Man, I’ve been playing a ton of Animal Crossing: New Horizons lately. It’s my chill-out game, you know? Anyway, I got it in my head that I wanted to make my island super pretty for the cherry blossom season. And what’s the first thing I thought of? Blossom lanterns, of course! So, I set out on this little mission to get the DIY recipe and craft a bunch of them.
First off, I had to wait for the cherry blossom season, which only lasts from April 1st to April 10th in the Northern Hemisphere. Those dates are fixed, so I was marking my calendar. Once April rolled around, I started seeing those pretty pink petals floating around. That’s when the hunt began!
The recipe, as I found out, drops from those floating balloon presents. I figured, ok, I’ll just pop every balloon I see. I found online that balloons usually spawn every five minutes or so. It’s not that simple though. You can hear them coming from a distance, they make a wooshing sound. I got pretty good at spotting them after a while. I just ran up and down my beaches, scanning the sky. Daytime, I stuck to the west side, and at night, I patrolled the east. Seemed to work best for me. I spent days, in-game days that is, running around like a madman chasing balloons.
- Step 1: Wait for Cherry Blossom Season (April 1-10).
- Step 2: Hunt for balloon presents. West beach during the day, east beach at night.
- Step 3: Shoot down balloons with a slingshot, hoping for the recipe.
After a bunch of tries, I finally got the darn blossom lantern recipe! I was so happy. So I found that you need 6 cherry blossom petals and 4 pieces of hardwood for each lantern. Getting the hardwood was easy, just a bit of tree-whacking. I even planted some extra hardwood trees and waited until they turned into cherry blossom trees. It’s pretty neat how that works during the season. They changed back to normal after April 10th, though.
The petals? Well, those were a different story. I had to run around with my net, catching them as they floated by. It took some practice, but I got the hang of it. Once I had enough materials, I crafted a whole bunch of lanterns. I was running back and forth to my crafting table like crazy! But, you know what? It was all worth it.
My Island’s Transformation
I placed those lanterns all over my island. Along pathways, near my house, by the river. When night fell, they gave off this soft, pink glow. It was magical. My island looked like something out of a dream. It was exactly the vibe I was going for. All that running around and crafting, it paid off. Now, whenever I visit my island at night, I feel this sense of peace. It’s my own little cherry blossom wonderland.
