Sandy's 'Hood

What fun!   All these "Santa" people interacting with each other. Snowmen, penguins, oh my!   the reindeer (where did you get them?) are beautiful!

I also often make plans in my 'hood to create 3-bolt relationships, sometimes (shhhh!) even using a hack to modify likes and dislikes as needed to get from 2 to 3 bolts.
And of course, Nick would be a toymaker! His helpers, too???? Samantha looks totally smitten!   
I have Huor and Harlow in my 'hood, too. Nothing as exotic as the North Pole. Harlow is a budding artist and Huor is a Welsh Bard - already (just by chance  ) the perfect 3-bolt match for Ulli    You'll have to tell us what Harlow is up to as well.

Looking forward to more news from Polar regions - but no more Polar Vortex!  

Thanks for looking Mac! The reindeer must have come with Happy Holiday Stuff Pack because I don't remember downloading it :) (or it could be from another ep?)
Your Huor and Harlow sound like fun! My Harlow is quite a character so far! Nick hired her to work in his shop. I was moving Nick around at one point and all of a sudden she goes running out of the shop yelling "I quit, I don't need this"...or something like that    She must have had an irritable customer    I haven't played many business's at all, should quite a learning experience!

Oh!   You're doing all of this in OFB! I've barely dabbled in it - will probably try it with a selected sim couple who are 1)At the top of their careers 2)Have plenty of points to buy green stuff 3)Are permanent platinum and 4)Are rich as Croesus. This has been an aspect of the game I've been avoiding, seems very complicated.

For a long time my game was exclusively about careers, then I added pets (mainly kitties), then children, then... ???

Nice picks, they are so adorable Nick and Samantha.

@Mac the reedier is Maxis it could came with the holiday EP or an extra holiday pack from Ea´s homepage.

Thanks Ulli!

Mac, I am mainly into careers for my sims too, then their hobbies. This comes at the expense of time spent decorating, haha. Most of my sims have mainly Maxis stuff :) Except for my weakness for different hair!

Loved the new pics! Thank you for sharing. Nice 'helpers'.

Sandy wrote:

I have new hoods and one of them is the North Pole populated by Samantha and Nicholas by Elle, Harlow by Toni and the male "Helper" group (by Elle)!

Yaaaay!!!   

I know Elle and Toni will be thrilled to see their Sims in your North Pole 'Hood, Sandy.   

Awww! I love it that Samantha and Nicholas have 3 bolts and go looking for one another when one is idle. So sweet! (Re: The pic with Samantha just watching Nicholas while he makes toys at his work bench. Precious!)
And welcome to the family little bright-eyed Patty!   

I have to say, Samantha, Nicholas and their very attractive male helpers all look fabulous in game. Three cheers to our Elle for creating such handsome Sims to populate your North Pole, Lady S!

Sandy wrote:

Mac, I am mainly into careers for my sims too, then their hobbies.

Me, too. I often get rather obsessed with my Sims focusing on their careers.
So much so, that I forget to simply let them have fun and enjoy life, family and friends sometimes!   

I'm very much enjoying your new "4 Seasons of Winter" 'hood, Sandy.

 

How fun seeing he holiday themed sims in action! Patty makes an adorable toddler.   

Thank you Nonni, Sugah, and Em! I am happy you enjoyed the pictures and families!  

I'm loving it, so far, Sandy, and can't wait for Elle to see, too!   

Sandy wrote:

I also love the playable in PV so you will see them in my pictures as well.

I like them, too, and tend to play that 'hood as is, adding my characters to round it out.   

Sandy wrote:

TWINS!!!!

They are too adorable! Darren usually makes pretty children. Congrats to the Dreamers!!!   

Sandy wrote:

Yay!! I got my computer back this afternoon, that's the good news! The bad news is that I didn't back up my game and have to start over..lol!

Starting over is sort of a gift and a curse. I'm glad you are up and running again.   

Sandy wrote:

Darren fell in love with Brandi this time, and she with him.  This is a first for me!

Hmmm...that's interesting. They are always drawn to one another in my game. If I have different plans in mind for either of them I have to keep them apart until I get their lives in order, otherwise I end up with jealousy issues.   

Sugah wrote:

That poor little dark haired kid staring at the family's lunch looks like he's longing for a sandwich, too.   

Sandy, your North Pole 'hood is beautiful. I agree with Mac about the reindeer and I do believe they did come with the Holiday Pack. Nicholas and Samantha look so happy in their winter wonderland environment.

Sandy wrote:

They are an adorable couple.  It took me a while to notice their style!  When one of them is off doing something and the "other" is idle they will go to where they are! Its SO cute.

They were the same way with one another when I was trying to take pictures of them for the update. I did not even make them spouses, just roomies but they were instinctively drawn to each other. It was cute but it made getting the pictures very difficult, even with poseboxes.   

Sandy wrote:

Patty is a toddler!!

Awww...she is so cute and those amazing eyes. I can't wait to see what she looks like when she gets older.   

Sandy wrote:

The Helpers have arrived.

Ooh, the boys are there, too! Great! What did you decide to call them? I can't imagine you kept my elven generated names although it would make life interesting trying to remember them.   

Sandy wrote:

I haven't played many business's at all, should quite a learning experience!

I am not a big fan of running businesses myself (much like in real life,   ), but the expansion did bring some cool things to the game. Good luck with the toy shop!

Sandy, it is such a pleasure to see my sims come to life through someone's game. Thank you for sharing the pics and for giving Nick and Sammy such a nice life.  

So glad you enjoyed the pictures and seeing some of your Sims! They are a lot of fun! I should have another update soon ;)

I am looking forward to the next installment.    Thanks for sharing with us, Sandy!

Thanks Nonni. Here is a new installment in the lives of Nick and Samantha Claus.

Here's Nicks Toy Shop and various pictures of the household :)







Harlow visits!




The Butler and Nick! I love having the butler around! If he stands in the corner, one of the family gives him a tip and he's back to work lol




Patty as a toddler!


Patty as a child!




Patty as a Teen!

How wonderful to find an update on your North Pole 'hood, Sandy!
I was wondering if you were still playing it just the other day.

I have to say, again, that Nick and Samantha Claus sure are a beautiful couple, aren't they?
And Patty appears to be a fair beauty, too.
I'd love to see a close up pic of her face as a teen, if you can capture one.   

You know, I never got to experiment with butlers.
They came with Apartment Life, didn't they?
I have that EP installed in my desktop which has been out of commission since last summer.
But when it's up and running again, I look forward to hiring on a butler.

Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed my trip to the North Pole.   

It is always fun and entertaining to see what is going on. Thanks, Sandy!  

Thanks Sugah and Nonni!

Yes, Nick and Samantha are a really cute couple. And you are right about the butler coming from Apartment Life EP. I heartily dislike "apartments" for my Sims but the EP did give us some other great stuff :)

I will definitely get a good close-up for you of Patty. She has a little sister now named Anne who is a "child" already and Samantha is expecting their 3rd child   

SandySimmer wrote:

I heartily dislike "apartments" for my Sims but the EP did give us some other great stuff

Exactly! I never use the apartment buildings, but am enjoying the witchcraft and some of the other socials. I'll soon be posting the engagement of an evil wizard and an evil witch.   

I find butlers to be a mixed bag.

Yeah, butlers have to have a big family to take care of or they tend to stand in corners lol

Ah, the magic feature. That is on my "list" of things to try again! Can't wait to see your "evil" engagement pictures!   

I always thought nannies were a "mixed bag" in game, too.
Sometimes they are priceless additions to a family and other times I want to strangle them!   

I couldn't get past the green haze surrounding evil witches in AL.
There has to be a hack out there somewhere to get rid of it.
I think Elle may have found it for me before my desktop went kablooey,
but it's been so long, I can't recall!   

Can't wait to see close up pics of Patty as a teen and her little sister Annie.
The Claus couple are not wasting any time procreating, are they?   

As for apartment living, I've only experimented with it a bit.
However, I've always wanted to build a pretty duplex or fourplex and a set of Victorian style or beach style (row) townhomes ... Just to experience it!

 

It seems your Christmas shop is crowded. The shelves looks empty you better make those worker do their job.   

She looks cute your Patty.

Do you have winter the whole year around?

Of course you have...  

Nice picks I like that penguin. She is cute, too.

Patty is growing up into a beautiful woman. The North Pole looks like a fun project.

I've only played a few of the Maxis playables. The Gavigans and the Newsons were OK and made pretty kids. The Ottomas family may look OK, but they do NOT produce attractive descendants! Generally, I prefer to micromanage my own sims.   

I have only played one business, and I really didn't know what I was doing. There is still so much I want to do in Sims 2.

I downloaded a hack to "lobotomize" nannies and it really does help with the nonstop feeding of babies. I found the butler annoying, mostly because he was constantly making meals whether the family needed them or not. I often just turned the fridge around so he couldn't use it, then had to remember to turn it back around so my sims could get some of the tons of leftovers in it. I guess my family was big enough because I never saw him standing in the corner.

Sugah, I know what you mean about the green haze. If I ever have any "witches" I might get that mod that takes it away if it gets tiresome!

I have taken some close-ups pics of Patty. As you see I am not the best picture taker, but I do my best lol I like to think I'm getting better, but I don't think I am ready for the "posebox" agenda yet, soon maybe :)

Ulli, its a shop I DL'd I think it was TSR, don't remember. I have played a business with someone else and am getting better at it. The whole employee thing, ech! Its fun, but I can't see making them go there everyday, otherwise they have no life!!
I started out having it winter all 4 season, but its getting old pretty quick! I just gave them fall and spring I think!

Cher, thanks for your comments. Had to laugh when you mentioned the mod to "lobotomize" the nanny. They are clueless aren't they? lol..I usually have the parents take turns staying home during the kids time before they turn teen.

Cher wrote:

I've only played a few of the Maxis playables.

At another Sims forum I helped moderate years ago, we had a thread where several of us played some of the original Maxis families (eg the Dreamers, Broke fam & Goths in Pleasantview, the Curious brothers in Strangetown, etc., etc).
It was a lot of fun to see which direction each of our forum members would take with those families and how differently we all chose to play them.   

Cher wrote:

I downloaded a hack to "lobotomize" nannies and it really does help with the nonstop feeding of babies.

  

I've never heard of such a hack. Wherever did you find it, Cher?

Sandy wrote:

Sugah, I know what you mean about the green haze. If I ever have any "witches" I might get that mod that takes it away if it gets tiresome!

    

Sandy wrote:

I have taken some close-ups pics of Patty.

I look forward to seeing them, Sandy. And you are doing just fine with your picture taking. As with everything, we improve with practice.
So, the more you take snapshots in game, the better they'll be!   

Sugah wrote:

I've never heard of such a hack. Wherever did you find it, Cher?

I use The Director's Cut here from More Awesome Than You. The nanny lobotomizer requires two things, I think. I'd never actually ask because they scare the living daylights out of me over there. I'm only half joking.    If you click on Directory, it will show all the items included in The Director's Cut.

All of the hacks and mods are described here. Post #2 describes the Baby Controller, which I love. It's an ugly eyeball thing that mounts on the wall and notifies you when the baby, or toddler, needs something. Post #3 describes the Lobonanny. I think it must be installed in order for the Baby Controller to have the lobotomize nannies menu available.

I'm sure you could find each mod separately, or download the Director's Cut and delete anything you don't want, if you wanted to try it out.