none of it is real, but I do not care. This is objectively the best way to wind down, relax and fully appreciate the escape from the cold outdoors.
Toy Day
Is Christmas in Animal Crossing better than Christmas in real life? Maybe... Toy Day is celebrated between 05:00am on December 24th to 05:00am on December 25th in the Animal Crossing universe. And, I'm sorry to all of you time travellers, but you can not cheat and change the time to play this event whenever you want. I think it's better this way though, and makes the event much more special. To prepare for Toy Day, collect ornaments by shaking spruce trees on the upper level of your New Horizons island, buy as many toys as islanders you have from Nook's Cranny, and purchase your stunning new Santa outfit from the Able Sisters. Come Christmas Day, to kickstart the event, find Jingle the Reindeer! Afterwards, you'll receive the sweetest gifts and be able to deliver the presents you have wrapped for each of your lovely villagers (unless you have an ugly one you did not buy a toy for...).
New Year's Eve
One last event for December is the New Year's Eve event on the last day of the year (obviously). Decorations can be gathered from 05:00am on December 31st, with the party officially starting at 11:00pm. So, if you don't have plans to ring in the New Year with your family or friends, do it with your villagers instead! They're arguably less annoying. Speak to Isabelle to receive your light stick, and Tom Nook to receive your stack of party poppers or get a unique New Year's hat. Your villagers will join you in the evening to celebrate the countdown into the New Year.
