It’s time for our wildcard week, folks!  While the rest of the month was dedicated to relationships, I thought I’d focus more on our surroundings for this week’s post.  Because who doesn’t enjoy decorating their home for Christmas and getting it nice and festive in time for all your guests to arrive?  So today, I’m going to talk about games with customizable locations that would be best suited for warm and inviting get-togethers with friends and family!

• Animal Crossing – Let’s get the most obvious example over with first.  Animal Crossing is a warm and cozy life sim game where you get to customize your home and meet lots of cute animal friends.  While the news entry in the series, New Horizons, also offers the ability to customize your island, every game in the franchise provides you with a wide range of furnishings, wallpapers, and carpets with which to decorate your space to your liking.  And that includes festive decor like Christmas trees and glowing reindeer!  I think we can all agree that Animal Crossing is the ultimate in cozy!

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – While no game is going to be nearly as customizable as Animal Crossing, Tears of the Kingdom does feature the option to create your own house.  Yes, the whole thing is very basic and doesn’t offer a whole lot of freedom, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for creativity.  Why, my house offers stunning views of the nearby ocean with a raised living room and spacious rooftop patio, complete with a “window” of sorts looking out over a koi pond.  (My pond only contains one fish, but hey, it still counts!)

• Subnautica – To be honest, I don’t see anyone wanting to visit my underwater Subnautica base.  Not because it’s not beautiful.  More because it’s on a hostile alien planet inhabited by dangerous leviathans with a taste for flesh.  But if you ever happen to be in the area, why not stop by and check out my very modern and very spacious home, complete with two moonpools for storing submersible vehicles and a pair of large fish tanks, one for carnivorous creatures and another for more peaceful beasties.  You won’t soon forget an evening spent sipping hot cocoa while watching the reefbacks swim slowly by!
• Hogwarts Legacy – While not exactly a home, the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts will still provide the perfect space for the needs of anyone visiting it.  And considering the Room is magical, I’m sure we could have a gathering no one will soon forget.  With colorful jobberknolls and fwoopers swooping overhead, and owls bringing mail from loved ones, not to mention glasses full of butterbeer, we’ll certainly have a magical Christmas indeed.  Just keep an eye on your valuables.  My nifflers like shiny things.
• Five Nights at Freddy’s 6 – While we’re at it, who wouldn’t like to spend their Christmas at a private event at my own pizzeria.  Okay, I haven’t exactly played this game for myself yet, but I do know you can customize your own Freddy’s, complete with games and balloons and, best of all, an animatronic band!  Sure, it’s not your conventional family gathering, but you can’t deny it would be fun!  What’s that, you heard the animatronics are haunted?  Um, I’m sure you must be mistaken…