The Christmas Challenge

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Damian’s father came over with the boy’s little sister and they positioned themselves around the piano to listen to Damian playing.

Damian at this point is close to maxing Child Creativity and has three days left to move on to the actual Piano skill (only the latter gets scored for purpose of the challenge).

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Gavin (pretending to bite): “And now for a quick snack!”

Chris: “Ey? I thought you didn’t do that anymore!”

Gavin: “Your fault for not wearing a proper turtleneck Christmas sweater. That’s an invitation to bite you!”

Chris: “I’ll get one, I’ll get one!”

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Daniel: “So, Chris, as a spellcaster, what’s your professional take on this? First people got unreasonable angry and/or sad for two weeks, and this week we give in to our impulses way too readily.”

Chris: “We’ve been through two big instances of mind control in the last two years, and based on how that felt, yes, it's similar right now.”

Daniel: “What could it be this time? Vampires or Magic?”

Chris: “Vampire caused mood swings have a wide area of effect, but require the vamp to be in the center of it. Spells, on the other hand, can take effect over a longer range, but only affect single targets. Neither does fit the picture we’re looking at.”

In the background yet another neighbor’s kid is apparently helping with the research – they all take after their detective parents :)

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Meanwhile at the Blossom Festival…

Sigstein: “…what?”

Lena: “We have received reports of supernaturally caused mood swings in Newcrest. You must admit, that sounds a lot like your doing.”

Sigstein: “No, that’s what I did when I was still in training. My signature spell is turning people into fishes. I can give you a demonstration, if you don’t stop accusing me whenever this city is hit by something occult!”

I love this encounter so much! Sigstein is an evil spellcaster, the first spellcaster I ever played in Sims 4. Lena has all the reason to be suspicious of him. But without evidence she cannot even take him to the DPD for questioning.

It was the first day of Winter, and almost overnight there was snow on the ground. Any idea that Elfie had of fishing or growing produce was squelched. The water in the lakes and rivers had frozen, and it was too cold to plant. So, those few items he had saved to plant on his lot to sell the harvest in Henford-on-Bagley wasn't going to work. But, at least he could still find those rocks and crystals under the snow. Elfie was sure that pretty soon he would have enough simoleons to buy the bakery.

https://i.postimg.cc/PJZhwR9t/cant-plant-any-produce.png

Elfie spent the morning gathering whatever he could find and then headed back to the library. While he was there, another librarian told him that Darsh was out speaking with the local businesses, but told Elfie that they had just received some new festive cookbooks. Ooh! Elfie wanted to see it right away!

https://i.postimg.cc/tJZqqTpm/reading-a-cooking-book-elfie.png

Elfie then spent the rest of the day collecting, and even came upon an interesting tree.

https://i.postimg.cc/nhK65crx/elfie-found-an-interesting-tee-in-willow-creek.png

After watering and talking to the tree, a secret door opened and Elfie stepped inside. Following a pathway and going through some mist, he arrived at a clearing. When he looked around, everything seemed to glow pink, and there was grass growing and the pond wasn't frozen.

https://i.postimg.cc/9QJr22N3/where-as-he.png

He had heard about this place from some of the other elves, but he never knew that it existed in Willow Creek! This was Sylvan Glade, the magical land of the woodland fairies! And as if to affirm that he was right, a fairy flew by right in front of him.

https://i.postimg.cc/4NHKpjdV/the-land-of-the-fairies.png

Elfie shouted, "Sul Sul fairies! You live in a beautiful place. Do you mind if I look around?"

There was no answer so Elfie wandered the glade and also stopped to do some fishing.

https://i.postimg.cc/4dJ7t12c/elfie-catches-his-first-fish.png

After catching 5 fish, Elfie thought that was enough for today.

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Elfie: "Fairies, if you can hear me, I've heard you like shiny things, so I am leaving you a gift of this crystal. I only ask a small favor. You see Father Winter needs your help. So, if you could use your fairy magic to help the sims in Willow Creek have more winterfest cheer, it would really make him happy. Thank you again for letting me fish here today."

And with that, Elfie headed back to the tree and left Sylvan Glade.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning, Elfie made a trip to Henford-on-Bagley and sold some more items. He now had enough simoleons to purchase the bakery. He was rather excited and called the number on the sign right away.

https://i.postimg.cc/c48bP7Tw/HOLIDAY-BAKERY-PURCHASE.png

While he was in Henford-on-Bagley, he decided to visit Sara at the Gnomes' Arms Pub. And when he entered, he met a very pleasant sim from Brindleton Bay, whose name was Brent Hecking. Brent told Elfie that Elfie's friend Darsh, had visited him at Municipal Muses Museum yesterday and spoke with the staff about holding a fundraiser for the Winterfest Festival. Brent was a painter who worked there. After Darsh had left, Brent and several other staff members, had a wonderful idea! They would hold a Saturday Art Session at the museum, and then hold a silent auction afterwards. All proceeds from the paintings would then be donated to the Winterfest Festival.

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Brent: "We're calling it Playing With Paint, and thought it would be fun to have the high school students participate. Volunteering in the community is one of their graduation requirements. Plus, they have an art program! We want it to be fun, and what better way to do so, than to paint some playful paintings and sell them for a good cause?"

https://i.postimg.cc/CL2CbWgV/why-dont-you-come-down-elfie.png

Elfie was overjoyed when he heard about it, and said that he would be there, and would also invite some of his friends.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was late as Elfie headed towards the library, and he saw his friend, Denis Kim, working in an open-air food stall. Elfie talked to Denis for awhile and Denis again thanked him for helping his family the other day.

Denis: "Elfie, I was just about to close for the day, and have some hot cocoa left. You look like you could use some warming up. Here...this is on me, " he said as he handed Elfie the drink.

https://i.postimg.cc/9F5Wyy2L/got-a-free-drink.png

What a nice surprise! And then Elfie had an idea.

Elfie: "Denis, you are such a kind sim, how would you like to help me in my bakery? I just bought the bakery down the street and I am going to make lots of sugary treats and sell them to raise simoleons for the Winterfest Festival."

Denis looked at Elfie: "You would give all your simoleons to the Winterfest Festival? That's quite admirable, Elfie."

Elfie then explained that the Winterfest Festival would make a lot of sims happy, and that is what Elfie wanted to do.

Denis: "Ah yes, spread the Winterfest cheer. It's something that Willow Creek needs. Well, Elfie, I do know a thing or two about bakeries. And it's not really any fun standing out in the cold all day at this food stall," he said.

Elfie leaned closer, "And..." he whispered, "I have a secret sugar cookie recipe that I know will be very popular...!" he said excitedly.

Denis laughed, "Really? A secret recipe? Well, Elfie, that did it. I'd do anything for a sugar cookie. It's a deal!"

Elfie clapped his hands together, and they started talking about what ingredients they needed to buy and what kinds of baked goods they would make. Elfie was so excited and couldn't wait until they opened tomorrow!

https://i.postimg.cc/mkMB0gY3/chatting-with-denis-kim.png

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

https://i.postimg.cc/RVZWbjqW/READY-TO-START-THEIR-BAKERY.png

The next day, Denis and Elfie met in front of the bakery. Denis had brought Elfie an apron to wear, and had, himself, donned a red hat. They looked like quite the team. Denis surveyed the store, and went right to work cleaning and scrubbing and getting everything ready.

https://i.postimg.cc/MGZYpspN/HARDWORKING-DENIS-KIM.png

And while Elfie made a white cake, Denis got started on some vanilla cupcakes on the cupcake machine. The aroma from the baked goods smelled warm and sweet. Denis called it "bakery air" and it was what would draw sims to the store.

https://i.postimg.cc/G2F3gjk3/ELFIE-BAKES-A-CAKE-AND-DENIS-COOKS-CIPCAKES.png

They were ready to open, and Elfie had also displayed some of the small sculptures he had found near the cash register and set them for sale, too.

https://i.postimg.cc/RZJWQKbh/FIRST-CUSTOMER.png

Almost immediately, Elfie's friend, Jace Laurent, (son of the Winterfest Festival Event Planner, Hector Laurent) came to see what they were selling and soon they had their first sale of one of the little statues.

https://i.postimg.cc/yxnLPwxm/THE-FIRST-SALE.png

https://i.postimg.cc/Gpcc2djj/purchase-from-jace.png

Denis decided that they needed some "curb appeal" to draw in more customers, but since all their funds were being used for baked goods, he decided to make a snowpal for free.

https://i.postimg.cc/BbCVzjY1/DENIS-SNOWPAL.png

In fact, Denis made another snowpal and so did Elfie. Business seemed to perk up after that.

https://i.postimg.cc/7hLr4vC6/THE-SNOWPAL-EKFIE-MADE.png

Throughout the day, more sims came and bought items. and Elfie's friend, Jeb Harris, was the last sale of the day.

https://i.postimg.cc/W3wsj6X9/TRYING-TO-GET-THOSE-LAST-SALES-IN.png

At the end of a very long first day, Denis counted the till and proclaimed that they had earned $896 simoleons! What a great first day!

https://i.postimg.cc/9FzLjXfT/SOLD-5-STATUES-AT-100-PERCENT-MARKUP.png

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Notes:

The bakery is one I made out of roof pieces, with a lot of default items, including an outhouse from Jungle Adventures. Just the basics of a fridge, stove, counter, cupcake machine, cash register and the homely "used" display counter. I later added a sink and indoor/outdoor garbage cans. I placed it on the 20 x 15 Creek Cabana lot in Willow Creek.

https://i.postimg.cc/8PNd412M/cheap-bakery-photo-credit.png

The bakery is set at the maximum of 100% mark-up. All 5 of the MySims trophies were sold, netting $896 simoleons. (5 points)

I temporarily moved Denis Kim in with Elfie. Denis is a great worker. He has the neat trait and autonomously cleans the bakery. He also autonomously made those snowpals.

doesn't the Anti-Humbug-Group manipulate the town with spiced cookies? What if they arranged things for Elfie to find the cookbook, make exactly those cookies and therefore use the elf who wants to save Wintefest to destroy it?

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With a variety of sensors and natural senses at their disposal, they felt they had a good chance of detecting the cause of the recent oddities, now that they had finally admitted to themselves that there was something wrong in the first place. Maybe the Newcrest Watch would catch Sigstein the spellcaster red-handed, or maybe the culprit would turn out somebody else. Only time would tell.

*RING-RING*

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Coco: “Good evening, Captain Reed and Captain Anderson. May I inquire about the presence of police drones at my business?”

Connor: “Who…?”

Daniel: “Good evening, Mrs. Diaz y Allende. - Connor, this is the owner of the Chocolate Museum.”

Gavin: “We didn’t position any cops or surveillance devices at your restaurant. The drones you saw belong to the neighborhood watch.”

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Coco: “Oh. In this case, sorry for having taken them apart. Maybe you can still repair them? Here’s the sensor module… it looks quite okay?”

Connor: “Welcome to Newcrest, Mrs. Diaz y Allende. You’ll fit right in.”

Poor Cocochimetl. She looked like a door to door saleswoman, when she pulled that thing out and presented it with glee. Admittedly one of her traits is indeed Materialistic, so it wouldn’t even be out of character. Also Connor's face, lol!

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Cocochimetl used “reveal secret” with Gavin twice, showing vampire related imagery. Her telling the first person she met what she is certainly wasn’t how I had planned this to go!

Coco: “Psst, I know what you are!”

Gavin: “All of Detroit knows.”

Coco: “But what if all of Detroit knew that YOU are manipulating the life force in Newcrest as a compensation for not being able to drink from the residents? Think about that!”

Gavin: “It’s great that you opted for blackmailing instead of the stake, but you’re still wrong. In Detroit it’s not a given that the first vampire you meet is also the villain of the story. Heck, for all I know our street’s garbage disposal guy is a vampire, too.”

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Damian: “What the commotion in the fl… AAAAAHHH!”

What a sight to wake up to! But the grim reaper hadn’t come for Damian, but for the lone figure that was desperately flailing in the pool behind the child’s room. It was hard to tell whether the man drown first or freeze to death.

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It was Jim Reed, Gavin’s father.

The elder lived next door and had somehow wandered onto the lot and into the pool.

My bad. Jim had visited earlier and I thought he had left. Ricky’s tent obscures part of the pool in lifemode.

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Coco: “See, that’s what happens if people walk around aimlessly, because a whim tells them so. It can happen all the time, to everyone… Makes one think, huh?”

For once Daniel kept himself in check, remembering what his cop friends had told him: Don’t let them goad you into talking, let the other party reveal their cards first.

Coco: “Your child’s party getting canceled, your father in law dying and your husband getting accused of using his powers for nefarious purposes… Nancy and Geoffrey Landgraab could help fellow vampires. You know that we don’t have to be enemies, do you?”

And with these words the woman who called herself Cocochimetl turned into a black mist and vanished into the night, leaving Daniel to ponder the question why villains were under the impression that people would willingly join their cause if they killed people’s loved ones. Wouldn’t giving the potential recruit something they really desired be the better approach?

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The Reeds pulled Jim out of the pool and wrapped him in a woolen sweater. What little life was left in the man would have left him quickly, if not for his son being a vampire with the Manipulate Life Spirit power.

Gavin was routinely using the refreshing component of this power for First Aid. It didn’t disappoint this time, too.

And there go another 5000 dollar to pull one emergency Ambrosia from the library. As for Restore Life Energy, I use a mod that makes it available all the time. It's extremely useful in a story driven playstyle.

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The day after he very nearly drowned in his son’s swimming pool, Jim Reed called Daniel and Gavin with an invitation to the Romance Festival that was still in town. The complication: Apparently Dorothy wasn’t invited.

Daniel: “Gavin…? Did you accidently wipe your father’s memory when you refreshed him yesterday? He seems to think he’s single!”

Jim: “What? No, I didn’t forget Dori! Yesterday just got me to think that maybe I’m missing out when I don’t check other mothers’ daughters! Please, cover me in this!”

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And so they went. It has to be said that Jim was the most faithful cheater ever. He talked to the Romance Guru for a while, and afterwards alternated between browsing the vendor stalls and dancing.

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Jim doesn’t even have “Faithful”, he has “Romantic”! But he has has only ever loved Dorothy and they are a couple since High School.

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Daniel: “Mistletoe, Gavin. People used to hang it from the ceiling of their homes. Well, I lost my home when Caro tossed me out, but then I found a new one. Only this new home wasn’t a place, but with you. That’s why carrying mistletoe to go isn’t silly. I simply hang it where my home is, and that’s wherever you are.”

Gavin: “For my part I love our physical home, but I’d leave it and take you wherever you want to go in a heartbeat. Whatever you want - I’ll make it happen!”

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Love is… still doing the romantic dialogue <3

(It doesn’t have to be particularly good romantic dialogue.)

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Summer: “Oh, Gavin, you here?”

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Daniel: ROAR!

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Explanation: When this save was new, the game assigned Gavin a random love interest while I was playing other households. It was Summer Holiday and apparently after twelve years she still hasn’t gotten over the “breakup” (that wasn’t a real breakup, because there never was a relationship). Gavin simply turned around and walked away after Summer scattered the blossoms, but Daniel made sure the message was understood.

With the success of yesterday's sales, Elfie and Denis were at the store early. The former owner had dropped off an old display table that they could use, and Elfie hung up some photos of himself and Denis. The place looked better already.

Elfie had been reading the festive cookbook, and decided to make a lovely Winter Cake. They hadn't sold any baked goods yesterday, so they still had the vanilla cake and vanilla cupcakes to sell. Elfie also decided to make a Coconut Cake and some Chocolate Chip cookies.

Denis had looked through some recipe books at his house and made some lovely Minty Mocha and Carrot Cake cupcakes on the cupcake machine. And later on, Denis made a Matcha Tea cake, which was something they served in Mt. Komorebi during the holidays.

https://i.postimg.cc/6QHKvHJF/lovely-mocha-cupcakes.png

With all these wonderful items for sale, Denis was sure that they could make at least $500 simoleons selling just the baked goods.

Just before they opened, much to their surprise, they got a call from another bakery in town asking if they had any vanilla cupcakes for sale. The bakery explained that they were catering a wedding that day and had run short.

https://i.postimg.cc/vThp6zKc/the-other-bakery-calling-them.png

Elfie knew that they still had the vanilla cupcakes from yesterday, and he happily agreed to sell them. Word was spreading quickly about Elfie's bakery.

https://i.postimg.cc/DZZsTyKH/sell-to-local-bakery.png

When they opened, there were even more sims who entered the bakery that day, and almost immediately, they got two sales. The Winter Cake sold for $112 simoleons, and the Minty Mocha cupcakes for $10 simoleons. Elfie decided he should re-stock the Winter Cake, as he had a feeling this would be a winner.

https://i.postimg.cc/W18LB93t/business-was-booming.png

https://i.postimg.cc/8k4d99Qq/restocking-the-winter-cake-take-2.png

Another sale, and the Carrot Cake cupcakes did even better and sold for $50 simoleons!

https://i.postimg.cc/bN3Zzfmj/cover-shot-busy-sales-clerks.png

Elfie attempted a new recipe called Silly Gummy Bear Pancakes and even made a Gourmet Fruit Cake.

https://i.postimg.cc/bwDQGvDh/silly-gummy-pancakes.png

Almost as soon as he placed them down, customers were vying to buy them!

https://i.postimg.cc/q7HCzxHs/gumy-bear-pancakes-and-fruitcake.png

By the end of the day, they were both tired, but they both felt rather happy when Denis counted the till and they had made $606 simoleons! Woot! They had done it!

https://i.postimg.cc/fyyV6HYN/bakery-sales-from-actual-bakery-items-606.png

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Notes:

You can sell baked goods made on the cupcake machine directly to a local bakery, and that is what they did with the vanilla cupcakes. They couldn't do it with the vanilla cake because it had been made in the oven. I was concerned about spoilage, so that's why I did a little test.

The display table is actually a retail perk, which Elfie bought with retail points. I was going to save up his points for advertising, and advertise the next day if they didn't make the $500 simoleons. But I didn't need to, as they were quite successful and Elfie made more than the required $500 simoleons. (5 points). So, I also purchased the Placard, My First Simoleon for 50 reward points, the Stunning Sign for 150 reward points, and the Placard Fobbs 500 for 500 reward points.

https://i.postimg.cc/xdXHw4RP/display-table-for-bakery.png

And Darsh is out canvassing the local businesses trying to get them to hold fundraisers for the Winterfest Festival. So, I was trying to incorporate the local businesses into the challenge.

- Municipal Muses is holding the "Playing with Paint" painting fundraiser (playful paintings)

- The Blue Velvet is going to have the "Blue Yule Singing Competition". I turned it into a karaoke club & it will be held on karaoke night, so we will get scores-top prize is $500 simoleons, so hope Elfie wins. (If he doesn't, he will just sing for tips for 5 hours for the fundraiser.) With all the patrons coming that night, the Blue Velvet will donate all bar proceeds to the Winterfest Festival, aka the $500 simoleons that Elfie wins! lol (This replaces the Cupid Kiss drinks, as I feel that singing is more elf-related.)

- Movers & Shakers Gym will be holding Yuletide Yoga led by Elfie. He needs Wellness Level 2 to be an instructor and he will hold Public Yoga classes in the gym. Apparently 1 yoga participant will pay you $110 simoleons. He will hold 5 family friendly yoga sessions. (I haven't tested this out, so we shall see how it goes.) (This is my own way to make simoleons.)

As far as the saboteurs, they will come in another form in my story. teehee

Dec 16 - Gosh, drones to survey the neighborhood and a sim took it apart, who is also a vampire. And while she was there, someone died! Wow! What a chapter! I was kind of concerned when the Grim Reaper was in the child's room...children can't die in the Sims 4...right? They better not. But, alas someone had died in their pool. Okay, being a vamp is also good if you get to restore someone when they died. Gosh! No more sadness, okay, we need cheerful! lol

Ahhh...how you wrote out the mistletoe part...."I simply hang it where my home is, and that’s wherever you are.” This is just so sweet. Like a line from a Hallmark movie. Love the little explanation about Summer Holiday being a former love interest of Gavin's. lol Daniel turning into a werewolf...um...yeah...stay away...he's mine! lol I love it, thanks for explaining, which makes it even funnier.

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Peggy: "Emma!“

The girl was never quite sure what exactly Emma was to her. They could be sisters, on account of Emma being Daniel’s goddaughter. But then again their age difference was pretty big, or at least seemed big to the ten-year-old, so maybe Emma being Peggy’s aunt was the better equation. But in any case everyone agreed that Peggy had developed her Cheerful trait in no small part due to Emma’s influence, and the young woman was always welcome at the Reeds’ place.

Emma was in her senior year of college, studying villainy and occultism in preparation for law school, but she didn’t care about her grades and therefore had come home early for the holiday break.

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So what WAS Emma interested in, if not her studies? Music and songs! She might even have an unpublished music sheet in her inventory right now, that she could donate for the Snowflake Gala. In short, Emma was the perfect coach for Peggy and her performers!

Peggy: “…and if you hang from the attic rafter, dad, Emma can use your bed.”

Emma: “Let’s not go overboard. I promise I’ll come over every day!”

https://64.media.tumblr.com/4e301347b74e0afb086a8a4ff1f98218/067167ae327eb214-c9/s1280x1920/845b0fb026420349f7f00f493c6026d72ae6e05e.png

After listening to the children, Emma decided that they were already sounding good enough to record a video of them. That would generate publicity for the Snowflake Gala and add a little more to the funds.

The video would hopefully also instill Christmas cheer and joy in the people, something the Neighborhood Watch hoped might counter the vampires’ influence. They knew who was manipulating the people and also had an idea why they did it. It sounded so pathetic, but the goal seemed to be to bully Gavin into joining the vampire conspiracy. Mrs. Diaz y Allende had alluded to that, and so far the Reeds had been the primary target of the sabotages.

Unfortunately the Neighborhood Watch hadn’t uncovered the exact means the vampires were using to influence the residents, so for now holding the negative emotions and the confusion at bay was all they could do.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/e34ef79613956887ce46fdb46e779b28/067167ae327eb214-c8/s500x750/8b28bfb4c49896070463cb4f1b3baa0ade47447d.png

Daniel edited the video for Peggy, she then uploaded it on her own. She also replied to a few comments and gained 150 social media followers. So kids can do this task, after all, I just hadn’t thought of this method.