In the spirit of giving and holiday joy, Monster Hunter has something perfect for hunters looking for a light-hearted break from the super serious “save the New World” quest. We have a slew of seasonal activities for hunters in both Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, so grab a hot drink and listen to what we have in store!

If you’re playing Monster Hunter: World (or thinking about getting started), now is the best time to join the hunt and partake in the Winter Star Fest up at the Astera Gathering Hub. And if you’re a Master Rank hunter on Iceborne (by the way, the expansion’s currently on sale for 25% off!), the Holiday Joy Fest also awaits you in the Seliana Gathering Hub!

During both Winter Star Fest and Holiday Joy Fest, you’ll get to hunt for some pretty neat exclusive seasonal rewards. The big star of the show is a new Snowman item, only available for Iceborne players. We’ve taken our brand-new snow rendering technology — developed specifically to display the dangerous expanse of the Hoarfrost Reach — and decided to use it… for fun!

Here’s how it works: as you log into and partake in the Holiday Joy festivities, you’ll get a Snowman. Take this item to any hunting locale and “build” a fully-fledged snowman complete with a face, hat, some holiday lights and even a scarf! Now the real fun begins when you and other players in the quest go up to the snowman to gather some snow and… well, I think you know what to do from there.

Hint: aim with L2, throw with Square.

Land enough snowball hits on a fellow hunter and they’ll get a silly snowman head of their own. Try it out… but just make sure there are no monsters around — they don’t get the full concept of “fun” and don’t hold back their punches.

And because the Holiday Joy fest is all about bringing joy with you wherever you go, you can actually place the Snowman in other environments too, even outside snowy areas… including the Volcanic region!

Enough about snowballs though… we’ve got a couple more holiday items to talk about. If you’re looking for a warmer atmosphere, look no further than the Seliana Gathering Hub. For the entire duration of the festival, it will be fully decked out for the occasion. And as usual, you can craft unique event gear. The event armor this time is the Oolong set for hunters and the adorable Shishi-mai costume for Palicoes.

In addition, we also have a few peculiar pieces of equipment debuting this seasonal event as well:

Mad Scavenger Pickaxe (Long Sword)

Duffel Penguin Mask (Headgear)

Sealed Dragon Cloth (Headgear)

Buff Body (Armor Set)

On top of all that, the third and final round of the Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds collaboration is coming up on December 26 at 4:00pm PST. Complete the quest “Firebreak” to craft the Banuk armor set, upgrade Aloy’s Bow into the Master Rank Aloy’s Adept War Bow and craft the Master Rank Palico Watcher Set. The Banuk armor is actually broken apart into individual pieces so you can mix and match this with other armor in the game.

So whether you’re in the mood for snowball fights with your fellow hunters or heated battles against fearsome monsters (by the way, the Safi’jiiva Siege is also live until Jan 5! Now is the perfect time to join the hunt.

Stay warm, and happy hunting!