This is just a reminder to all you SL freebie fashionistas out there that there are some wonderful, not-to-be-passed-up gifts available from the various Advent and 12 Days of Christmas calendars out there on the grid. It’s Christmas time, and we are getting all the gifts!
For example, this hairstyle is today’s free Advent calendar gift from Firelight Hair, which comes with a mini-HUD with three shades of red (the calendar requires that you join the Firelight group for free). The Shallie dress is yesterday’s 12 Days of Christmas gift from the tree at Baby Monkey, located next to the entrance (a L$20 group join lets you pick up the current gift, and all the previous days’ gifts, for free). This stylish dress comes with a six-colour HUD: pink, light green, light blue, beige, red and black.
Here are three more gifts from the Baby Monkey 12 Days of Christmas calendar worn by Vanity Fair, which all come with the same six-colour HUD as the Shallie dress above:
the Long Tank (appliers for Maitreya, Belleza, Slink and Omega);
the Glossy Leggings (appliers for Maitreya, Belleza, Slink and Omega); and
the Shallie jacket.
Another 12 Days of Christmas calendar you should absolutely not overlook this season is at JUMO (here’s the direct SLURL). The JUMO calendar does not require any group join. One nice feature of this calendar is that (like the Baby Monkey calendar) you can pick up all the previous days’ gifts as well as the current one! Here is today’s gift, the purple Cameron low-cut blouse and matching long skirt:
Here is the Dec. 14th gift from JUMO, the stunning, shimmering golden Nice ballgown. Nice, indeed!
And here Vanity wears the Dec. 13th JUMO gift, the red-and-silver velvet Holly gown with a long, translucent cape, perfect for that formal holiday party!
Here’s a pro tip: if you want to save travel time, you can always elect to visit both the Baby Monkey and JUMO calendars on Christmas Day and snap up all the gifts from both calendars at one time, rather than teleporting in and out each day.
Well into the wee hours of the morning, I braved the crowds and lag to traverse all six sims of this year’s Winter Shop and Hop in Second Life, which runs from now until Jan. 6th, 2020. Here’s a pro tip: wait until late December or the first week of January to visit, when it is less busy.
I thought that you might appreciate having an early look at the many lovely gifts offered by some of the 120 merchants participating in this annual shopping event. Please forgive the standard pose and lighting used in all these pictures, but I had to keep this documenting process somewhat regimented, in order to get through all 120+ presents without losing my sanity!
Lunar
The gift from Lunar is in two parts: the Nini pink ombre top and shirt (the Shop and Hop gift), and the matching leggings (a free group gift; the Lunar group is free to join). There is also a pair of shorts.
Evani
The gift from Evani is this cropped snowflake sweater, with a tintable lace detail.
Dead Dollz
The sexy Bebe minidress comes with a HUD to change the colour of the tiny gemstones that adorn it.
Tres Blah
Tres Blah’s gift is a cozy scarf with a 26-colour HUD—a winter wardrobe staple!
Rebel Gal
The present from Rebel Gal is this Fluffy Fox sweater!
Limerence
The Nerika hairstyle comes in ten shades, plus the HUD offers a tint option to adjust your hair to any colour imaginable.
Le Fil Casse
The Macy minidress comes in a light blue snowflake design.
Gaia
Gaia offers this red long-sleeved crop top, which comes with a HUD to add various sayings in black or white lettering to the neck portion (I turned it off to take this picture).
Mossu
The Mossu snowflake leggings come in blue as shown, and also in pink.
Ella
Ella offers not just one but three gifts! This is the Rouxe outfit in red:
Here is the Doune top and skirt in black:
Finally we have the daring metallic Roxy dress!
Eliavah
The Eliavah gift is the Amaranthine blouse shown here.
Toksik
The gift from Toksik is the so-called Mellow dress (?!) in fuchsia. Not exactly what I would call mellow!
Supernatural
The gift from Supernatural is this set of three necklaces, which you can wear together or separately, in gold or in silver. The Karina set comes with four different HUDs to change the colour of the gemstones.
Sintiklia
The Amelia hairstyle comes with the colours and tint options as shown. (One of my pet peeves is text on a HUD that is way too small to read!)
Seniha
This is the Noah dress by Seniha, with a red flannel design.
Kaithleen’s
Here’s the Joyful dress in rose, the gift from Kaithleen’s womenswear store.
Silvan Moon Designs
This delightful Blessed Yule gown is the gift from Silvan Moon Designs (the holly around the neckline is a separate piece and can be removed).
Baiastice
You’ll turn heads at your next Christmas party in this sparkling Miria ballgown from Baiastice! It comes in red as shown and also in gold.
Vanity Hair
This is the Spanker hairstyle by Vanity Hair, which comes with the colour options shown on the included HUD.
Valentina E.
The gift from Valentina E. is the lovely Gia dress in robin’s egg blue.
Tachinni
This red plaid Bianca top is the present from Tachinni.
Aphorism
Aphorism’s gift is this long winter scarf, which comes in sizes to fit both male and female avatars.
RIOT
RIOT offers these Priya black leggings with a reindeer pattern.
PinkRayne
The gift from PinkRayne is this green Hanna jumper.
EVIE
EVIE’s present is a black glitter top, with a HUD to control the colour of the glitter effect.
Lapointe & Bastchild
The gift from L&B is this Swear Zoe dress, which comes in both green and red versions.
Neve
This lovely sweater and laced tartan skirt are the gifts from Neve.
Pixicat
This red satin dress is the gift from Pixicat (white fur trim at the top and bottom is an optional addition to turn this into a Santa dress!).
Elikatira
The long Foster hairstyle comes in a fatpack of colours, with 16 colour options for the hairpins.
Just Because
The Quincy snowflake leggings come in midnight blue.
Lomomo
This beautifully detailed Oriane dress is the present from Lomomo. Isn’t it gorgeous?
Addams
Addams is giving away L$300 in store credit, plus two fatpacks of their Maisie Chelsea boots: one with the regular sole as shown, and one with a high sole.
Garbaggio
The gift from Garbaggio is a Christmas version of their classic June pumps.
MINA
The Milena hairstyle comes in a fatpack of colours as shown.
No Match
The No Punch hairstyle comes in three versions: with red, gold, or green hair bows.
Belle Epoque
The Caroline fur coat is the gift from Bell Epoque.
RAMA
The Seymour sequin gown comes in 14 different jewel tones.
Vanilla Bae
The Yves comes in three ombre tones, and in three versions (PG as shown, adult, and shoulder off).
ViSion
ViSion offers a L$300 gift card for their store, plus this top and panties set, which comes in red as shown or in white.
There’s tons more gifts which I have not shown you: jewelry, menswear, housewares, items for your home and garden, etc. Be sure to watch Naria Panthar’s YouTube channel for her annual epic Shop and Hop unboxing video to see everything I neglected to show you here!
The new club, which is variously called Frank’s Jazz Club, the New Frank’s Place, the Sinatra Jazz Club, and the Frank S Jazz Club, depending on which sign you’re looking at and which landmark you pick up, is the new kid on the block, obviously hoping to lure Frank’s previous clientele. (I’m quite sure that Frank’s original owner, Nanceee Sinatra, is rather ticked off about this development, but there’s not much that she can do about it. I rather doubt she trademarked the name Frank’s.)
The music mix is much the same as Nancee’s original Frank’s, but I note that you can make song requests for the DJ to play using various signs placed around the venue, which is a suitably large and impressive space, tastefully decorated for Christmas.
And I do see many familiar faces from Frank’s here already! Which just goes to show that the concept was a good one. It was very smart of someone to step immediately into the void left when Frank’s closed.
Even better, there are gifts of free formalwear for both men and women at the entrance! What more could a freebie fashionista ask for?
Here my avatar is wearing the free black ballgown, which is quite lovely and has sizes to fit most classic system and mesh bodies (this is the version for Maitreya Lara, which fits this Altamura Juliet mesh body perfectly):
She is also wearing:
a white fur stole from Glitzz (a free group gift; the group is free to join)
On the other hand, there is Frank’s Elite Jazz Club, which is under new ownership after the previous sim owner stepped in to save it when Frank’s Entertainment Group was going to shut it down. It is a members-only club with a rather steep membership fee of L$1,000 (I had joined when the group fee was only L$500), but they sometimes have events which are open to everybody.
I must confess that I do have a soft spot for this venue, which is beautifully decorated for the holiday season:
One of things I do like about Frank’s Elite Jazz Club is the variety of talented live performers. I also appreciate the fact that the exclusivity of the club tends to attract a higher class of clientele (I did get rather sick and tired of being hit on all the time at Frank’s original club; being a drop-dead gorgeous female avatar does have its disadvantages 😉 ).
Vanity Fair is wearing her standard go-to ballgown, the Au Revoir red silk gown by Snowpaws—simple, beautiful, effortlessly elegant.
To go with the ballgown, I am also wearing:
Antigone gold and ruby earrings (a long-ago free gift from Kouse’s Sanctum, a store which has now closed)
Gigi crimson pumps by Garbaggio (not shown; my favourite shoe store!)
And a gold wedding band by Su Xue (as a warning signal to keep the male pestering to a minimum 😉 ).
