‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ New Year’s 2021 Guide — How to Prepare, Start Time, & More
Now that Toy Day has passed, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players can shift their focus to the final event of busy December: New Year’s Eve. The end-of-year celebration is pretty different from other events in the Nintendo game — it doesn’t have its own NPC or special tasks for players to complete. However, Near Year’s Eve does bring a long list of exclusive, seasonal items for players to add to their collections. Plus, it’s the one day of the year where Resident Services shuts down, giving Isabelle and Tom Nook a break for the big Countdown party. Here’s a guide to the New Year’s event in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
How to get New Year’s items in ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’
From now until Dec. 31, players can purchase a handful of New Year’s Eve items from the seasonal section of Nook Shopping. They’re all non-edible furniture food items, giving players the chance to see traditional New Year’s dishes from various cultures.
For example, there’s the Twelve-Grape Dish, which comes from the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight on Dec. 31. Meanwhile, Olivier Salad is one of Russia’s main New Year’s Eve dishes.
Here are the New Year’s Eve items available in Nook Shopping and their prices, per Animal Crossing World:
- Sparkling Cider – 1,000 Bells
- Twelve-Grape Dish – 1,200 Bells
- Berliner – 1,200 Bells
- Olivier Salad – 1,000 Bells
- New Year’s Noodles – 1,300 Bells
But wait, there’s more. From now until Jan. 5, 2022, players can also grab a selection of New Year’s Day items. Again, these are mostly traditional foods. However, there are also items like the 2022 balloon arch and the Zodiac Tiger Figurine to represent the Year of the Tiger.
Here are the New Year’s Day items available in Nook Shopping and their prices:
- 2022 Celebratory Arch – 2,022 Bells
- Yut Nori – 1,300 Bells
- Kadomatsu – 2,580 Bells
- Otoshidama Envelope – 500 Bells
- Kagamimochi – 1,800 Bells
- New Year’s Shimekazari – 2,000 Bells
- Osechi – 5,000 Bells
- Zodiac Tiger Figurine – 1,600 Bells
It’s important to note that players can only purchase five Nook Shopping items per day, so it will take a few days or some time travel to order all the New Year’s goodies.
New Year’s event date and start time
On Dec. 31 at 5 a.m. local time, Resident Services will shut down for the day. Tom Nook and Isabelle will set up a massive countdown clock outside the building, counting the minutes to midnight. Note that with Resident Services closed, players cannot access the recycling bin, the ABD, Tom Nook’s services, or Isabelle’s services.
Isabelle and Tom Nook will be handing out a light stick and party poppers for free. Additionally, players can purchase either a New Year’s Hat or a New Year’s Silk Hat from Nook, though only one hat style will be available per island. That style comes in a few different colors. Nook will also have more party poppers for sale.
What to do in ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ on New Year’s Eve
At 11 p.m. local time, the party officially begins. Animals will gather in front of Resident Services to wait for midnight. When there’s only one minute until midnight, everyone gets their light sticks, sparkling ciders, and party poppers ready. Finally, when the clock strikes midnight, the island rings in the new year together, making for a great photo op.
Players can enjoy a fireworks show from midnight until 2 a.m. Additionally, animal villagers will stick around to talk about the New Year’s celebration.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons and its Happy Home Paradise DLC are available now on Nintendo Switch.
