Animal Crossing New Horizons: How To Get Floating Gifts

Animal Crossing: New Horizons rewards the player for regularly playing the game. Instead of handing them out in a bland way or in a static menu, the game has floating gifts. These are in the form of floating balloons.

Thus, players must keep an eye on the sky for these presents. These balloons can be evasive as gifts are lost forever if they are dropped in lakes, ponds, or the sea. A slingshot should be crafted to pop these in the air and receive a gift box.

Slingshots can be purchased from Timmy in Resident Services for 900 bells. Players can also purchase a recipe from Timmy to craft the slingshot for 300 bells. It requires five hardwood so players will need to collect this rare resource by cutting down trees.

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Floating gifts and how to get them in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Balloons have a random set of rewards for players in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These are color-coded to give a general sense of what resources they will get.

Blue balloons possess crafting materials (clay, iron nuggets, and others) and yellow ones grant Bells. On the other hand, red and green give DIY recipes and clothing items, respectively.

Slingshot recipe. (Image via Nintendo)

Once players have their slingshot crafted and equipped, they are ready to hunt for floating gifts. Players must follow the steps below:

• Keep an eye out on the horizon for the Balloon. They can also be located by sound. They emit a sound of wind blowing to let their presence known. The sound increases when the player gets closer.
• Players will notice a shadow on the ground when they get closer to the Balloon’s general location.
• As soon as the Balloon appears, players must ready the Slingshot and try to get under the Balloon’s flight path. This is because the Slingshot fires in the north direction thus, getting under will increase the chances of popping the Balloon quickly.
• Once positioned, players must hold the A button to aim the slingshot. Players can then release the button to shoot when the Balloon is directly overhead. Players are then free to claim the gift box that falls on the ground.

Shoot the balloon when it is in the north. (Image via Nintendo)

Balloons have a general pattern of floating. If players spot the first one floating to the east, they can be assured that for 12 hours it will follow the same direction. The spawn direction changes after sundown. Thus, players can take note of the direction and keep an eye out or listen to the whistling sound of the wind.

Even if they miss hitting the balloon the first time, they can be sure that it will float in the same direction on its next appearance.

The gift is all yours after popping the balloon. (Image via Nintendo)

To locate the balloons, players can either start heading east on the island or to the west. Many players second this observation and often stroll at the beach in anticipation.

In many cases, they did manage to locate the balloon. It's important to note that players need to make sure that the gift doesn't drop in the water or it will be lost forever.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is updated on a seasonal basis to rejuvenate the player experience. This is also reflected in the case of seasonal balloons that spawn during any ongoing event in the game.

There is always some activity for players to perform and rewards to collect. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a social simulation game that can be played leisurely, and players can do it on their terms.

Animal Crossing: New Horizon continues to bring fans together to exchange ideas to decorate the island with their creativity and personal preferences.