Village in the Shade · Gifts & home visits
Plan weekly gifts, unlock home visits and work toward meal invitations and overnight events.
Start with conversation
Talk to the villagers you are following each day. The speech-bubble mark in the resident screen shows whom you have already spoken to. Keep doing this before gifting becomes available; friendship can reward cooking recipes, not just access to homes.
Use the two weekly gifts carefully
Gifting opens through a friendship event around summer. Each resident accepts two gifts per week, with the allowance resetting on Monday. Check their likes and dislikes in the resident information before choosing an item. The two gift marks help you avoid preparing a third gift for someone whose allowance is already used.
Prepare gifts you can replace
Check your inventory before selling crops or processing ingredients. Reserve a liked item for your next gift, but keep materials needed for your own crafting. Use the item and recipe lists to plan replacements; an expensive gift is not automatically a preferred gift.
From home access to invitations
At three hearts you can enter the resident’s home. Continue talking and giving preferred gifts as friendship grows. Meal invitations are events, not a guaranteed daily action; attend them to collect the associated recipes.
Work toward an overnight visit
Reach six hearts and complete that resident’s three meal invitations. Then continue meeting them and watch for the overnight invitation, which occurs randomly. Follow the invitation and sleep in the bed at night to advance the visit. Track meals separately from hearts: raising affection alone does not replace the three meals.