Here's how to activate Fallout 4's Christmas event

The holidays are here, and few could use some festive cheer more than the downtrodden wastelanders of Fallout 4. You don't have to install a mod to turn Diamond City into a Christmas wonderland, but you do have to make sure it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

To deck Diamond City's halls, you'll need to advance the in-game calendar to December 25 (the citizens of the Commonwealth don't much care what day it is in the real world). Since the game starts on October 23, 2287, you may need to pull a post-apocalyptic Rip Van Winkle and sleep your way into the future. You'll also have to leave and re-enter the location if you're there when the day ticks round. If you already missed the in-game date without ever stopping by Diamond City, there's always Christmas 2288.

Either way, you'll find the Jewel of the Commonwealth strung with colorful lights and adorned with Christmas trees for the celebration. We didn't find a post-apocalyptic nativity scene with a mini nuke swaddled in a manger, unfortunately, but you could always build one next to the Carol of the Bells machine.

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Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.