Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game where you can do whatever you want. As you go through the seasons, you will always have some kind of special plant and crop that you can grow on your grandfather’s farm.
Unfortunately, Winter is the only season when you can’t grow any kinds of crops. This might sound like the worst 28 days in Stardew Valley, considering the amount of money you should have made from crops during the Fall.
Recommended Read: Where to Sell Crops in Stardew Valley
However, there are still a lot of things you can do in the game that don’t involve farming. Though everyone considers you the town’s farmer, you are actually the most talented worker in the whole neighborhood.
There are a lot of things you can do during the Winter in Stardew Valley, and we will list all of them below to give you as many tasks as possible until Spring comes again.
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What to Do in the Winter in Stardew Valley
Though you are limited to farming in the Winter in Stardew Valley, you still have access to all the other tasks that you could have performed in the other seasons.
Since you might have probably concentrated a lot on crops, here is a list of all the things you can do in the Winter in Stardew Valley:
- Fish
- Mine
- Forage
- Raise Animals
- Raise Friendships
- Upgrade Your Farm and Tools
- Clear Farm
Fishing in the Winter
Fishing is probably one of the best ways to make money in the early game in Stardew Valley, and it is a great pastime in the Winter.
Though you probably have more than enough money by this point in the game, you can still continue to fish to capture some of the rare, Winter-only water creatures.
Not only will you catch some extremely rare and expensive fish, but you can also finally work on completing the Bundles at the Community Center. Though there aren’t any Winter-only fish that are needed for the Community Center Bundles, you can still use some of them for some quests.
You will mostly find fish that have also appeared during the Summer and Fall, but that won’t necessarily be a problem, as you can use them for your Fish Ponds or just for some spare cash.
Mining in the Winter
Mining is that one thing that you either do too much or not enough in Stardew Valley. Since many people love farming, they often tend to forget about all the other activities.
If you are one of those players, then you should probably start spending more time in the Mines. Since you have no reason to be outside and you don’t care if it rains or not, you can spend almost every day deep in the Mines, looking for rare ores.
If you feel more adventurous and have also finished exploring the Mines already, you should try your luck in the Skull Cavern. Even if you won’t get incredible ores, you will get a lot of Combat XP and special loot from the monsters in there.
Since you should also spend time upgrading your tools and weapons, getting some ores from the Mines should be a priority on your list.
Foraging in the Winter
Foraging is actually one of the most important tasks for a Winter farmer in Stardew Valley, as you can get some of the rare forageables in the game during this season. The items that you can get during the Winter are:
- Crocus
- Crystal Fruit
- Holly
- Snow Yam
- Winter Root
Most of these forageables are needed in the Winter Foraging Bundle, so you will need to keep an eye out for them. They also sell for an above-average price, so that is also a bonus.
Unfortunately, the Snow Yam and Winter Root can only be obtained by tilling the soil at Artifact Spots. This means that you should keep an eye on the snow for the little worms sticking out and hit them with your Hoe.
As long as you pay attention, you can easily finish the Community Center this season and start your adventure on Ginger Island, where you can farm crops forever.
Raising Animals
Animals are one aspect of farming that many people dislike in Stardew Valley. It is generally not as profitable as growing crops, and it can be annoying to constantly pet every single one of your livestock.
However, in the Winter, besides the Pig, all animals keep producing items every day they can. The only difference is that they don’t leave their homes. This means that this is an amazing moment to start working on your animals if you haven’t done so before.
Since they will all be inside, you can also just find them all inside and quickly go through a petting spree to get out of there fast. The only thing that you should be careful with is the food for these animals.
If you haven’t prepared a large supply of Hay in the Fall, you will have to spend a lot of money at Marney’s to feed your animals and actually get resources.
No tall grass will grow during the Winter, so there is no other source of Hay.
Raising Friendships in the Winter in Stardew Valley
If you are one of the players that are obsessed with skills and money, then you probably have only befriended people by giving them gifts for their birthdays.
Well, during the Winter, you have the best opportunity to befriend absolutely every villager in Pelican Town, as you probably have a lot of items stacked in your chests.
Just prepare to give gifts to everyone twice a week and make sure to talk to everyone every day.
Since you probably have nothing better to do, this is the ideal moment to watch a lot of Stardew Valley cutscenes with all of Pelican Town’s residents.
Upgrading Your Farm and Tools
There are some tools, such as the Watering Can and the Hoe, that you can’t live without during the other three seasons. However, since you won’t use them at all during the Winter, you can upgrade both to the highest possible level.
Since you won’t have your tools for days when you upgrade them, you normally cannot do this during any other season unless you plan to ignore your crops for a few days.
You can also start upgrading all of your buildings on the farm, as many players tend to forget they can upgrade their sheds, barns, and house to higher levels.
Since you have nothing better to do, you can concentrate on getting the necessary resources and upgrading everything to go strong into the Spring.
This is the perfect moment to make sure that, when Spring comes, you won’t have anything better to do besides farming crops.
Clearing Your Farm
The last thing that you should do in Stardew Valley in the Winter is to clear your farm. There might be some overgrown trees and stones here and there.
Since you have the Energy to waste, this is an amazing moment to finally take care of the farm and make it look exactly how you want it to look. This is the moment to place roads all over the place, tear down all the trees and stones, and make everything look good for Spring.
If you want to spend a lot of time decorating and are afraid that you are missing out, Winter is the best moment to do it.
You have nothing more important to do, so make sure that your farm is looking great.
That’s everything you need to know about what to do in the Winter in Stardew Valley!
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