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Making friends is fun! It's also an important life skill. In Stardew Valley, just as in real life, making friends is vital to success. The player can gain a ton by befriending the correct characters. If the player can locate and befriend the correct characters, they will find that those characters can give them or grant them access to some surprisingly helpful benefits.

Evelyn is one of the first characters a Stardew Valley player will encounter when entering Pelican Town. She is a friendly old lady who has lived there her entire life. She can’t be romanced as she is already married to George. However, she is a great friend to have as the game progresses. Evelyn can usually be found in her home between the trailer and the Saloon. Players will soon discover that Evelyn is always hopeful and optimistic. She loves to garden, bake cookies, and reminisce about her town's past. Here is a guide to befriending this lovely lady.

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Gift Guide

Evelyn Stardew Valley

Gift giving is the most reliable way to earn Friendship Points in Stardew Valley. It takes approximately 30 loved gifts (closer to 27 if one is given on their birthday) to get a villager from 0 hearts all the way up to 10. Evelyn's birthday is very late in the year, on Winter 20th.

The player can give Evelyn up to two gifts per week (plus one on her birthday). Evelyn can usually be found in her home in the kitchen, in the clinic on the 2nd and 23rd of each season, or in the Community Center (once it has been repaired) from 12:10 PM-4:30 PM on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

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Loved Gifts

Of the gifts listed below, Tulips and Beets are by far the best and easiest options. Their seeds are incredibly cheap at 20g, and they only take 6 days to grow in Spring (for Tulips) or Autumn (for Beets). Tulips are slightly more recommended as they're available right away in the first season and don't require access to Calico Desert. Just plant around 30+ of either crop, stockpile them, and give them to Evelyn two days a week until the stockpile runs out. That should earn the 10th Friendship heart with no problems. The other options aren't as viable due to either high cost or rarity, but are still worth knowing:

  • Beet
  • Chocolate Cake
  • Diamond
  • Fairy Rose
  • Stuffing
  • Tulip
  • All universal loves

Liked Gifts

Evelyn's most common liked gift, the Daffodil, is a forgeable in Spring. This one really doesn't stand out much, solely because they are so simple to acquire and effective. However, it makes for a good backup gift if the farm has a few lying around in a season that isn't Spring.

Evelyn also Likes the following:

  • All Milk varieties
  • All Universal Likes except for:
    • Fried Eel
    • Garlic
    • Maki Roll
    • Sashimi
    • Spicy Eel
    • Trout Soup

Disliked & Hated Gifts

It is, of course, important to know what gifts should be avoided when trying to befriend a villager. This list includes all of Evelyn's dislikes and hates, which players should never give her:

  • Dislike:
    • All Universal Dislikes except for Fish and Clay
    • Quartz
    • Wild Horseradish
  • Hate:
    • All Fish
    • All Universal Hates
    • Clam
    • Clay
    • Coral
    • Fried Eel
    • Garlic
    • Holly
    • Maki Roll
    • Salmon Berry
    • Sashimi
    • Spice Berry
    • Spicy Eel
    • Trout Soup

Quests

Evelyn Stardew Valley

Quests are set objectives within the game that provide rewards once completed. All Stardew Valley quests are kept in the quest journal. The player can find the journal by clicking the exclamation point icon, just below the date/time display in the upper right of the screen.

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Evelyn only has a single quest in Stardew Valley, and it happens to be a non-randomized one:

  • Granny's Gift: On the 15th of the Spring in the 2nd in-game year, Evelyn will send a letter through the mail requesting a Leek. This is an extremely easy quest to finish, as Leeks are basic Spring forgeables, and it's easy to find plenty of them. The reward is 1 Friendship heart and 500g.

Friendship Perks

Evelyn Stardew Valley

There is a good reason why the player should pursue a friendship with Evelyn. If Evelyn's Friendship level is anywhere higher than 0, she has a chance of sending the player the following items every day through the mail. The odds of her sending anything increase with a higher Friendship level.

  • Bread: This dish gives 50 Energy and 22 Health when eaten.
  • Chocolate Cake: This dish gives 150 Energy and 56 Health when eaten.
  • Cookie: This dish gives 90 Energy and 40 Health when eaten.

At the beginning of the game, these items are actually extremely valuable. The player is much more limited by Energy than anything else in the game at that point, so obtaining anything that gives Energy for free is as good as it gets.

At 4+ Friendship hearts, if the player walks into Evelyn's house at any time she's in there, they will witness a Heart Event where she bakes cookies and gives the player her recipe. This is the only way to get the Cookie recipe. Choosing the "It's delicious!" option when she asks what the player thinks of her cookies will award 100 free Friendship points.

Finally, when the player earns 7+ hearts with Evelyn, she will send the recipe for Rice Pudding in the mail. This is the only way to get this recipe. Rice Pudding gives 115 Energy and 51 Health when eaten.

Stardew Valley is available for Android, iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.

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