Generally speaking, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a social game. Whether you're interacting with your villagers or visiting friends, it's a game that revolves around person-to-person contact. When hosting your friends, you might get a bit insecure about your island, especially after seeing some truly mind-blowing creations online.
But, it's not that hard to make others fall in love with your tropical getaway. You don't need fancy castles or insane custom design skills to make a trip to your island a memorable one. Here are a few tips for making sure your island is charming for your visitors when they come to play.
10 Catalogue Party
This tip requires no terraforming, no custom designing, and no worries over having the right villagers or layouts. Throw a catalog party! By simply picking up and item and putting it down, it's added to your catalog, and you can then purchase it in unlimited quantities (with a few exceptions: crafted items, some event items, and a couple of other things).
Everyone is always looking for that one thing they can't seem to get their hands on, or a certain item in a different color they haven't accessed. Swap wishlists, get together, and catalog those dream items.
9 Treasure Hunt
If you're feeling a bit more generous, you can take a page from the books of your animal villagers and throw a treasure hunt for a friend (or multiple friends). Simply bury an item they want or something valuable (or just something funny!) somewhere on your island. Consider burying some pitfall seeds, dud items, or trash to throw them off, too.
As long as someone is registered as a "best friend," they can use their shovel on your island. Increase the challenge by giving them a time limit. Who doesn't love activities?
8 Plant Flowers
There's no simpler way to beautify an otherwise-drab island than by planting a bunch of flowers. Taking a bit of time to get some gardening done can ensure that your island is the prize of the neighborhood.
When visitors water your flowers, the chance of them crossbreeding increases, too. Most players love to help one another, so by letting your friends know that you have some flowers to crossbreed, they may be more inclined to visit and help you water the foliage.
7 Compare DIY Lists
Crafted items may not be accessible from the Nook Shopping terminal or app, but you can still get those items to the friends who want them by crafting them and handing them over. Players learn different crafting recipes at different times, so compare with your friends and see who has what.
From there, meet up on someone's island and start swapping! It can be like a DIY party, with everyone walking away with a little something.
6 Vendors
There is a variety of different NPC vendors and visitors that make random stops on your island. K.K. Slider comes on Saturdays (after you've completed his questline), Celeste shows up on clear nights, and Daisy Mae pops by on Sunday mornings. Aside from them, the other vendors like Kicks, Saharah, and the rest show up at seemingly random times.
Let your friends know who your daily vendor is. They could be looking for something or just excited to grab a new painting from Redd.
5 Turnip Prices
Of course, there's no vendor that attracts people quite like the Stalk Market. Being able to create a network of people who share the prices that Nook's Cranny is purchasing turnips for is essential to getting a good deal.
If you have a decent turnip price, you know your friends are going to come running with inventories of root vegetables in tow. If you want your friends to visit, make sure you let them know when they can get a good return on their investment if they come by your place.
4 Entrances
There are a ton of different things you can do with the terraforming tools at your disposal. Making your island a gorgeous getaway or a creative endeavor is possible almost anywhere on it, but nothing gives a first impression like your entrance does.
The small area right outside the dock to the airport is the first section of your island that visitors will see when they arrive (excluding the flyover). If you really want to make an impression, consider creating an awe-inspiring or clever entrance.
3 Obstacle Courses
Everyone loves an activity, and everyone loves winning in a competition against others. You can provide this feeling of victory and satisfaction to your friends by building an obstacle course and allowing them to compete head-to-head.
Obstacles you can create include pitfall traps, stumps, fences, and much more. Consider building two identical tracks next to one another and making two people compete in a timed race to conquer the obstacles. Maybe even give a prize to the victor!
2 Have Clear Paths
Obstacle courses can be fun when they're intentional, but no one wants to have to navigate one day-to-day. The same rings true for Animal Crossing, where it's quite easy to overlook how confusing and maze-like your island is.
If you're on it every day, you know where everything is and how to get there. Your visitors aren't as experienced as you. Make sure your paths are clear, direct, and that they make sense. If people are getting lost and frustrated, they won't want to come by again.
1 Accessible Shops
In the same vein, you'll want to make sure your shops (and vendors) are accessible. Most people like to check out the Able Sisters and Nook's Cranny (and other things) when they come to visit. Everyone's shops have different things available on different days.
Not everyone carries a ladder and vaulting pole with them, so if you want your friends to enjoy your island, you'll want to make sure they can access your shops.