Present

Presents are a way of sending gifts such as furniture, flowers, and fruit to other villagers and players in the series. The present initially appears as a white box with a red bow around it, and can be opened in the player's inventory. Presents appear in various different ways. Here is a list of examples -
 * Floating on a balloon - Can be shot down with a slingshot (in and, players must wait until it rests in a tree and then shake it)
 * A gift from a villager or the player's mother - Attached to a letter.
 * A delivery task on behalf of a villager - Although intended for another resident of the town, these can be opened, and appear as a white box with green bow. Talking to the villager who gave the player the task may get angry knowing it has been opened.
 * Sometimes, if the player does not get the task done, the villager will ask for the present back and deliver it themselves.
 * Other times, the present will not say "For ", and it will say "What was that?", in which the villager who asked the player to deliver it will forget they even asked them, and the player will not be able to deliver it.

Floating Balloons
Balloons sometimes float along in the air, but always carry a present along with them. In Animal Crossing, a player would have to hope that the present got stuck in a tree, meaning that it could be shaken down, but in Wild World, City Folk and New Leaf, presents could be shot down with a slingshot. If shot down over water, and it lands in the water the player will show the emotion shock and will be unable to retrieve that present.

Balloons seem to float randomly over the town, but they in fact originate on the edges of the map at specific times, different for each town. The times they will appear will all end with the same minute value; for example, if players see a present float in from the edge at 5:45, they can be sure that each time it floats in will be a time ending in the minute value "4" or "5" depending on the game. Presents can then appear at times such as 7:55, 2:34, or 3:15. They will not appear at times such as 6:22 or 2:17. In presents only appear from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In other games they appear 24 hours a day.

After the player shoots down 15 packages, a silver ( only, in silver slingshots are rarely found in Tom Nook's store) or golden slingshot will float across the town on either a golden balloon (Wild World) or a group of two silver / three golden balloons (City Folk and New Leaf). These balloons have to be shot down in order to obtain the silver or golden slingshot tools, which shoot tow and three pellets respectively and differ in appearance to the store-bought varieties.

Usually, presents appear just above the player, but in Wild World, they appear on the top screen. Presents in must be shot down from the top of town. In and  presents take set routes at acre boundaries, which are the same routes that Gulliver's U.F.O. takes.

In City Folk, the presents are the sole source for the Super Mario themed items, but common items can be shot down as well. Phineas the sea lion states that balloons actually come from the sky. This statement, however, cannot be proven.

In New Leaf, presents can be caught by a net or shovel near the beach. They are the sole source for balloon-themed furniture.