If you’re playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons (or even looking back at older titles like Animal Crossing: New Leaf), you may have heard of “lollipops” as a special Halloween-event item. Let’s break down exactly how to get them, what you’ll need, and what to do once you’ve collected them—written in easy-to-read language, around a Grade 12 level.
In Animal Crossing, “lollipops” are a special event item tied to the Halloween festivities. They aren’t a form of currency or a typical collectible like fossils or fish. Instead, they appear only during the Halloween event, and you can’t find them any other time of year. In New Leaf, lollipops were earned differently, but in New Horizons, they play an important role in the Halloween celebration held every October 31.
When Can You Get Lollipops?
Lollipops can only be obtained during the Halloween event, which happens annually on October 31. The event begins at 5 p.m. and continues until midnight on your island. Outside this window, there’s no natural way to get lollipops, so preparation before Halloween is essential if you want to maximize your rewards.
How to Get Lollipops: Step-by-Step
Here’s a clear guide to getting lollipops efficiently:
- Prepare Candy Ahead of Time
- In the days leading up to October 31, stock up on Candy. You can buy one piece per day from Nook’s Cranny throughout October.
- Candy is the main item villagers expect during the Halloween event, so gather as much as you can in advance.
- Make sure your game is updated with the Halloween patch so that event features are available.
- On October 31, Interact with Villagers Outside
- Once the event starts at 5 p.m., you’ll see villagers dressed in costumes roaming around outdoors.
- Talk to them, and they’ll ask for Candy in a “Trick or Treat” style interaction.
- When you give a villager Candy, there’s a chance they’ll reward you with a lollipop or another Halloween-themed item in return. The chance of receiving a lollipop is roughly one in four.
- After giving a villager Candy, you might need to re-enter a building and come back out to reset their interaction if you want to try again.
- Give Candy to Jack, the Pumpkin Czar
- Jack, the Halloween host wearing a pumpkin head, will appear near Resident Services once the event starts.
- Give him a piece of Candy to begin the event properly. Doing this unlocks access to certain costume rewards and allows you to trade lollipops with him later.
- Exchange Lollipops with Jack for Special Items
- After you’ve collected lollipops from your villagers, return to Jack and give them to him.
- Each lollipop you hand over earns you a unique Halloween-themed item or DIY recipe, such as the Spooky Carriage or Spooky Wand.
- Typically, after you’ve given him three lollipops, you’ll have unlocked all his exclusive rewards. Any additional lollipops can still be exchanged, but you may receive duplicate items.
What Are the Uses of Lollipops?
Lollipops have several interesting uses beyond just trading them with Jack:
- Exchange for Event Items: Their main use is to trade with Jack to earn exclusive Halloween furniture and DIY recipes.
- Gift Them to Villagers: After you’ve finished trading with Jack, you can still give lollipops to your villagers. They’ll reward you, but their gifts will be less rare compared to Jack’s.
- Attract Ants: Drop a lollipop on the ground outside, and ants might gather around it—a fun way to catch this particular bug for your Critterpedia.
- Eat for Energy: Like other edible items, lollipops can give your character an energy boost to help move trees or break rocks. However, because they’re rare, most players prefer to save or display them instead of eating them.
