10 Things You Should Do On Your Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island In 2025

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game many still adore and play despite being released nearly five years ago. It has amassed a significant following within the cozy gaming community. Even those outside the cozy gaming community have found solace within the Animal Crossing: New Horizons world with its charming villagers and peaceful island life.

Whether players are just starting or have been playing for a while, there's always something fun to do. Even after completing the main storyline and watching the credits roll, players will find there's still a lot to explore, create, and enjoy. While the game is almost five years old, there are still finishing touches all players can participate in to continue enjoying island life in 2025.

10 Collect All Six Fruit Types And Grow Your Orchid

Easily Collect Different Fruits From Other Players

Starting out in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players are given a random fruit native to their island, which can't be changed unless restarting. There are six fruits: apples, oranges, pears, cherries, peaches, and coconuts. If you're a completionist or want a new challenge, the first step should be collecting all six fruit types. There are a few ways to do this.

First, you can visit mystery islands in hopes of finding a non-native fruit. Mystery islands usually have coconuts and your native fruit, and it's rare to find others. If you're not up to island-hopping, you can visit a friend's island with a fruit different from yours or have them visit your island and bring you a fruit along. They can also send it to you through snail mail. If you have no friends who play Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can usually find players willing to donate or trade fruits through Facebook groups or Discord servers.

The final way to collect fruit is through your in-game mom, who occasionally sends you snail mail with an attached random fruit. This is the longest method, with exchanging with friends being the quickest. Either way, having access to all fruit types will help you unlock recipes.

9 Complete Your Art Museum By Purchasing All Authentic Art Pieces

Pay Close Attention To Figure Out Which Art Is Genuine

Jolly Redd is an NPC in Animal Crossing: New Horizons that appears randomly on islands. He brings with him four pieces of art and two pieces of furniture. Each time he appears, he has the chance to bring new items with him, though there will also be repeats. His art isn't always genuine. More often than not, he'll bring fakes. Genuine art can be donated to Blathers' museum, while forgeries can't be.

If you want to fill up your art museum, you'll need to buy and collect the genuine art that Redd sells. To make matters more difficult, players can only purchase one artwork per visit. There's a chance for Redd to sell more than one genuine artwork per island visit, but there's also a chance that all his artwork will be fake.

There are 42 pieces of art between paintings and sculptures, so you'll need to be vigilant in visiting Redd and tracking down his genuine art. Once the art museum is finished, you can still collect more works of art - genuine or fake - to display in your home or around the island.

8 Collect Insects, Fish, And Fossils And Showcase Your Favorites

Lots Of Insects, Fish, And Fossils To Collect

Part of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is to complete Blathers' museum. This comes with collecting bugs, fish, and fossils. With 80 insects, 80 fish, and 73 fossils to find and donate, players have plenty of opportunities to explore, discover, and contribute to the museum's collection. Even once the museum is complete, players can continue collecting insects, fish, and fossils for their own personal collections, or to sell for money at Nook's Cranny.

Those who hold onto their favorite insects, fish, and fossils can showcase them around their island or in their home, creating unique displays and adding a personal touch to their island. There are endless decoration and creative opportunities here, too. Players could make their own aquarium, fossil exhibit, or insect sanctuary with the doubles and triples they'll surely pick up in an attempt to complete the museum.

7 Complete Your K.K. Slider Music Collection

Create A Relaxing Music Lounge With Your Favorite Hits

K.K. Slider has been around since the original Animal Crossing. Longtime fans know and love him. Even newcomers to the Animal Crossing world quickly grow fond of his weekly musical concerts. To unlock K.K. Slider in New Horizons, players must increase their island's popularity by helping Tom Nook with various island-improving tasks. Once unlocked, K.K. Slider visits the island every Saturday.

While several K.K. Slider hits can be purchased from Nook's Cranny, a few must be obtained from K.K. Slider himself. These include "Drivin'," "Animal City," and "Farewell." To receive these tracks from K.K. Slider, you'll need to request that he play these songs during his visit. He takes requests during his visits starting at 6 PM.

There are 110 K.K. Slider songs to collect and use on your stereo inside your home or around your island.

6 Unlock Every DIY Recipe And Become A DIY Master

Find, Learn, And Craft All DIY Recipes

Another fun part of any Animal Crossing game is the customization options. Players get to customize and decorate their islands to their own liking, often reflecting their personalities and creativity. There are plenty of ways to do this in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, including finding all those pesky DIY recipes. There are a lot of DIY recipes to find— 783, to be exact.

DIY recipes can be obtained through several instances. You can purchase DIY recipe books from Timmy and Tommy early on. Tom Nook also supplies you with a few DIY recipes as you advance through the game. Other DIY recipes are found by digging, fishing, and collecting seasonal items like eggs during Bunny Day.

The most tried and true method of getting DIY recipes, though, is through message bottles that wash up on your shores and through balloon presents. Oh, and don't forget to visit your crafting neighbors, who will share recipes of what they're working on. Seasonal and special events also come with their own set of special recipes.

Plus, if you've unlocked the campsite and have amiibo cards, you can summon villagers who will ask for a souvenir from your town. They'll often give you a recipe card for the souvenir they want.

5 Finish The Furniture And Clothing Catalogs

Make A Character And Island Uniquely Yours

Decorating in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is how you'll make your island truly your own. Not to mention, it's how you'll improve those island ratings. You can purchase furniture from the Nooks, find some in balloons, or craft them using resources. There are different themes, colors, and functions of each furniture piece. Some are just pure decoration, while others, like wardrobes, lighting, and stereos, can serve a purpose. As you expand your home, you'll want more furniture to fill the empty spaces.

Then there's the fashion side of things. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has plenty of clothing options sold by the Able Sisters. Kicks, who randomly visits your island, will also sell shoes, socks, and bags. With plenty of style and theme options, you can truly make your character and island a good representation of who you are.

Even if decorating or dressing up isn't your cup of tea, you can take the completionist road and aim to complete the furniture and clothing catalogs anyway.

4 Finish Every Nook Miles Achievements

Get Rewarded Nook Miles For Doing Tasks

Nook Miles is a reward system in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. At first, Nook Miles is the currency used to pay off initial move-in fees. However, once 5,000 Nook Miles are given to Tom Nook, players can keep additional Nook Miles and exchange them for various items and recipes from Nook's Cranny. Nook Miles are obtained through the Nook Miles App in the NookPhone after completing certain tasks.

Tasks include catching fish, bugs, and sea creatures, buying and selling items, and more everyday tasks. While there are daily Nook Miles tasks to complete, even more are achievement-based and reward players for reaching milestones. They'll surely keep players busy throughout 2025.

3 Participate In All Seasonal And Special Events

Celebrate Seasonal And Special Events With Your Friends

Animal Crossing: New Horizons rewards players committed to playing the game regularly, as there are always fun and new activities to enjoy throughout the year. These events often come with special prizes that can't be obtained through other means. For example, players can find eggs around their island on Bunny Day, which can be used to craft unique DIY recipes. Players who catch May Day in the game will receive a special May Day ticket to travel to an island where they can meet Rover.

Here are the special events you can find in Animal Crossing: New Horizons:

These events bring exciting new activities, rewards, and a chance to hang out and celebrate with friends in-game.

2 Build Extra Homes And Create Community Spaces

Turn Extra Homes Into Fun And Unique Community Spaces

For players who fully enjoy decorating and making community spaces, you can create full-on community spaces simply by building extra homes on your island. To do this, add more player accounts to your Nintendo Switch and use those accounts to load into the game. You'll get a new character to run around in and a new tent that you can upgrade and customize into a home.

The possibilities are endless here. You can turn these homes into libraries, cafés, clubs, aquariums, art galleries—whatever you want. Each new home can be decorated with its own theme, allowing you to create unique spaces for visitors to explore. You can truly make an island that's bustling with life and imagination.

1 Redesign And Rebuild Your Island

Flatten Your Island And Redo The Whole Thing

Once you've finished everything there is to finish, you have two options. You can restart your game from scratch and do it all again. Or you can flatten everything and redesign your island with a brand-new theme. Either option will give you the chance to experience the game in a fresh way. You'll get to explore new ideas, create unique designs, and continue enjoying the endless customization possibilities that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is famous for.

Of course, if you choose to restart from scratch, you'll have to say goodbye to all your hard work and the animal villagers you've come to love—but you'll get the chance to work towards everything again. If you choose to stick with your island and just redesign it, you'll get to keep your progress, but you can still boot some of your least favorite villagers and go island-hopping for someone new.

No matter your stage in the game, there's always something new to explore, create, and enjoy in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The game offers endless possibilities to keep players engaged and immersed in their cozy island life, making it the perfect game for both newcomers and seasoned players who want a game that's easy to come back to time and time again.