My annual Advent calendar odyssey in Second Life is now winding down, and (with a few exceptions), I plan to take a bit of a break from blogging until the new year. This year, so many SL storeowners have been extremely generous with their gifts! I have spent many an enjoyable hour over the past three weeks, ransacking the various Advent calendars and 12 Days of Christmas calendars across the grid, and my small army of alts now have many fabulous and fashionable freebies sitting in their inventories!
Yesterday, I spent an entertaining couple of hours trying out the dozens and dozens of facial animations and static facial poses included in the HUD of what I think was the best Christmas gift I picked up this year, the LeLutka Lilly Bento mesh head! The animations and poses on this head truly put the competition to shame with their variety.
The skin used in these pictures is a new, free group gift from Amara Beauty, the beautiful Holly Bakes on Mesh skin, which comes in three skin tones and is specifically designed for LeLutka Evolution heads:
In fact, the only complaint I have had about the Lilly head is that the included, rigged mesh eyes looked a little bit cross-eyed to me, so I swapped them out with a free group gift from ARTE, this set of lovely deep brown eyes in three shades and three sizes (which includes both Catwa and Omega appliers, Bakes on Mesh/system eyes, and a pair of mesh eyes which can be adjusted and textured using a handy HUD).
Both the ARTE and Amara Beauty groups are free to join, so if you picked up the LeLutka Lilly head this season, be sure to pick up these fabulous freebies as well!
For many people, this will be a Christmas unlike any other in living memory, one that we will probably tell our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren about (and that we fervently hope they will never have to experience first-hand).
I wish you a very joyful holiday season despite these difficult times. I hope that the New Year brings you and your friends and family much happiness, peace, and prosperity, and that in time the world will be a safe place again.
Please note that, if you want to get a sense of what each store’s Advent calendar gifts look like before you teleport in, you can peruse Andonia’s exhaustive list of 2020 Advent calendars, which she has published on her Kinky Fox Designs blog. Just press Ctrl-F on your keyboard and do a search for the store name, and you will pull up pictures of most of that calendar’s gifts, to help you decide if it’s worth the trip. Thank you for all your hard work, Andonia!
Now, before we get started, you might want to limber up a bit. You know, touch your toes, do a few deep knee bends. You don’t want to pull a hamstring or something… 😉
Better do some crunches before you embark on today’s virtual shopping marathon! (photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash)
OK, now that you’ve stretched those muscles, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today! While there are a few stores on the grid which will offer presents on Christmas Day (Petite Mort, Oubliette, Ari-Pari, Byrne, perhaps Entice, etc.), most Advent calendars and 12 Days of Christmas calendars give out their final gifts today, on December 24th.
Remember that the Advent calendar at 7 Deadly S[k]ins is unique, in that it gives out a present every single day in December, right up until New Year’s Day! Today’s gift is the Hope skin in the dew skin tone. (Hey, what kind of a colour name is “dew”, anyways? Isn’t dew supposed to be transparent?!??)
You will need to join the 7 Deadly S[k]ins group for L$1,000, or you can buy each of the previous days’ gifts for only L$25 each.
Once again, I have called upon Second Life supermodel Moesha Heartsong to show you the rest of today’s bounty of womenswear gifts. Why, Moesha is now so famous, she doesn’t get out of bed for less than L$10,000 a day!* 😉
The Christmas Eve present from JUMO is the Faline dress in red. There’s no need to join any group, just come and click on December 24th on their calendar. You can also pick up all the previous days’ gifts for free. Don’t forget that JUMO will have a present for you on Christmas Day, and a final end-of-year gift on New Year’s Eve!
The final gift from the Advent calendar at Virtue is this attractive deep red floral Selena dress (the Virtue group is free to join):
Now head over to EscalateD, and look for the green advent tree (not the red one, which requires a paid group join). Note that you only need to click on the green advent calendar ONCE, and you will receive a folder containing all 24 gifts! (If you do click on all 24 dates, you will land up with 24 copies of all 24 presents, and then you will need to spend some extra time cleaning up your inventory to remove all the duplicates!)
The December 24th gift from the EscalateD Advent calendar is this hair and Santa hat combination, which comes in a full fatpack of colours. Shown in the picture below is the hair styling HUD, which also allows you to change the colour of the Santa hat and the left and right scrunchies:
Today’s gift from Essenz are these Graz shoes in purple (the Essenz group costs L$350 to join, or you buy this pair, or any of the previous days’ gifts, for only L$50 each if you do not wish to join the group).
Now I am going to show you gifts from a few Advent calendars where you can make a single visit and pick up all 24 gifts at one time! Highly efficient freebie shopping!
First up is Blackbird Lace, where today’s gift is this festive minidress with an optional matching scarf! While you’re in store, be sure to pick up all the previous days’ presents.
Among the 24 Advent calendar gifts at Coveted is this royal blue winter outfit (no group is needed, just come slap the dates on the calendar; there’s also a patchwork version of this coat as a different day’s present):
The December 24th gift from DM Design is this lovely Lione ballgown, which includes a HUD with 10 different colours! Again, be sure to pick up all 24 gifts at once! A free group join is required to obtain all 24 gifts of womenswear.
Today’s present from Donni’s Dollies is this beautiful white and gold dress (the Donni’s Dollies group is free to join). On one trip you can pick up 24 gifts, and each day’s gift includes both men’s and women’s apparel!
The Christmas Eve gift from ROA Design is this lace Aealia dress, which comes in three different shades: blush as shown below, plus lilac and aqua. Again, you can pick up all 24 Advent calendar gifts at once! No group join is needed.
The Advent calendar at TrendZy has 24 lovely outfits for women! Among them are the two ballgowns pictured below (no group is needed, just come slap the numbers on the calendar).
Fashion Fantasy has two Advent calendars with 24 gifts each, one for women and one for men. Moesha models two of the women’s presents: a floral halter top from December 8th, and embroidered leather pants from December 19th (no group required; here’s the SLURL to take you directly to the Fashion Fantasy calendar):
And among the 24 gifts from the Fashion Fantasy for Men Advent calendar is this red hoodie (don’t forget to hit Donni’s Dollies for 24 menswear gifts, too!).
But I have saved what I think is the most generous Christmas Eve gift for last! Pop down to Celestina’s Weddings, join their store group for free, and snap up this glorious golden ballgown, which includes the gold and diamond Mon Amour earrings and necklace!
And if you want to learn how to pick up a whopping 629 free Christmas presents on Christmas Day, here’s your plan of attack!
Do I have a haul of fabulous and fashionable freebies for you today!
Today’s gift from Wow Skins is this very attractive Dana Bakes on Mesh/system skin in the sandy skin tone (the Wow group costs L$199 to join):
Wow Skins: Dana in the sandy skin tone
Next up we have the Hope skin from 7 Deadly S[k]ins, in the cotton candy skin tone. Coincidentally, this skin looks very similar to today’s present from Wow Skins! The 7 Deadly S[k]ins group costs L$1,000 to join during the month of December.
7 Deadly S[k]ins: Hope skin in the cotton candy skin tone
From the Advent calendar at Essenz we receive these Barbados wedges in coral pink, which include a HUD to change the sole, the metal, the texture on the wedge, and the colour of the stripes and ankle strap. The Essenz group costs L$350 to join, or non-members can pay just L$50 each to pick up this and all previous Advent calendar gifts.
The final gift from the 12 Days of Christmas calendar at Baby Monkey are these suede wrap boots! You don’t need to join a group to snap up these beauties, simply pay the calendar L$1, and your Linden dollar will automatically be refunded. While you’re in store, why not pick up the previous 11 gifts as well! Altogether, they form a colour-coordinated capsule wardrobe in cream, pink, and chocolate brown!
The present from Mishmash Fusion is this cozy blue and grey snowflake sweater with a snowflake pattern, which comes in sizes to fit various women’s mesh bodies. The Mishmash Fusion group is free to join.
The next two pictures show you two gifts together: the beautiful Eowyn elven gown in opal green from Eclectic Stars (no group needed), paired with the Charlotte diadem, the gift from the Advent calendar at Vagrant today (the Vagrant group is free to join). You’re all set for your next fantasy roleplay!
The crown comes with a HUD to change both the colour of the gemstones, and the metal textures:
Today’s gift from Virtual Diva is this haute couture Carmin bodysuit, collar, and corset! The Virtual Diva group is free to join during Advent. As you usually have to pay a fee to join the Virtual Diva group, you might wish to remain in the group after Christmas to take pick up some high-fashion group gifts throughout the year!
Among today’s gift from the eBENTO shopping event is this red and silver Estrella ballgown from Elisea Carter (the eBENTO group is free to join):
Lastly, we have this drop-dead gorgeous emerald green ballgown, today’s present from Celestina’s Weddings (the Celestina’s group is free to join):
