• General News
• Pet News
• PetPet News
• TNE News
• Gaming News
• Featured Game Illusens Glade and Jhudoras Cloud prize lists
• Featured Article Hooray for the Advent Calendar! Prize list for Year 5
• Featured Food Seasonal Pudding
• Featured Site

Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the news on a day to day basis. Here are the highlight from the Neopets news page for this month...

If you are a Cheeseroller fan, you will be pleased to hear the Cheeseroller shopkeeper has been added to our How To Draw pages. (December 1, 2003)

There is a new Neopedia story featuring Hannah from Hannah and the Pirate Caves. (December 4, 2003) Part two of Hannah and the Pirate Caves has just been released. (December 9, 2003)

NeoDecks should now be FREE. Yes, you no longer have to spend Neopoints to make them bigger. Neopets says the NP you have spent on your deck will be refunded over the next few days. (December 5, 2003) All the NeoDeck Refunds are complete. (December 9, 2003)

The NeoHTML size on the NeoBoards has been changed to 120 characters. (December 8, 2003)

Neopets changed the Shop History to only log purchases of over 1,000 NP. They said it was just too much information to store in their database. (December 9, 2003)

Neopets has removed the Newest 20 listing from the Island Trading Post. People were just spamming items over and over again and it was really hurting the database, and it really doesn't mean much anyway. (December 11, 2003)

There is a new Neopedia article featuring Gruslens. (December 11, 2003)

Neopets has added lots of new User Lookup shields including this smashing Slorg Rider and Grey Faerie. (December 15, 2003)

There is a new Neopedia article about Mika and Carassa. (December 15, 2003)

New taste treats are coming to the free omelette section. Look out for these four new Omelette flavors - Little Fishy, Chokato, Ham and Cheese and of course, Juppie. (December 16, 2003)

Special Days for this month were:

• Dec 5th - Bruce Day
• Dec 6th – TNE Webmaster’s Birthday
• Dec 10th – Donna’s Birthday
• Dec 12th - Wocky Day
• Dec 15th – TNE Mascot, JC (Jenny945), entered Neopia
• Dec 20th - Borovan Day - Everybody likes to drink a hot cup of borovan on this day!
• Dec 25th - Day of Giving - Gifts abound as all Neopia gets full of festive spirit
• Dec 31st / Jan 1st - Neopia enters the Year 6!

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Pets are painted at the Rainbow Pool (on the Main Shops page) with special magic paint brushes. Click here for a list of all pets and their available colors.

The big news this month was the release of a new paint brush…the Snow Paint Brush...

 (December 2, 2003)

v      Give your Peophin some seasonal spirit with a Christmas Paint Brush. (December 1, 2003)

v      Mynci owners will be pleased to hear they can now paint their Mynci Silver. (December 1, 2003)

v      Shoyrus are the first Neopet that can be painted with the Snow Paint Brush. (December 2, 2003)

v      Tuskaninny, Peophin, and Scorchio owners will be pleased to learn their pets can now be painted with the White Paint Brush. (December 3, 2003)

v      Quiggles can now be painted with the Snow Paint Brush. (December 4, 2003)

v      The Christmas Chia has been given a new look and the old look has been renamed the Snow Chia. (December 4, 2003)

v      Bruces can now be painted Starry and Snow at the Rainbow Pool. (December 5, 2003)

v      Get your hands on a Snow Paint Brush and you can turn your Grarrl all wintery. (December 8, 2003)

v      Eyrie owners who are lucky enough to get a Snow Paint Brush will be racing to the Rainbow Pool to get this new look... (December 9, 2003)

v      You can now paint your Lenny with the SPLIT Paint Brush. (December 9, 2003)

v      Myncis can now be painted Snow. (December 11, 2003)

v      Wockies can be painted Snow and Pink also. (December 12, 2003)

v      You can now own a Disco Korbat. December 15, 2003)

v      By popular demand Shoyrus can be painted with the Christmas Paint Brush (December 16, 2003)

v      Usuls can now be painted Snow. (December 16, 2003)

v      Techos can now be painted Snow. (December 18, 2003)

v      Moehogs can now be painted with the Christmas Paint Brush (December 18, 2003)

v      Tonus can now be painted with the Christmas Paint Brush (December 19, 2003)

v      Blumaroos can now be painted Snow. (December 19, 2003)

v      Cybunnies can now be painted Snow. (December 22, 2003)

v      Draiks can now be painted Christmas. (December 23, 2003)

v      Poogles are another Neopet to be painted with the Snow Paint Brush. (December 25, 2003)

v      Grundos also can be made into a Snowman version with a Snow Paint Brush. (December 29, 2003)

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For those of you looking for the Petpet Puddle, it is part of the Rainbow Pool. When you are on the Main Shops page, click on the Rainbow Pool. At the top of the next page is the link to the Petpet Puddle. Click here for a list of all petpets and their available colors.

Early in December, the Snow Petpet Paint Brush was released. This meant that in addition to the new Christmas paint options, there were lots of new Snow options as well.

q        Meowclops, Faellies, Stopngo 400’s, and Firs can be painted White at the Petpet Puddle. (December 3, 2003)

q        Four more Petpets can be painted with the Christmas Petpet Paint Brush - Noils, Mazzews, Puppyblews and Gallions. (December 4, 2003)

q        The Turdle and Pawkeet can now be turned into a Mutant. (December 5, 2003)

q        Ewwwww! The latest Petpet to hit the stores is the Snotbunny. (December 6, 2003)

q        Whinnies, Turmacs, Onas and Warfs can now be painted Invisible. (December 8, 2003)

q        Three new Wintery Petpets were released: Garoda, Feepit, and Wreathy. (December 9, 2003)

q        Snowbunny owners will be pleased to hear they can paint their Snowbunnies Grey, Green and Yellow at the Petpet Puddle. (December 10, 2003)

q        Snowbunnies are the latest Petpets to be added to the How To Draw pages. (December 10, 2003)

q        Find a Snow Petpet Paint Brush and you can turn your Pawkeet, Slorg, Khonsu and Geb into a wintery version. (December 11, 2003)

q        Spyders, Gruslens, Anubi and Buzzers can now be painted with the Snow Petpet Paint Brush. (December 15, 2003)

q        Sludgies, Niptors and Babaas can now be painted Snow at the Petpet Puddle. (December 18, 2003)

q        Whinny owners will be over the moon to learn they can paint their Whinnies Green, Pink and Yellow. (December 19, 2003)

q        This new Petpet has been spotted around Neopia. (December 22, 2003)

q        Snorkles can now be painted Snow, Glowing and Christmas. (December 23, 2003)

q        Whinny owners will be pleased to learn they can now paint their Petpet Island and Christmas. (December 24, 2003)

q        You can now own mutant Miamice, Mazzews, Angelpi and Warfs. (December 29, 2003)

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As with all good help sites, the pages on the Neopian Educator are always under construction. Suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome. Simply fill out the automatic comment form.

Most of this month was spent in other areas, so not a whole lot of new material was added to the site. More should be added next month as things get back to what passes for normal around here.

Work continues on the upcoming museum. (The newest addition is a page listing all of the shields that Neopets uses in user profiles.) This project is rather large, but at least you can get a quick look at it here. Note that these pages are still very much under construction. If you have anything you’d like to contribute, please send it to: Naomi_Tran@baylor.edu

Work is more or less complete on the FAQ's pages. This means more energy can be spent on the museum area. Some pages, of course, are regularly updated. The Chat FAQ page has been updated to show the new avatars.

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Games on Neopets are in a constant state of change and these changes are often not listed in the news. Here are the changes for this month:

Here are the new games that were added this month:

a    Arrrr, tis Bilge Dice. Roll the dice and try and get as close to 24 as you can! Beware, you are up against three scurvy opponents who will try their best to take your NP! (December 2, 2003)

a    Neopets released a new Mini-Golf Game for their sponsor Reese's Puffs. (December 5, 2003)

Changes to existing games:

If you are a Cheeseroller fan, you will be pleased to hear the Cheeseroller shopkeeper has been added to our How To Draw pages. (December 1, 2003)

They have increased the Neopoints you earn from each game of Extreme Herder by 33% (December 5, 2003)

There is a new Neopedia story featuring Hannah from Hannah and the Pirate Caves. (December 4, 2003) Part two of Hannah and the Pirate Caves has just been released. (December 9, 2003)

PIRATE CAVE UPDATE - You can now upload and test your Pirate Caves on the site. Create devious tricks and traps for your friends to navigate. Click here now. (December 5, 2003)

Mika and Carassa could use your help against the Snowbeast in the latest Defenders Of Neopia... (December 8, 2003)

Neopets is updating a lot of the descriptions of the limited use Battledome items so you will be able to tell straight away if the item is one use, limited use or liable to break. (December 10, 2003)

Neopets added a new feature to all Flash Games where you can submit a rating and feedback. (December 19, 2003)

Frumball now gives out 33% more Neopoints. (December 21, 2003)

Neopets increased the Neopoints given out by Korbat's Lab and Swarm. (December 21, 2003)

If you know of anything that was overlooked, or have suggestions or even constructive criticisms, use this form.

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Featured Game:

Reward Lists for Illusen's Glade and Jhudora's Cloud

Have a guide you'd like to see here? Send it to: Naomi_Tran@baylor.edu

Because these two games are so similar, this month features both Illusens Glade and Jhudoras Cloud. The object of these games/guests is to bring back the item they ask for before time runs out. As you know, you can get special avatars by completing quests for Illusen and Jhudora. Completing their quests will not always get you anything else, though. Note that you cannot do Jhudora and Illusen's quests in the same day.

Nobody is quite sure why there is such bad blood between these two, but their hatred of each other is the stuff of legends. Obviously, they don't want to have anything to do with someone who is willing to help the other. You may want to drop by Jhudora and Illusen's neopedia articles for a better idea.

Listed below is a chart of the prizes Jhudora awards for completing various levels.

Listed below is a chart of the prizes Jhudora awards for completing various levels.

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Featured Article:

Hooray for the Advent Calendar!

The Advent Calendar is a special "daily freebie" that is only open during December. Everyone who stops by gets the same prize...with one or two exceptions.

This year’s Advent Calendar gave out 11,214 neopoints and tons of items...some new, some rare, and some not-so-rare. The Pant Devil put in his annual appearance and stole all of the Rods of Supernovas (again). December 03, 2003, had two different prizes depending on what time you collected your prize. The Ghostkerswordy awarded on December 06, 2003, was renamed the Chocolate Ghosterkersword.

Below is a chart of the daily rewards from this year’s Advent Calendar. If you missed a day, you may want to pick up some of the items in case they are retired like they were last year. If you missed that day and want to see the animation, click on the date to link to the Neopets image file. Note that if you are viewing the archived copy, those image files may no longer be on the Neopets server.

At midnight, December 31, 2003 (N.S.T.), the Advent Calendar will be closed for another year. Neopia will enter Year 6 and who knows where we will be this time next year.

As always, play safe and have fun!

~StaggPub~

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Name: Seasonal Pudding
Available: From the Main Food Shop
Neopet’s Description: This great big fruit pudding will keep your Neopet full for hours!
TNE’s Description: England's favorite holiday dessert, immortalized in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, has delighted British food lovers since the Middle Ages, when it was often served with meats as a first-course "porridge." Suet—the layers of fat surrounding beef kidneys and loins—can be purchased from butchers and large supermarkets; it is inexpensive and can usually be purchased preground during the holiday season.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup currants
• 1/4 cup cut-up candied fruit peel
• cup cut-up candied cherries
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1 cup ground suet (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 1/4 cup brandy (optional) 

Directions:

Mix flour, spices, baking soda and salt. Stir in fruit, walnuts and bread crumbs. Mix suet, brown sugar, eggs and 1 tablespoon brandy; stir into flour-fruit mixture. Pour into well-greased 4-cup mold; cover with aluminum foil.

Place mold on rack in Dutch oven; pour boiling water into Dutch oven to rack level.

Cover and boil over low heat until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 3 hours. (Add boiling water if necessary.)

Remove mold from Dutch oven; un-mold. Heat 1/4 cup brandy until warm; ignite and pour over pudding. Serve with Hard Sauce.

Hard Sauce:

Beat together the following ingredients until smooth: one cup softened butter or margarine, one cup powdered sugar, and two tablespoons brandy.

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TNE Teacher’s Pet Award
To see previously featured sites, click here.
Have a site you'd like to nominate? Send it to: Naomi_Tran@baylor.edu

Here is a quick recap of this past year's featured sites.

Awarded	Summary
	Need the answers to today's Faerie Crossword? This is the place to go.
	Sadly, this site is no longer operational.
	This site was originally soupfaerie.com I'm not entirely certain why they changed domains, but if you missed their update, they are now at soup-faerie.com
	This is a fun little site with lots of information in an easy to navigate format.
	It seems that this site is no longer operational.
	This site has a little bit of everything...including ready made profiles.
	Ordinarily, we do not feature guild web sites, but this easy to navigate, informative site was just too good to pass up.
	Trying to beat NeoQuest before the sequel comes out? Then this set of maps is crucial.
	Sadly, this site is no longer operational.
	This site is fast loading and easy to navigate.
	This has a handy little area for user submissions...

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