Animal Crossing New Horizons: November Overview

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, November brings those gorgeous fall colors everyone's been waiting for, as well as mushrooms to pick. Plus, there's lots more to see and do in November, whichever hemisphere you're playing in. Find out exactly what November has to offer in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Animal Crossing New Horizons November Overview

October might have been an exciting month in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but November isn’t exactly a quiet month either. There’s a lot to look forward to in this month. Mushrooms will start popping up all over the island, the fall colors emerge in full force, and you get to help out in the kitchen on Turkey Day. There’s even more going on as well this month, and this guide will show you everything that November has to offer in New Horizons. Plus, there’s the usual round of birthdays and creatures to find.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

For more New Horizons information and help, check out our other guides.

Events

If you think November is a quiet month in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, think again. This month is jam-packed with events, activities, and seasonal items to look out for.

Day of the Dead

Occurs: October 25th to November 3rd

Hemisphere: Both

This seasonal item carries over from October and is available until the third day of November. If you’ve watched the Disney movie Coco (or if you celebrate this holiday yourself), you probably know what Day of the Dead is. It’s a day that celebrates the dead. Marigold petals are scattered on the ground, thought to help the dead find their way back to the land of the living. That’s what the Nook Shopping item is, a Marigold Decoration, which will cost you 1,600 Bells.

Day of the Dead is celebrated at the beginning of November.

Day of the Dead is celebrated at the beginning of November.

Lantern Festival

Occurs: November 1st to 11th

Hemisphere: Both

This is another Nook Shopping seasonal item. The Lantern Festival is a European celebration where children carry lanterns and sing songs to usher in the winter. You can partake in this event by purchasing a Handheld Lantern from Nook Shopping for 1,100 Bells.

Get yourself a lantern to carry around to commemorate the Lantern Festival.

Get yourself a lantern to carry around to commemorate the Lantern Festival.

Shichi-Go-San

Occurs: November 11th to 20th

Hemisphere: Both

Shichi-Go-San – what’s that? It’s a Japanese holiday that honors children aged 3, 5 and 7 (“Shichi-Go-San” actually means “seven-five-three” in Japanese). Children these ages are given special long candy sticks called chitose ame, as well as the wish for long lives. You too can celebrate this traditional Japanese event in New Horizons thanks to Nook Shopping. You can get your very own Chitose Ame for 1,000 Bells. This is actually labelled as a tool rather than a decorative, being able to carry it around in your hand.

Celebrate the lives of young children with Shichi-Go-San.

Celebrate the lives of young children with Shichi-Go-San.

Maple Leaf Series

Occurs: November 16th to 25th

Hemisphere: North Only

This DIY recipes series is short-lived in November in New Horizons. It takes place around the same time the fall colors really blossom, exploding in colors of red and orange. It’s like the cherry blossom season in the spring; it doesn’t last long, but it is stunning and something you must experience.

The maple leaf season works just like the cherry blossom season. During this period of time, you’ll see single maple leaves dancing in the air. If you spot one, whip out your net and catch it. These leaves are then used in special seasonal DIY recipes. You’ll be needing plenty of them to fulfil those recipe requirements.

If your island is based in the southern hemisphere, you get to experience this glorious season from May 16th to the 25th.

Maple leaves can be used for seasonal DIY recipes, so catch them when you see them.

Maple leaves can be used for seasonal DIY recipes, so catch them when you see them.

Bug Off

Occurs: Third Saturday of November

Hemisphere: South Only

If you’re playing in the southern hemisphere, make note of the bug off that’s taking place on the third Saturday of November. Flick will arrive on your island to buy your bugs at higher prices than Nook’s Cranny, as well as offer challenges and unique rewards. Make sure you have your net ready! It’s too cold now for bugs in the north, so northern hemisphere players will sadly have to miss out.

Turkey Day

Occurs: Fourth Thursday of November

Hemisphere: Both

This is probably the biggest event of November in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, like Halloween in October. It only takes place on one day of the whole year, so don’t miss it! Turkey Day is the equivalent of Thanksgiving in real-life. It’s all about serving up some good food in the late fall.

Franklin the turkey is hosting the event. He will be available to talk to starting from 9am, right up until midnight. Once you speak to Franklin, you can start the event.

To start off the day's events on Turkey Day, speak to Franklin outside Resident Services.

To start off the day’s events on Turkey Day, speak to Franklin outside Resident Services.

Gathering Ingredients

Franklin will set you the task of gathering ingredients for his delicious dishes. There are 4 dishes in total for you to do. Everything you need for Franklin’s dishes can be found on your island, so you don’t have to go travelling elsewhere to locate ingredients. Franklin may ask you to get him the following: crops (carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, sugarcane, tomatoes, and wheat), fish, manila clams, mushrooms, and sea creatures.

Finding the ingredients should be pretty easy. You can grow your own crops. If you’re planning to take part in Turkey Day, it’s a good idea to grow at least one of every crop you can get. Fish you can find in the sea, rivers, and ponds. You can also go diving for sea creatures. If you need help finding a particular fish or sea creature, refer to our November bugs and fish guide, which also includes sea creatures. Manila clams are found on beaches by digging into the sand. They’re mainly used for crafting the fish bait DIY recipe. Mushrooms can be found all over the island during November (see the Mushroom Series below for more information). You should keep at least one of every type of mushroom back in case Franklin requests it.

If you’re struggling to find certain ingredients, don’t panic. Your fellow villagers will gladly help you out, but you’ll need to help them out too. They’ll exchange an ingredient in return for a favor, that you find and hand them another ingredient, such as a fish.

Once you have your ingredients, make sure to hand them into Franklin.

Once you have your ingredients, make sure to hand them into Franklin.

Completing Dishes and Rewards

Once you’ve got everything you need, go and speak to Franklin so he can start cooking. For every dish you complete, Franklin will reward your efforts with special Turkey Day items. Plus, if you give Franklin the secret ingredients for each of his dishes, you’ll get bonus rewards.

During Turkey Day, if you’re actively participating in the events, you’ll find yourself running around the island looking for ingredients, whether it’s fishing or diving into the sea, picking mushrooms and crops, digging for clams on the beach, or exchanging ingredients with the villagers. It’s a busy day, but it’s worth doing, especially as it only happens once a year.

Tree’s Bounty Series

Occurs: September 1st to December 10th

Hemisphere: North Only

This DIY series has been going on since September, and it’s continuing right through November. You can craft these seasonal recipes using pine cones and acorns that you get from shaking trees.

This decorative handmade tree is part of the Tree's Bounty series, available during fall.

This decorative handmade tree is part of the Tree’s Bounty series, available during fall.

Mushroom Series

Occurs: November 1st to 30th (All Month)

Hemisphere: North Only

November is the month of the mushrooms. During this month, mushrooms will sprout all over your island. These can be used for cooking and crafting DIY recipes. You can find special mushroom DIY recipes by popping balloons throughout November, so pop them when you spot them.

When searching for mushrooms, look near trees. There are 5 types of mushrooms to find altogether: elegant, flat, rare, round, and skinny. Rare mushrooms can only be found by digging into the ground. 5 mushrooms will appear on your island per day, but will no longer spawn anymore if there are already 30 unclaimed mushrooms. The higher your island rating, the more likely you will find the rarer and more valuable mushrooms.

There is also a Kapp’n boat tour that takes you to an island populated with mushrooms, but this is chosen at random, so you may have to take the boat several times before you get there.

There are lots of neat mushroom recipes to collect, so it’s worth tuning into New Horizons during November just to get them.

The mushroom season in the southern hemisphere takes place in May.

Forage for mushrooms throughout November for DIY and cooking recipes.

Forage for mushrooms throughout November for DIY and cooking recipes.

Birthdays

There’s nothing like celebrating a birthday with your fellow villagers. There’s a birthday every single day in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. With so many birthdays, it can be difficult to keep track of them, particularly if you have villagers coming and going. To help you out, here’s a list of all birthdays in November, including villagers and special characters.

Date Villager/Character
1st Butch, Rilla
2nd Iggly
3rd Snake
4th Lucky
5th Lobo
6th Boris
7th Bam
8th Alli
9th Pango
10th Rodney, Saharah
11th Mac
12th Mathilda
13th Queenie
14th Pancetti
15th Sly
16th Daisy
17th Mallary
18th Tia
19th Amelia
20th Sparro
21st Epona, Flip
22nd Claudia, Sable
23rd Knox
24th Shep
25th Wolfgang
26th Willow
27th Phil
28th Peaches
29th Kabuki
30th Tasha, Kicks

Bugs, Fish and Sea Creatures

Animal Crossing wouldn’t be complete without its bugs, fish and sea creatures populating the world. Every month, there’s something different to find as the seasons change. In November, there are more changes in New Horizons, whichever hemisphere you’re playing in. We have a detailed guide to bugs, fish and sea creatures of November in Animal Crossing: New Horizons already, so make sure to check that out so you don’t miss anything. Meanwhile, here’s a brief summary of what you can expect for bugs, fish and sea creatures in the north and south hemispheres.

Bugs

Let’s start with the bugs of the colder north. There are only 3 new bugs to look out for: the damselfly, mole cricket, and the tarantula. Watch out for the tarantula, as while it fetches a good price, it can pack a nasty punch. With the temperature dropping and fall progressing towards winter, lots of bugs are going away. This includes the cricket, mantis, and walking stick.

What about bugs in the south? What changes are happening due to the warmer weather? It’s a contrast to the north, with more bugs arriving than leaving. New bugs include the banded dragonfly, great purple emperor, and the scorpion. Like the tarantula, be on your guard, particularly if you have your net equipped. Scorpions and tarantulas don’t really like being captured and will be willing to fight back! Just one bug is departing from the south: the mole cricket.

Say goodbye to the cricket in the north at the end of November.

Say goodbye to the cricket in the north at the end of November.

Fish

What activity is happening with the fish? Starting in the north, there are 5 new fish in the cold fall waters, including the blue marlin and football fish. Lots of fish are going, on the other hand, such as the golden trout, mitten crab, and ray.

In the south, meanwhile, lots of new fish are descending on your island’s seas, rivers, and ponds. Expect to find betta, giant trevally, and mahi-mahi. Just 3 fish will be gone after November is over: golden trout, loach, and that very long oarfish.

The angelfish is one fish you won't be seeing in the rivers of the north after November.

The angelfish is one fish you won’t be seeing in the rivers of the north after November.

Sea Creatures

What’s lurking in the deep sea in November? The cold weather is enticing new creatures in the north, such as the snow crab and sea cucumber. The only creature leaving the sea is the gazami crab.

The deep-sea activity is a little different in the south. New creatures include the giant gigas clam and sea urchins. As with the north, just one creature will vanish once November is done with: the dungeness crab.

This crabby sea creature will soon disappear in the north.

This crabby sea creature will soon disappear in the north.

That rounds up November in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. What do you like best about this month in New Horizons? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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