Tips for giving gifts to neighbours in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Giving gifts to neighbours is one of the most popular mechanics for fans of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, especially for characters to give us their photos so that we can keep them as a keepsake even if the neighbour leaves the island. Here’s an updated look at how this system works today.

Firstly, we should note that the friendship system from gifts in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still based on a number of points. Each character starts with 25 points when they arrive on your island, and that number can increase or decrease depending on what you gift them:

  • Furniture: 3 points
  • Favourite clothing style: 2 points
  • Trash: -2 points
  • Umbrella: 2 points (except for frogs, which only get 1 point)
  • Flowers, fish and insects: 2 points
  • Tools and music: 2 points
  • Wrapped gift: 1 point plus

The following should also be taken into account:

  • It is recommended to give expensive items to neighbours if you want to raise their friendship fast, such as furniture worth more than 10,000 berries.
  • Fossils identified by Socrates are also useful.
  • Wrapping these gifts gives an extra point.
  • You cannot give gifts to villagers until you have raised their friendship level (by talking to them for two or three days).
  • We can only give them gifts once a day.