TSR January Newsletter – 001

Sul Sul! Welcome to the first TSR official Newsletter Blog! Who is excited? I am! So many things happened in January that our first newsletter will be pretty big! I am including ALL things Sims here, so we are talking not just things TSR-related but big community news and The Sims patches and releases. There is much to review, so let’s dive into this TSR January Newsletter!

Why a Newsletter

Before we dive too far in… why a TSR Newsletter? Well, we are The Sims Resource… your resource for EVERYTHING Sims-related. Sure, TSR is known for its incredible and FREE CC, but we have even more to offer Simmers. So, we created these TSR Newsletter blogs to help Simmers find the information and CC you need for your game all in one place! So, let’s get to everything that happened this past month in this TSR January Newsletter.

January Wrap Up – TSR

In January of 2024, we hit the ground running with site improvements, collections, and loads of CC. So much happened here at TSR. I will try to cover as much as I possibly can!

Socials

We are adding more places to follow us and more content and information on Socials. Social Media is the best place to find out if we are having a sale or new content updates, new videos, new blogs, and more. We are trying to be everywhere possible to connect with Simmers and be more accessible for Simmers to access CC and our content.

150k Followers on Pinterest

In January, our Pinterest broke the 150K follower count! If you are on Pinterest, check our account out as we Pin daily featured CC, Weekly Looks, and Content updates. Pinterest is a great way to plan and organize outfits, Sims, rooms, builds, and lots.

LinkTree

Jezi’s Look of the Week

We have a new type of weekly content that started in January, Jezi’s Look of the Week. These are created looks based on IRL and Sim community trends. All the CC in these looks are from TSR. I will start trying to include links on Pinterest, but I use sooo many links, lol!

Collections

Here at TSR, we have started to release more frequent curated collections. We know you all love themes and holidays, so why not take this to the next level and give you LOADS of themed creations curated by the TSR staff and amazing artists. We started these collections in December 2023 but began to develop them more in January, so January is getting the credit! You can find December’s Winter Holiday 2023 Collection HERE.

New Years Party Collection

We launched the New Year Party Collection at the beginning of the year, which you can find HERE. This collection was all about New Year’s Eve celebrations, so lots of sparkly dresses and vibrant decor. I also did a YouTube CC Finds all about New Year’s, so if you need any more CC for glitter and sparkle-filled parties, you can check that out HERE.

Athleisure & Activewear Collection

The latest curated collection we have launched has been TSR’s Athleisure & Activewear Collection, which you can find HERE. Athleisure and Activewear have been a trend for quite some time; however, this trend gets bigger yearly around the big game (the Super Bowl)! The theme of this collection was to be able to look comfortable and trendy all at the same time, with loads of mix-and-match CC items. If you do not want to scroll through the collection, I posted a blog spotlighting the collection that you can find HERE.

Surveys

If you are in the VIP discord, you have probably noticed that you are seeing many more surveys. This is so we can get users’ input on the website to improve it based on users and artists. We want the site to be the best possible experience for you so you can find everything you need in one organized place!

January Wrap-up – Community

CC General Trends

For CC trends in the Sims community, loads of images and CCs are being downloaded for Athleisure, Men’s wear, pastels, and Hairstyles. Hairstyles are always one of our top categories of downloads, and when we post on socials highlights showing hairstyles, they always get tons of likes. For decor and objects, pastels seem to be quite a hit! I see many cute nurseries and bedrooms in lovely pastel tones all over social media. For clothing for Sims, Athleisure and Menswear seem to be the most popular for January.

Content Trends – Challenges & Vlad

Lately, I have seen loads of lore-related stories and challenges. I have been watching tons of Vlad lore stories. I also see many challenges on social media, generation gameplay, and Not So Berry stories. I absolutely love the No So Berry play-through challenges, as they take a challenge and add Create A Sim elements and Generation gameplay all in one big challenge.

Trending January Downloads

The following are highlights of CC that were frequently downloaded here at TSR. Each month, I will mix up some categories to give you all an excellent range of CC to download. So enjoy and happy downloading!

Clothing – SYLVIA Top by Plumbob N Fries

Hairstyle – Long Wavy Hairstyle by S-Club

Accessories – Diamond Wedding Band by Glitterberryfly

Object Sets – Enchanted Dreams part 2 by Syboubou

Lot – Luxury Houses Condominium by Plumbobkingdom

Sim – Lisa Castellanos by Jolea

Room – Rachel’s bedroom  by Flubs79

January Wrap-up – The Sims

This TSR January Newsletter wouldn’t be complete without EA and The Sims. There has been a lot of news with a new teaser Road Map Video Announcement and two Kits already released! Yeah, that’s right halfway into January, and two kits were launched, with more to come before April, so let’s break this down!

Road Map Announcement

On January 11th, a teaser Road Map video was launched on The Sims’ social media accounts, followed by the following news article HERE. The announcement video left clues in the little jewelry box theme of what was to come. The first two elements of this are the new kits.

Now Simmers are waiting and speculating what is next as there are still many other parts to this content announcement. Still to come before the end of April are one SDX Drop, one Sparkling Stuff Pack, one Celebratory Kit, and one Co-Created Style Kit. I am with many other Simmers, thinking that the stuff pack may be another hobby or skill pack, and I am thinking it will be jewelry crafting. Just the clues and everything else really seem to lead to that theme.

Goth Galore Kit & Castle Estates Kit

During January, The Sims released two highly anticipated Kits, the Castle Estate Kit and the Goth Galore Kit. These kits were part of a poll for Simmers to participate in last Spring. So far, most Simmers seem to enjoy the new additions, and you can check out my full review on the Kits HERE – Castle Estates & Goth Galore Kit Review.

Patch 1/16/2024

There were a few bug fixes in the January 16th patch, but not a lot, so hopefully, we get another patch soon for the new For Rent Expansion Pack. Some highlights were fixing Masterpiece Paintings and Books from downgrading quality after reloading and electricity not shutting off early if there was no payment. You can view the entire list of Patch Notes HERE.  

Upcoming – TSR

So, what do we have in store for February here at TSR? Well, there are more collections, website improvements, and more content! A whole lot of Sims everything! You all seem to love the Collections, so we have more planned for you! So keep an eye open. We have a couple planned already for February! We also have loads of website improvements and updates planned. We will add Collections to the drop-down menu for you to quickly find. The search feature is also getting a makeover! We have many other plans to improve the overall user and artist experience here at TSR!

If you have not noticed, we post more content on Pinterest and Instagram! So you can watch videos, tips & tricks, find CC spotlights, and read blogs on multiple social media platforms! This way, you don’t have to track down our content; our content will be available on the most convenient platform for you!

Keep up with more Sims stuff and what I’m up to at @TSR Jezi.

Check out the January blogs: 2023 Wrap-up Blog, Sporty Chic Outfits YOU’LL NEED for this Season Blog, and Castle Estate and Goth Galore Kit Review.