Farming for Love 7th Farm Beauty Contest

(Screenshot from original Family Farm of Love Fountain and other St. Valentine's Day items)

(Above, two screenshots of the Lovely Planter Base with the Lovely Mister Cat, Lovely Lady Cat, Lovely Balloons and Lovely Heart upon it.)

The 7th Farm Beauty Contest is live now with a 'Farming for Love' Theme.   As soon as you submit your photograph of your farm, you will find your Votes from the four Characters from the previous day.  Set up your farm to its best advantage with a balance of Crops, Animals, Machines and Decoraitons and THEN submit a photograph to enter the Contest.

The same rules apply to this contest as to the previous one.

Basic Rules of Contest
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The basic rules of the Farm Beauty Contest do not vary from contest to contest but the number of Votes that each Character gives has changed with the latest update.  You now can access the Screenshot Menu, tap on any Character and see precisely how many Votes you earned today for each of the four aspects that Character favours.  Duplicate items do not increase Votes at all and once you have received the maximum of 16 to 24 Votes for a category with a Character, placing new items that fall within the category will not change the total either.

Maximum Character Votes
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To obtain the maximum from each Character as far as the Crops, Animals, Machines and Trees are concerned, this is the total you need to place before taking a photograph:

12 different Crops
21 different Trees
13 different Machines
10 different Animals

As far a 'high level' is concerned, you originally needed to be at Level 160 to have maximum votes for THAT, so most of us fail there, although I think it has been modified to Level 150 for the maximum.  .. as far as Expansions are concerned, you do not need the maximum farm expansion to get the maximum Vote for that.  In fact, even if you do not have the 20 x 20 Expansion, you will get maximum votes for your expansion of your farm.

Note here that Beehives and Butterfly Houses as well as the Bat House are Animals for this purpose.

What Characters Value
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The Characters gave their Votes for the following:

First of all, the idea that every change will be worth 1 Point is misleading.   Originally, the developers wanted to keep it all a mystery.  Now each category is given a total:

Felicia:
Charm Points: 24
Theme Items: 24
Animals: 16
Expansions: 16

Dad:
High Level: 16
Expansions: 16
Machines: 16
Theme Items: 24

Darryl:
Charm Points: 24
Theme Items: 24
Large variety of Crops (used to be Trees): 16
Gallery Registration: 16

Grandma:
High Level: 16
Charm Points: 24
Trees: 16
Gallery Registration: 16

How Character Votes Work
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Now, it is important to remember that 'theme-related Decorations only account for a percentage of the Votes given by Felicia, Darryl and Dad.  I believe that once you achieve the total that is the maximum those Characters can give to you for theme, you will not be able to earn any more Votes from them for THAT, irrespective of the number of Theme Decorations that you purchase and place. Bear this in mind when you are tempted to go mad in the upcoming sales.  Originally you had to purchase the NEW Theme Decorations in order to achieve the maximum of 24 Votes for Theme from each of the three Characters but that may have changed as on the very first day of the Contest, Harvest Moon FDC this time had 24/24 for Theme and 24/24 for Charm.  Now bear in mind the fact that two of the 'new' items in the current sale were offered last year as well so those two were on the farm even before the contest began...  whether they would be considered 'new' or not is another matter.  It is entirely possible that not being able to earn the maximum before one purchased the 'new' theme decorations was a glitch or programming defect that has been fixed.

As for Charm Points, some indication of the maximum total needed for Character Votes can be seen with respect to Rosewood Farm where 1558 Charm gave 23 out of 24 for Charm.  Today added Decorations to give 1578 Charm Points and will see if that allows the final Vote to be given for Charm.  In fact, it did.

Duplicate items count only towards total Charm Points and will not add to the Votes that you receive from any of the four Characters.

Although there is a 'ceiling' to the number of Votes you can earn from the three Characters for Theme or Charm,  there is no limit to the possible Charm Point total for global ratings.  How does this benefit you?  For the Characters who value Charm, once again, you can achieve only a total of 24 Votes each day for that aspect of your Farm from those Characters... once you achieve that, additional Charm points will not be considered by the Characters.  After that total is reached, additional Charm only benefits as far as your global rating is concerned.  It does not affect your Votes from Neighbours.  Each Farmer has 3 Votes per day to give to Neighbours.

The Votes from the four Characters dropped off once the final Reward was received in former Contests but this one is different.  Even after receiving the Avatar Reward, you will continue to obtain Votes from the Characters.

Voting for my Farms
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Of course, I would be thrilled if farmers who used my site would be willing to send their Votes to Harvest Moon or Rosewood Farms.  Winning the Contest may be hopeless but I would love to be able to obtain the special Decoration and the Avatar if possible.   I would like to thank every one who voted for me again.  As I wrote previously, I do not make any money with my site.  I do not have any adverts on it and do not promote anything other than the game itself.  I write the guide because I always find a good guide useful when playing a game and I believe other players feel the same, so if you wish to give me anything, please give your Votes! To do this, tap on the FINAL icon for 'My Neighbours' and then 'Visit' Harvest Moon FDC or Rosewood.  Once at the farm, you can choose to Vote once for it or use all three Votes in quick succession.  That is how the Voting procedure works.  On the left you will see 'My Snapshot' menu where you interact with your own options to post a new secreenshot, collect your Rewards as well as the Votes you are given each day from Characters and Neighbours.  On the right you will see 'Vote for Others'.  Tap on the 'Vote for Others' and you will be given three choices: Random Pick, Great Farmers and My Neighbours.  I personally think 'My Neighbours' is the only really fair option.  You then will be taken to a list of your Neighbours who have entered the Contest.  You have to choose to 'Visit' one in order to be able to vote and you can Vote up to three times either for one farm or for different farms.

Voting for Items
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There is an option to vote for any Item, whether it is a Crop, Tree, Machine, Animal or Decoration on a Neighbour's Farm when you give your Vote for the Contest.  On both Harvest Moon FDC and Rosewood, there are Iris Flowers.  Please do 'Like' the Iris.  I am hoping this one day will persuade the developers to return it to the Market as a permanent Crop.  On Harvest Moon FDC, there is one Love Rose and one Primrose as well.  Please 'Like' them if you can!

How to Vote
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For farmers who are participating in the Contest for the first time, a brief set of instructions on voting:

First either tap on the little gold trophy on the top right of your screen or go to your Menu and tap on the Farm Beauty Contest icon there.  You will be taken to the general Farm Beauty Contest Menu.

Your Photograph
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According to Support, your current Photograph or Screenshot is the basis for the Votes of the four Characters each day.  You cannot participate in the Contest until you submit a Photograph.  You can change your Photograph once each day, but many players do not do so unless they have changed something on their farms to obtain more Votes either from the Characters or to achieve a better global rating by increasing Charm Points.

To take a new Screenshot, access the General Farm Beauty Contest Menu.Tap on 'My Screenshot' and then tap on the small icon of My Screenshot that appears in the top left corner. Now you will see options below to 'Re-Take or to 'Check'.    You will see an option to write a new message to visitors and potential Voters as well.   Tap on Re-Take when your Farm is at its best and a new Screenshot will be submitted.  To write a new message, tap on the script box and you will have the option to change it and then 'Save' it.

When you access the Farm Beauty Contest menu and then tap on My Snapshot, you should see a countdown of how much time remains until the next Character Votes are logged for you to collect.

Boosting Character Votes
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Now, how can you boost the Votes of the four Characters even if your Charm totals are low and you cannot afford to buy Theme Decorations with real Cash?

First of all, each of the four Characters bases his/her Votes on different aspects of your Farm as you can see from the list of farming aspects that each favours..  As shown in the list of Theme Decorations, there are three Characters who give Votes for the Theme. Votes are given by different Characters, however, for a wide variety of Crops, for Trees, for Animals and for Machines.  Gallery Registration will give you Votes with two Characters.  Expansions count as well...

So what I suggest to every Farmer is to make certain that you have registered as many items on your Farm as possible before the Contest begins and if you cannot complete this task prior to the start, keep registering your Items until they all have been added to the Gallery.  This cannot give you more than a total of 16 Votes daily but if you do qualify for the maximum number of Votes for Gallery from the two Characters that value this aspect of Farming, you will be in a good position.

Expansions give Votes as well so make certain that you have completed as many Farm expansions as possible on your original Farm.  Actually, you can get the maximum of 16 Votes for Expansions even without the last farm expansion.

It is not mere ownership of items that gives Votes but PLACEMENT of them on your Farm.  When the Contest begins, place a good balance of Animals and Machines on your Farm and plant a variety of Crops as well as making certain that you have as many different types of Trees as possible.  Again, each of these aspects of farming will not give more than a total of 16 to 24 of the Votes of the Character or Characters who value them.  As indicated, each Character has four different categories of farming upon which his or her Votes are based.

The one aspect of Character votes that is difficult to obtain is the maximum given for 'high Levels'.  It appears that one would have to be at Level 150 in order to obtain the maximum number of Character Votes for high level.  At Level 90, you obtain only 9 Votes!

As previously discussed, Charm is valued by some of the Characters but piling Decorations on your Farm is pointless as there is a ceiling to the number of Votes given by the Characters for your Charm. I therefore would recommend that farmers who cannot place in the top 50 globally focus more on creating a balanced Farm with a good mixture of Crops, Trees, Animals and Machines than attempting to load your Farm with duplicate Decorations or indeed Decorations that are not cleanable once you have exhausted your normal stock of Theme Decorations and a certain number of Charm points.  The members of my Group on Facebook, Family Farm Seaside Freyashawk and I experimented with this during the last Contest to see how Votes would be affected.  It really did not require too many Decorations to achieve the maximum number of Votes from a Character who valued either Charm or Theme... beyond that, one was using space on the farm that would be better allocated to ANOTHER aspect of farming that would garner Votes from a Character.

Theme-related Decorations only add to 'Theme' Votes from a Character ONCE.

Now, this is how low level Farmers can benefit from full participation in the Contest. There is a list of Rewards given for achieving specific Vote totals.  Every couple hundred Votes or so, you will receive a specific Reward.  Most of them consist of Farm Aids, Coins and Purple Mystrons but there is a Decoration Reward and at the very top of the list, two Rewards that consist of RC, the final one being paired with a special Avatar.  In the current Contest, the Decoration is a  Balloon Decoration that no doubt can be placed on the Lovely Planter Base when it is complete.  The Decoration really is more significant than the Avatar Reward for most farmers.

Your Votes from the four Characters DO make a difference, therefore, even if you cannot achieve huge totals of Votes or place globally.  You can achieve a number of the Rewards on the list if you maintain a balanced Farm.

NONE of this will count, however, if you do not take photos of your Farm.  The Votes of the four Characters are determined by your CURRENT PHOTO in the Contest.  In other words, give your Farm the greatest advantages in terms of Crops, Trees, Animals and Machines as well as Decorations,  take your photograph and THEN AND ONLY THEN store items or do whatever is necessary for REAL work on your Farm.  A new time-restricted Mission should be released next Friday if everything goes according to the regular schedule.  You may need to store items in order to produce products and so on... so start your day by registering for the Farm Beauty Contest by taking a photo after you have made your Farm as profitable, vote-wise as possible.  You then will be free to get on with the business of real farming

Theme Items for this Contest are:

Theme Decorations:
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Lovely Planter Box Base
  3 Votes
  9 Charm when purchased 

Lovely Heart (available from current sale)
   2 Votes
   6 Charm Points

Lovely Balloons (Reward Decoration from Contest)
  1 Vote

Lovely Mister Cat Deco (available from current sale)
  3 Votes

Lovely Lady Cat Deco (available from current sale)
  3 Votes
  8 Charm

Teddy Bear Balloon (Available from current sale)
  2 Votes
  7 Charm

Rose Fence (purchase in Market)
  1 Vote

Flamingo (available now in sale)
  2 Votes
  30 Charm

Boy Cupid (available now in sale)
  2 Votes
  18 Charm

Girl Cupid (available now in sale)
  2 Votes
  18 Charm

Mystic Rose (available from current sale or from past)
  2 Votes
  7 Charm

Bouquet Bunny (available from Lucky Wheel or past)

  1 Vote
  5 Charm

Mini Eiffel Tower (available from Lucky Wheel or past)

  1 Vote
  3 Charm

Robovase (available from Lucky Wheel or past)

  1 Vote
  1 Charm

Flower Stand (available from Lucky Wheel or past)
  1 Vote
  1 Charm

Love Fountain  (not available... really disappointing!!!!!)
  1 Vote

In place of the Love Sign, now removed, there is:

Rose Fence  (purchase in shop for 1 RC or gift from Buddy)
  1 Vote
  1 Charm

Flower Hedge (purchase in Market)

  1 Vote
  1 Charm Point

There is one 'Collectable' but it is defined as a Decoration and therefore has Charm:

Chocolate Fountain  (available from past or current sale)
  1 Vote
  10 Charm Points

There are three Machines:
  Machines have no Charm Value.

Chocolate Machine

Flower-Packing Machine

Perfume Machine

Machines have no Charm Value

There is one 'Animal':

Valentine Beehive  (available from Lucky Wheel)


There are three Trees:
  Trees have no Charm value

Chocolate Tree
  1 Vote

Dark Chocolate Tree
  1 Vote

White Chocolate Tree
  1 Vote

Originally, the book included the following:

Love Sign  (originally in book with a note to purchase from shop, but now has been removed entirely from the book)
  1 Vote

Remember to register your Items before you take your Screenshot if possible.

Lovely Planter Box Base for February

(Above, two screenshots of the completed Lovely Planter Box Base with the Lovely Mister Cat, Lovely Lady Cat, Lovely Balloons and Lovely Heart upon it.)

A new base is in the market for 3000 Coins.  It is the Planter Base. It unlocks only when you reach Level 23 so is not available to new farmers until then.  As usual, its release is accompanied by a simple quest.  Completion of the little quest will give you Coins and XP but no materials for the Base itself.  The base needs four materials to complete as follows:

9 Planter Box Bricks
6 Planter Box Soil Bags
6 Planter Box Shovels
10 Planter Box Deco

First Material
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You could receive Planter Box Bricks  by completing the highlighted Order on the Daily Order Board.  Remember that you now can refresh three times.  Now the highlighted Order only gives random Farm Aids.

Second Material
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The Second Material was received by completing the 'Weekly Activity'.  You would receive 2 Soil Bags for every Weekly Activity completed, but that now has expired and current weekly activities give only the usual Yellow Mystrons.

Third Material
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The Third Material for the Planter Box is received by completing the first 8 tasks of 'Felicia's Diary' Quest.  That quest will expire on Wednesday.

Fourth Material
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The Fourth and final material for the Planter Box is received randomly in special Cooking Bags obtained by eating at your Neighbours' Cooking Stand.  For the weekend, players have been given the chance to consume double the usual amount of Cooking Bags at their Neighbours' Cooking Stands.

As of 20 February, you should be able to complete the Lovely Planter Box Base if you are diligent in consuming the Cooked Dishes at your Neighbours' Cooking Stands and have collected all other materials.  if you are missing any materials, you should be given the chance to purchase them for 1 RC each after the last activity (the Cooking Stand activity) expires on 27 February.

To Complete or Not to Complete
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To complete or not complete the Lovely Planter Base:  Some players either were not at high enough level to buy the Lovely Planter Box Base when it first was released and therefore missed some of the activities that give Materials.  Others may have missed materials for whatever reason.  After the 27th, when the special Bags given at the Cooking Stand no longer are available, you should be able to buy any missing materials for 1 RC each.  Thankfully, the Lovely Planter Box Base DOES give a Blue Box, like most of the others.  The exception is the Ice Base that for some stupid reason, gives a Purple Box.  (Should we complain???)  Anyway, at present, there are only four Decorations that are stackable on this base, but I expect that the Calender Reward for February will be added to this.  You have to buy the Lovely Lady Cat, the Lovely Mister Cat and the Lovely Heart before the sale expires if you want them on the base.  Second, the two cats only come out of their carriers when you have BOTH of them on the base. Having only one will not trigger the cute animation.  It therefore requires a significant investment in real money to load the base.  The fourth decoration is the current Farm Beauty Contest Reward but I think that the February Calendar reward can replace that one.  Even without the decorations, the base itself yields a Blue Box.   You do have to be at Level 23 to unlock the Planter Box Base, and if you have not earned any materials, it will cost you a total of 33 RC to complete it.  If, however, you have some of the materials, consider this:  The other Decorations in the market that give a Blue Box are the Mini Beach that costs 16 RC, the Market Stall that costs 20 RC, the Bird Home Base that costs 25 RC for the first one, and the Clothes-Drying Rack that costs 16 RC.  So if you have to spend less than 15 RC, it may be worth the price, even if it will be empty until the end of the Month if you haven't purchased the premium items that are stacked on it.  Finally, if you can afford to buy the Lovely Heart, it probably is the most pleasing addition to the base if you can't buy the two cats together.

Lovely Planter Box
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Felicia:  Spring is coming soon and with it the Love Season.  I want to be prepared with a nice place for some more nice fresh flowers on the farm and for couples to sit!

Harvest 8 times from Cherry Trees
  Skip for 8 RC

Prepare 8 Light Muffins
  Skip for 8 RC

Buy and place the Lovely Planter Box Base on your Farm

Reward: 1000 Coins, 100 XP

ALL BASES AND THEIR DECORATIONS
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Decorations for Bases
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A member of my Family Farm Seaside Freyashawk Group on Facebook asked for a list of items that can be placed on the various bases so I am adding a section here for that information.

Generally speaking, with the exception of the Bird Home Bases that are interchangeable, Decorations generally are Base-specific.  In other words, if a Decoration goes on one Base, you will be unable to place it on any other Base.

There are a couple of exceptions to this, however, in the form of the Snowman and Snow Man that can be placed both on the Snow Base and the Ice Base.

So far, the only Bases that are available on a permanent basis in the Market are the Bird Bases.  The Bird Bases are linked to the Time Machine in the Gallery wherein the completion of two-part Missions will give a Decoration as a Reward.  These Decorations can be placed on the Bird Base.  So far, there are only 8 Missions and thus 8 Decorations.  You can place them on one or two Bird Bases, however.  A Base has a limit of four Decorations.

The Bird Base Decorations are not cleanable, but the Bird Base itself will give a Blue Box when cleaned.  All other Bases so far have been seasonal in nature.

The current Animations that occur when you place specific Decorations together on a Bird Base all are linked to the Farm Bird House.  The Farm Bird House when placed with the Hamster Friend allows another Hamster to exit the house to eat from the food dish while the first Hamster runs on his Wheel.  When the Farm Bird House is placed with the Bird Seesaw, a second little yellow bird will exit the house to leap onto the seesaw to play with the first.  When the Farm Bird House is placed with the Bird Pool, the Mini Water Pump and the Bird Ball Pool on the base, the Blue Bird will float on a ball in the Bird Pool, drink from the water in the Mini Water Pump, fly up to use the pump to add more water, then fall asleep to fall off the base to land in the Bird Ball Pool with flying feathers all round.

Lovely Planter Box Base
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As of 22 February, the following can be placed on the Lovely Planter Box Base.    No doubt others will be added, but at present, these are:

Lovely Mister Cat Decoration, Lovely Lady Cat Decoration, Lovely Heart and Lovely Balloons.  The Lovely Balloons is the Reward for the current Farm Beauty Contest.  I expect that the reward for February, the Lovely Boxwood will be stackable on this base in the position of the Lovely Balloons for players who failed to obtain that Reward.

The alternatives at present are the Boy Grass Hair Deer and Girl Grass Hair Deer.  They can be placed in the positions of the Lovely Mister Cat and the Lovely Lady Cat.  Other alternatives are the Blue Ducky and the Red Ducky who respectively take the place of the Lovely Lady Cat and Lovely Mister Cat as well.  The Mum cannot go on this base at all.

Halloween Base
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The Halloween Base was the first of the seasonal Bases.  It no longer can be purchased in the Market and all activities that gave Materials have expired.  You can complete the Base if you have it by purchasing the materials you lack using RC.

The following can be placed on the Halloween Stage (Base):  Skeleton Rockstar Frontman, Skeleton Rockstar Diva, Stereo Coffin, Pumpkin Tower and the Ghost Broom.  As always, there is a limit of four items that can be placed.  The Pumpkin Tower and the Ghost Broom occupy the same position on the Stage, so you have to choose between them.  The Pumpkin Light, Wind Chimes, Witch Legs and the Shovel now can be placed on this Base as well.  The Flower Pot now can be placed on the Hallowe'en Stage in the position of the Pumpkin Tower et al.

As of February, two Decorations have been made stackable for this particular base in the form of the Flower Stand and the Mystic Rose.

Thanksgiving Base
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The Thanksgiving Base incorporated more choices from Decorations available in the Market.  These included the Woodpile and the Mushrooms and the Hay.  Other items that can be placed on the Base are the Thanksgiving Turkey, the Colourful Tent, the Indian Hat, the Harvest Hat and the Hedgehog.  The Woodpile occupies the same position as the Indian Hat and Harvest Hat and the Mushrooms occupy the same position as the Hedgehog as does the Lacquer Horn and the Cornucopia.  The Haystack can go in the position of the Indian Hat.

Once again, although one no longer can purchase the Thanksgiving Base in the Market, farmers who were unable to complete the activities associated with the materials can purchase any remaining materials needed for RC.

Snow Base (Christmas)
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The following should be able to go on the Snow Base:  Tree Reindeer, ALL Snowmen including Snowman, Snow Man, Snow Magician, Bunny Snow Girl, ALL Snow Globes including Snow Globe and Christmas Crystal Ball, Small Snowflake Fence and the Snow Tree Arch . Other arches that initially could not be placed now can, including Tree Arch, Autumn Arch, Welcome Arch, Balloon Door and Welcome Sign, Christmas Wreath Fence and Candle Stand.  All of these now can be placed.  Note that the default position for the Tree Arch will not allow it to be placed on the base.  You must turn it first and then the jigsaw icon will be available to allow placement.

There is a new Decoration that players will receive after 5 Ice Cream Friendship Flowers have been crossbred.  It is the Ice Queen, with a Charm value of 7.  It is a stackable and cleanable Decoration and can be placed on the Snow Base in the position of the Bunny Snow Girl.

Ice Base:
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Bobo Fishing on Ice, Fish Ice Pond, Snowy Owl, Bobo's Backpack, Ski Penguin, Ice Swan, Ice Cat, Ice Dolphin.  The Ski Penguin can be substituted for Bobo and the Ice Swan, Ice Cat and Ice Dolphin substituted for the Snowy Owl..  Bobo's Fish BBQ now can go on the Base in the position of the Fish Ice Pond.  Thus, he can first catch the fish and then grill it. Bobo Bear's Guitar can go in place of Bobo Bear's Backpack as can his original Backpack.

Easter Picnic Base
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Stackable items for Easter Base include Easter Backdrop, Easter Lamp, Bunny in Basket, Chicken in Egg... as well as the International Eggs, Flower Pot Bunny, Bouquet Bunny, Egged in Bunny and I daresay, the Easter Torch when we finally receive it.