Winter Solstice, Toy Day

On December 21st, I played for the Winter Solstice. It’s dark all day, but I played at night anyway, so it felt normal to me. πŸ˜›

Boots told me that if I punch through a pumpkin, I won’t catch a cold. (Also, I noticed that festive lights are now on trees.)

Boots: Winter Solstice makes me think about pumpkins. Punch through one, and you won't catch a cold!

Molly asked me to dig up her time capsule, and of course I agreed to help out. She gave me the red tie-dye tee that was inside.

Molly: Oh, right! Let me thank you with a gift. Please accept my red tie-dye tee!

Isabelle was standing at the event plaza to hand out glow wands. Thanks, Isabelle!

Isabelle: Hello, Mayor! Today is the Winter Solstice! It's so chilly today!

I also poked my big head through the face-cutout standee for the Winter Solstice.

I stopped for a photo at my park near the fountain and illuminated arch. One festive tree light was also visible here, so it looked really Christmassy and pretty!

My park in winter.

The next day (the 22nd), I spotted Bones up on Main Street! I think this is because of Cube’s departure. That meant that Bones (who moved out in 2018) is now replacing an earlier departed villager on Main Street. I’m not sure who he replaced, but it’s always good to see Bones around!

Bones: Well, if it isn't ol' Jeff!

I also finished collecting all of my Toy Day hints. When Toy Day arrived on Wednesday, I dressed up as Santa for the occasion. Jingle gave me the Santa bag so that I could help deliver gifts to my villagers.

Jingle: That Santa bag is a magical sack filled up with presents for everyone here in town!

I began making my deliveries, and my villagers enjoyed the gifts!

Hornsby: A grapefruit table! Wow wow wow! I've wanted this for so long!

Here is the full list of what my villagers wanted, and what they got:

  • Aurora: colorful wallpaper – kiddie wall
  • Boots: white lamp – minimalist lamp
  • Hornsby: orange furniture – grapefruit table
  • Inkwell: black furniture – weight bench
  • Jeremiah: colorful furniture – kiddie bureau
  • Lolly: gray lamp – mini lamp
  • Mira: aqua lamp – lava lamp
  • Molly: gray toy – mini circuit
  • Rolf: pink doll – wobbelina
Inkwell: Holy holiday hamstrings! It's a present! I'm gonna open it!

Not to call my villagers boring or anything, but one-third of my town wanted a lamp for Toy Day. πŸ‘€

When I was done, I returned to Jingle and he confirmed everything was delivered correctly. He gave me a festive wreath for helping out.

Jingle: Let's see... Yup, yup! You've indeed delivered everything perfectly, kid!
Jingle: Enjoy the rest of this wintry eve!

I played again today, and Jingle sent me his photo in the mail. This is my additional reward for successfully delivering all the presents without making any mistakes.

I sold my two Toy Day rewards for a grand total of just 330 bells! In the older games, Jingle gave players valuable Jingle furniture, so it’s disappointing that you can spend all that time and effort, and only earn 330 bells! A single foreign fruit gives you more than that!

Vladimir the bear cub was camping in an igloo today. I stopped in to say hello.

Vladimir, in an igloo: If you're camping, you gotta eat chili, right?!
But it looks like you have chowder, not chili!

I do have a bit of a soft spot for the big grump, dating back to the early days of my GameCube town. He once lived in the spot where Ursala lives now, so one pink bear cub was replaced with a pink bear. However, I did not ask him to move in here.

Happy holidays, everyone! I’ll be back with another entry in the new year! πŸŽ†

Ice Cold Gamble

On December 3rd, snow flurries fell for the first time this winter. I took this screenshot between Mira’s house and Molly’s house.

Snow flurries fall in Forest.

When I went in Molly’s house, she already told me one of her Toy Day hints: She wants something gray this year.

Molly: I've given it a lot of thought. For this year's Toy Day, I'd really like something gray.

Cube told me that he asked Jingle for a lamp this year.

Cube: Anyway, between you and me, I asked Jingle for a lamp this year.

Fang, who had just freshly moved out of my City Folk town, showed up at my campsite. But I didn’t have space for him here, of course.

Fang: Hey, how ya doin'? I thought I'd set up camp here for a little while!

The next day, Cube said he was thinking of moving out on December 10th.

Cube: Oh, cleats. Listen, I'm thinking of moving someplace else to follow my dream of catching new fish!

This is a scenario I mentioned last month. He’s been in town for 4+ years, and still hasn’t given me his photo. So I decided to let him move out, and I hoped he would send his photo with his goodbye letter. Fast forward to December 10th, which was yesterday. I went in to say goodbye to him.

Cube: Thanks for everything! I'm not going to say good-bye, 'cause I hope we'll see each other again.
Cube: I'll just say so long!

So long, buddy. I hope Jingle somehow finds you in the void and gives you that lamp you wanted.

Today, I received his goodbye letter in the mail.

For my friend…
The fact that I’m moving today puts butterflies in my stomach. Maybe they’re the reason I’m craving sweets. Before I go, here’s a picture to remember me by.

Best wishes, Cube

It’s sad to see him go, but my gamble paid off. He included his photo! His favorite quote on the back is “Sometimes you gotta learn to chill.”

Quote on Cube's pic: Sometimes you gotta learn to chill.

It’s kinda bittersweet doing it this way. He won’t ever visit to see his photo on display. But on the other hand, four years is way too long to wait for a photo. Befriending a villager should never take that long. This was my 40th villager photo earned.

In other news, snow now covers the ground in New Leaf (and other Animal Crossing games as well). I changed my brick path to the blue icy bricks already.

Snow on the ground.

I had another camper today, Sydney the koala.

Sydney: Oh, hello! Are you from this town?

For the first time in a while, I actually had a free spot open in town! So I could adopt a villager now if I choose. But in Sydney’s case, I did not choose to. πŸ˜› I have Sydney in the GameCube game, and she’s alright. But I typically only invite campers if it’s one of my favorites. But maybe another day I’ll find one I like!

I might play New Leaf for Toy Day (Christmas Eve) this year, if I get all of my hints in time. So I’ll be back with another entry in a couple weeks or so. Happy Holidays!