You know that feeling when you've spent three hours decorating your island with pumpkins and maple-leaf umbrellas, only to realize you forgot the most basic ingredient for the big feast? Yeah, it's stressful. Animal Crossing Turkey Day isn't just some casual stroll through your plaza; it’s a high-stakes culinary marathon hosted by a very stressed turkey named Franklin. If you aren't prepared, you're going to be sprinting across your island looking for a specific mushroom while your villagers stare at you expectantly.
It happens every fourth Thursday of November.
Basically, Franklin shows up with his mobile kitchen, looking to cook a four-course meal. He needs your help. But he doesn't just need the ingredients he lists out loud. To get the "good" stuff—the DIY recipes and the shimmering furniture—you have to know the secret ingredients. Honestly, the game doesn't explicitly tell you what these are unless you're eavesdropping on your neighbors who are stuck inside their houses cooking.
The Franklin Problem and How to Solve It
Franklin is a world-class chef, apparently. But for someone who specializes in fine dining, he’s remarkably bad at grocery shopping. He’ll ask for four specific dishes: Clam Chowder, Pumpkin Pie, Gratins, and Fish Meunière.
The first hurdle? The Manila Clams. You’ll need three of them just for the starter.
Pro tip: start digging those up a day early. If you wait until the event starts, you’ll be fighting the spawn rates while trying to manage everything else. Once you hand those over, the real game begins. You see, each dish has a "secret" ingredient that enhances the flavor. Adding these secret items is the only way to earn the Turkey Day Decorations DIY picker, which is arguably the best part of the whole event.
Why the Secret Ingredients Matter
If you just give Franklin what he asks for, he’ll give you a piece of furniture. That’s fine. But if you want to actually craft these items later, you need those secret additions.
🔗 Read more: How to Create My Own Dragon: From Sketchpad to Digital Reality
For the Clam Chowder, he wants a Scallop. For the Pumpkin Pie, it’s about the colors; if he asks for orange and white, the secret is usually the other two colors you didn't provide (yellow and green). The Fish Meunière usually requires a Barred Knifejaw to reach its "final form."
It’s kind of a grind.
But here’s where most people mess up: they stay in the plaza the whole time. You have to go inside your villagers' houses. The ones who aren't at the festival are home "practicing" their own cooking. If you bring them a fish or a bug they’re looking for, they will trade you the exact secret ingredient Franklin is secretly craving. It’s a closed-loop economy of seafood and produce.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Rewards
A lot of players think they have to finish the event on the actual day to get the items. That’s not strictly true, but it’s much more expensive if you wait.
The day after Turkey Day, Nook’s Cranny starts selling the Turkey Day DIY Collection in the glass cabinet. It costs about 19,800 Bells. If you’re rich in-game, maybe you don't care. But for newer players or those who restarted their islands, that’s a lot of Bells that could be going toward a bridge or a house payment.
Also, the "Hearth" item? It’s not just a fireplace. It’s a specific DIY that only shows up during this season. It fits that "Cottagecore" aesthetic everyone was obsessed with back in 2020, and honestly, it still holds up.
💡 You might also like: Why Titanfall 2 Pilot Helmets Are Still the Gold Standard for Sci-Fi Design
Timing is Everything
The event runs from 9:00 AM to midnight.
Don't panic if you have a real-life dinner to attend. You can jump in at 10:00 PM and still knock out all four dishes if you have your materials ready.
If you're playing New Horizons in the Southern Hemisphere, your ingredients look a little different. Instead of looking for pumpkins and mushrooms, you might be hunting for different seasonal fish. It's a nice touch by Nintendo to acknowledge that November isn't "fall" for everyone, though the visual aesthetic of the Turkey Day furniture remains very autumn-heavy regardless of where you live.
The Strategy for a Perfect Feast
Let’s talk about the Gratin. This is the one that trips people up because it requires mushrooms or round turnips depending on your luck.
- Stockpile the basics: Get 2 of every pumpkin color.
- Fish ahead: Catch a Sea Bass and a Barred Knifejaw. Yes, the Sea Bass is actually useful for once.
- Dive early: You’ll need a Dungeness Crab for the Gratin's secret boost. These are fast. They’re the ones that dart away when you get close.
- Talk to the shut-ins: Your villagers who are cooking at home are your best friends. They are the only way to get ingredients if you’re struggling to find them in the wild.
The rewards are actually worth the effort. The Turkey Day Table, Chair, Garden Stand, and Hearth are high-quality assets. They have a certain weight and texture that the early-game wooden furniture lacks. Plus, the "Cornucopia" you get for finishing all four dishes is a great center-piece for any indoor dining room layout.
The Reality of the "Franklin" Grind
Is it tedious? Kinda.
📖 Related: Sex Fallout New Vegas: Why Obsidian’s Writing Still Outshines Modern RPGs
Is it rewarding? Definitely.
There’s something uniquely satisfying about seeing your villagers sitting around the plaza, holding their little plates and juice glasses, looking genuinely happy. It’s one of the few times the island feels like a cohesive community rather than just a collection of animals you’ve trapped in a digital paradise.
If you miss the event entirely, don't forget you can always "time travel" by changing your Switch system clock. Nintendo used to lock these events, but for New Horizons, once the update has been downloaded, you can usually revisit the day whenever you want. Just be careful with your turnips if you decide to go back in time; they'll rot instantly.
Actionable Steps for your Animal Crossing Turkey Day Prep:
- Inventory Check: Clean out your pockets. You’ll be carrying fish, clams, pumpkins, and furniture. You need space.
- The "Scallop" Rule: If you find a Scallop while diving for the Dungeness Crab, do not give it to Pascal. Keep it for Franklin first. Pascal will be there tomorrow; Franklin is a one-day-only guest.
- Visit the Cranny: Check the cabinet the day after if you missed any DIYs. It’s the "safety net" for the event.
- Ingredient Hoarding: If you have extra pumpkins from Halloween, keep them in storage. Franklin almost always asks for them, and it saves you the trouble of trading with villagers.
- Check your Version: Ensure your game is updated to the latest version (2.0 or higher) to ensure all seasonal content and the expanded DIY selection are available.
The Turkey Day event remains one of the more involved holidays in the game. It requires more than just talking to an NPC; it requires actual gathering and a bit of social engineering with your villagers. It’s the perfect excuse to jump back into your island if you haven't checked on your weeds in a few months.