Feast of Winter Veil
- This article is about the event. For the item, see
[The Feast of Winter Veil]. For the quest, see
[10-90] The Feast of Winter Veil.
| Feast of Winter Veil | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Duration | December 16 - January 2 |
| Boss | The Abominable Greench |
| Highlights |
Greatfather Winter Winter Veil presents Metzen the Reindeer The Abominable Greench Grumpus |
| Other events | |
| Preceded by | WoW's Anniversary, Pilgrim's Bounty |
| Followed by | New Year (concurrent) |
“Greatfather Winter is visiting the cities of Ironforge and Orgrimmar, courtesy of Smokywood Pastures. And throughout Azeroth, it is the season to be jolly!”
- — Calendar's description
The Feast of Winter Veil, also called Winter's Veil,[1][2] the Feast of Great-Winter,[3][4][5] or Yuletide,[6][7] is an in-game, end-of-year, several week long holiday event that is the in-game counterpart of Christmas and other holidays at the end of the year.
New in 2025
[Winter Veil Gift] contains
[Jubilant Snowman Costume] (
[Snowball Fight!]) and
[Tiny Snow Buddy]
[Gently Shaken Gift] contains
[Rolling Snowball]
Background
Azeroth
Traditional
Azeroth's later seasons are marked as a time of change in many cultures. The dwarves and tauren especially look to the legend of the Winter Veil—the blanketing of the land in snow, heralding a time of renewal—as a time for celebration. Though the understanding of the legends that the Azerothian races share is not dissimilar, the ways they choose to acknowledge them are as diverse as the races themselves. The term "Winter Veil" is said to stem from a supernatural being referred to in many cultures as Greatfather Winter, who walks the land late in the seasons with winter itself as his billowing cloak and thus casts his "wintry veil" over the world. Although parts of Azeroth become blanketed in snow, it gives the land time for rebirth and renewal. It is said that as Greatfather Winter wandered Azeroth, he would provide a bounty to those who welcomed his presence, which gave rise to the tradition of communities coming together, sharing what they had, and feasting in anticipation of the land's renewal. Typically, a single day of celebration welcomed the change.[8] The night preceding the day of Winter Veil proper is called Winter Veil Eve.[9][10]
The dwarves celebrate Winter Veil as a recognition of Greatfather Winter himself, whom they believe is a personification of one of their titan creators. They consider their snowy homeland of Dun Morogh the prime example of the Greatfather's blessings.[8] Dark Iron dwarves, despite favoring decidedly less snowy environments, also celebrate the holiday with a traditional feast.[11] Muradin Bronzebeard introduced the dwarven tradition to the humans of Lordaeron when he was assigned as Ironforge's ambassador to that kingdom after the Second War.[9] The Lordaeronian Turalyon was familiar with Greatfather Winter as early as the Invasion of Draenor[12] in 8 ADP.[13] The Lordaeronian royal family celebrated the holiday with an annual Winter Veil Eve ball in Capital City.[9] Some blood elves erroneously believe Winter Veil to have "always been a human thing".[14]
The tauren and their shamanistic, and more recently druidic, understanding of winter fit in well with the legend of Winter Veil. They focus almost entirely on the renewing aspects and leave "legend worship" to those races (as they view it) less in tune with the nature of things.[8] To the tauren, winter is the Earth Mother's time of rest, during which An'she and Mu'sha guide the elements to bring about cold and storms and allow new life to arise while their mother sleeps.[15] The Feast of Winter Veil serves as a source of warmth in this cold season.[16] That said, the tauren still believe in Greatfather Winter's existence and that he plays a role in bringing about said renewal.[17] Many tauren choose Winter Veil as the right time to give thanks for the blessings of their new home in Mulgore.[8]
Modern
Despite its once-substantial meaning to the dwarves and tauren,[17] the legend surrounding Winter Veil faded from the forefront of public thought over the years.[18] Other cultures have begun to observe the holiday in modern times, but not in the same traditions as the legend bases it in, instead favoring customs that are often unrelated to anything other than a chance for celebration and gift exchange. The image of Greatfather Winter is sometimes used as well, but "more as a harbinger of commercial exploit than as a supernatural titan".[8]
In particular, the goblins of Smokywood Pastures have helped to revive the Feast of Winter Veil for their own commercial purposes of selling candies, food, and toys. Some more traditionally-minded dwarves and tauren scoff at the modern incarnation of the holiday and argue that the goblins have "polluted" its true meaning. Others like Muradin Bronzebeard and Baine Bloodhoof, while acknowledging that the goblins have their own reasons for promoting the holiday, consider it positive that it at least helps keep the older legends alive in the minds of the citizenry.[17][18]
The orcs, although they do not truly understand the traditions of Winter Veil, have taken to them[19] to the point where the heart of the Horde's Winter Veil celebrations are now held in Orgrimmar.[16] The Forsaken still go through the motions of celebrating Winter Veil as they did in life, even though the celebration now "feels empty" to them.[20] Night elves seemingly do not traditionally celebrate Winter Veil and view it as something that the younger races "make a big fuss over",[21] but at least some night elf families have taken up its traditions in recent years.[10]
Smokywood Pastures promotes Winter Veil as a "season of giving"[22] when people should purchase Smokywood treats to give to friends and family that have been nice during the year. They depict Greatfather Winter as a jolly old man who brings gifts to well-behaved children, and hire actors—a dwarf playing "Greatfather Winter" for the Alliance and an orc playing "Great-father Winter" for the Horde—to promote their products in Ironforge and Orgrimmar.[23][24] Children are invited to sit in the "Greatfather's" lap and tell him what gifts they hope to receive.[1][10][24][25] Meanwhile, people throughout Azeroth reflect on all the good and bad they've wrought during the year and write letters with wishlists to the Greatfather.[26][27] On the night between Winter Veil Eve and the day of the Feast of Winter Veil, the Greatfather—with the "generous support" of Smokywood Pastures—leaves wrapped gifts under decorated evergreen trees in Ironforge and Orgrimmar, to be opened the next morning.[10][23][22] He also supposedly visits people's homes carrying bags of gifts[28] which he leaves in specially-hung sockings.[10] Children that have been nice during the year receive treats,[23][24] while those that have been bad receive coal.[10][25]
During Winter Veil, innkeepers and families put up holiday decorations to provide a festive atmosphere.[23] Besides decorated trees,[28] other common ornaments include colored lights, wreaths,[29] candy canes, and mistletoe.[30] Other activities associated with the season include wearing gaudy sweaters,[31] singing carols,[32][33] throwing snowballs,[23] and eating and drinking holiday treats and drinks like gingerbread cookies, eggnog,[28][34] and apple cider.[35] Traditional greetings of the holiday include "Happy (Feast of) Winter Veil",[28][36][37][38] "Merry (Feast of) Winter Veil",[23][39] "Happy holidays",[37][40][41][42] and "Season's greetings".[43][44][45]
Draenor
One of the oldest stories told on the alternate Draenor is the legend of Grumpus, a mean-spirited brute that comes at night in the dead of winter—at the same time of year as Winter Veil is celebrated on Azeroth—and kidnaps misbehaving children. He brings his victims to his lair in Frostfire Ridge, where he presents them with awful toys and uses their tears to spawn his minions,[41] the grumplings.[46] No one quite knows when the legend of Grumpus began.[47]
Event boss: The Abominable Greench
The event boss of the holiday is The Abominable Greench, located in the open world in the Growless Cave of the Alterac Mountains in Hillsbrad Foothills. As of The War Within, Father Winter's Helpers with the <Express Transportation> title in the event areas of Ironforge and Orgrimmar will quickly send players to the boss.
The boss spawns every five minutes, and to complete the
[30-90G Daily] You're a Mean One... daily quest, players must be in the area when the boss is defeated, then loot the bags of
[Stolen Treats]. Also, if nobody else has done it, speak with Metzen the Reindeer to free him. The quest can reward any past year's gifts, so it's always worth doing.
There's no easy return back to Ironforge or Orgrimmar, so hearth or take a friendly mage's portal.
Presents
Near the end of the celebration (starting on December 25 to the end of the event), various gifts are available underneath the trees near Greatfather Winter in Ironforge, and Great-father Winter in Orgrimmar. While some of the gifts are available to all, characters must be at or above minimum levels to receive others.
| # | Gift | Min Level |
Quest | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | |||
| 2 | 10 | |||
| 3 | 1 | 1-5x 5x Chance of a cosmetic sock | ||
| 4 | 10 | |||
| 5 | 20 | One of: | ||
| 6 | 40 | 5x Chance of another recipe |
Holiday-only items
There are several special items and plans that are only available during the Feast of Winter Veil.
Mount
The
[Minion of Grumpus] has a rare chance of being contained in the
[Savage Gift] from daily quests at the player's garrison on Draenor.
Cosmetics and armor
[Miniature Winter Veil Tree] has a chance to drop from the
[Stolen Present].
[Glowing Gift]- The following cosmetics have a chance to drop from the
[Carefully Wrapped Present]:
- The
[Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater] (2011 gift) can be purchased from Winter Veil general goods vendors for 22
.
Toys
Many toys are available, most of which are exclusive to Winter Veil:
Seven toys are sold by vendors year-round:
[Blue Crashin' Thrashin' Racer Controller] (40
)
[Foot Ball] (40
)
[The Swineskin] (40
)
[Tiny Blue Ragdoll] (10
)
[Tiny Green Ragdoll] 10
)
[Toy Train Set] (250
)
[Wind-Up Train Wrecker] (250
)
There are other toys available during the event:
- The
[Winter Veil Chorus Book] can be purchased from Penney Copperpinch and Wulmort Jinglepocket for 52
.
[A Tiny Winter Hat] is obtainable from Greatfeather Pepe on the Smokywood Pastures cart in Orgrimmar and Ironforge.
[Crashin' Thrashin' Killdozer Controller] can be purchased for five
[Merry Supplies] at the Garrison.
[Winter Veil Disguise Kit] is mailed to players after completing a chain starting with
[30-90G Daily] You're a Mean One....
[Scroll of Storytelling] has a chance to drop from the
[Stolen Present].
Previous-year gifts are only found in the
[Stolen Present] (daily):
[Box of Puntables] and
[Winter Veil Cracker] (2024 gifts)
[Winter Veil Socks] and
[Junior Timekeeper's Racing Belt] (2023 gifts)
[Falling Star Catcher] and
[Falling Star Flinger] (2022 gifts)
[Rockin' Rollin' Racer Customizer 19.9.3] and
[Rockin' Rollin' Racer Pack] (2021 gifts)
[Wreath-A-Rang] (2020 gift)
[Crashin' Thrashin' Battleship] and
[Crashin' Thrashin' Juggernaught] (2019 gift)
[Toy Armor Set] (Alliance / Horde) (2018 gift)
[Greatfather Winter's Hearthstone] (2018 gift)
[Toy Weapon Set] (Alliance / Horde) (2017 gift)
[Hearthstation] (Alliance / Horde) (2017 gift)
[Endothermic Blaster] (2016 gift)
[Disposable Winter Veil Suits] (2016 gift)
[Crashin' Thrashin' Flamer Controller] (2015 gift)
[Red Wooden Sled] (2015 gift)
[Crashin' Thrashin' Shredder Controller] (2014 gift)- Cushions (2014 gifts)
[Crashin' Thrashin' Flyer Controller] (2013 gift)
[The Pigskin] and the
[Special Edition Foot Ball] (2012 gift)
[MiniZep Controller] (2010 gift)
[Crashin' Thrashin' Racer Controller] (2008 gift)
Pets
Thirteen pets are available during Winter Veil:
One pet spawns as a battle pet in the Giant Snow Globes:
One pet is sold by toy vendors year round and is also rarely found in the
[Stolen Present]:
A new pet is available from the
[Winter Veil Gift]:
[Portentous Present].
Five pets are only found in the
[Stolen Present] (daily):
[Shaking Pet Carrier] (2020)
[Clockwork Rocket Bot] (2007)
[Grunch]
[Lump of Coal]
[Rotten Helper Box]
One of four pets is found in the
[Gaily Wrapped Present] (one-time per character each year, requires level 20):
[Green Helper Box] (Father Winter's Helper)
[Jingling Bell] (Winter Reindeer)
[Red Helper Box] (Winter's Little Helper)
[Snowman Kit] (Tiny Snowman)
One pet is rarely found in Snow Mounds in the quest area of Frostfire Ridge:
Crafting recipes
Sent in a letter from Greatfather Winter, players with Cooking, Leatherworking, or Tailoring skills will receive:
- Cooking:
[Recipe: Hot Apple Cider] - Leatherworking:
[Pattern: Winter Boots] - Tailoring:
[Pattern: Green Winter Clothes] (Alliance) or
[Pattern: Red Winter Clothes] (Horde)
Vendors sell the following recipes:
- Cooking
- Tailoring
[Pattern: Green Winter Clothes] (Horde)
[Pattern: Red Winter Clothes] (Alliance)
[Pattern: Winter Boots]
Inside the
[Ticking Present] (from December 25 to January 2) or the
[Smokywood Pastures Special Gift] (quest reward from saving Metzen), players may find:
- Alchemy:
[Recipe: Elixir of Frost Power] - Blacksmithing:
[Plans: Edge of Winter] - Enchanting:
[Formula: Enchant Weapon - Winter's Might] - Engineering:
[Schematic: Snowmaster 9000] - Leatherworking:
[Pattern: Gloves of the Greatfather] - Tailoring:
[Pattern: Green Holiday Shirt]
Food and drink
| Item | Cost | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5x | 1 |
Drink | |
| 5x | 10 |
Meat | |
| 5x | 99 |
Meat | |
| 20 |
Alcohol | ||
| 5x | 10 |
Drink | |
| 5x | 1 |
Cheese | |
| 5x | 40 |
Meat | |
| 5x | 10 |
Drink | |
| 5x | 20 |
Meat | |
| 1 |
Alcohol |
General goods
Vendors in Alliance and Neutral cities have the Red Winter Clothes pattern available for sale, while vendors in Horde cities have the Green Winter Clothes pattern. (Note: It is possible to acquire the other faction's winter clothes pattern because the associated vendors are neutral to all players, but be prepared to die multiple times due to PvP attacks and city guards.)
Winter Hats
During the Feast of Winter Veil, some bosses now have a festive holiday hat equipped with a chance of dropping that hat. An extension to this, the winter hats also have an extremely low chance to drop from any humanoid.
- Raids
- Dungeons
- Raids
- Dungeons
- Raids
- Dungeons
- Raids
- Dungeons
- Devos in Spires of Ascension

- Globgrog in Plaguefall

- Gug'rokk in Bloodmaul Slag Mines

- Commander Tharbek in Upper Blackrock Spire

- Corla, Herald of Twilight in Blackrock Caverns

- High Priestess Azil in The Stonecore

- Admiral Ripsnarl in The Deadmines

- Grand Magus Telestra in The Nexus

- Jedoga Shadowseeker in Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom

- Devos in Spires of Ascension
Trading Post
While these Trading Post items are not strictly tied to the event itself, they are themed around the event. They are typically available from the Trading Post during December but can appear anytime of the year.
Quests
There are four sets of quests available during Winter Veil. First, a quick intro to the holiday itself and a short fetch quest:
[10-90] Greatfather Winter is Here! /
[10-90] Great-father Winter is Here!
[10-90] Treats for Greatfather Winter /
[10-90] Treats for Great-father Winter
Another quest series reveals some of the history of Winter Veil, and awards some reputation with the home city.
[10-90] The Reason for the Season
[10-90] The Feast of Winter Veil
Another set introduces the daily boss in the Alterac Mountains, the Abominable Greench:
[30-90G Daily] You're a Mean One...
[10-90] A Smokywood Pastures' Thank You!
Fast travel to the Greench area from Orgrimmar and Ironforge was added in the 2024 iteration of the event.
In
Lunarfall and
Frostwall, Almie and Pizzle respectively offer a set of daily quests to battle Grumpus and his minions in exchange for
[Merry Supplies]:
[40-90G Daily] Grumpus
[40-90 Daily] Menacing Grumplings
[40-90 Daily] What Horrible Presents!
[40-90 Daily] Where Are the Children?
Achievements
| Title | Description | Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Save Metzen the Reindeer. | 10 | |
| Punt 30 creatures that appear out of the |
10 | |
| Earn 50 honorable kills as a Little Helper from the Winter Wondervolt machine. | 10 | |
| Alliance: Throw a snowball at Muradin Bronzebeard during the Feast of Winter Veil.
Horde: Throw a snowball at Baine Bloodhoof during the Feast of Winter Veil. |
10 | |
| Complete the |
10 | |
| During the Feast of Winter Veil, wear 3 pieces of winter clothing and eat |
10 | |
| Gain 25 crashes with your |
10 | |
| Complete the quest to retrieve Smokywood Pastures' stolen treats and receive a Smokywood Pastures' Thank You. | 10 | |
| During the Feast of Winter Veil, use a |
10 | |
Alliance: Use Mistletoe on the Alliance "Brothers" during the Feast of Winter Veil.
|
10 | |
| During the Feast of Winter Veil, use your culinary expertise to produce a |
10 | |
| Open one of the presents underneath the Winter Veil tree once they are available. | 10 | |
| During the Feast of Winter Veil, use your |
10 | |
| Pelt the enemy leaders listed below. | 10 | |
| Use your Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater to carol in enemy capital cities during the Feast of Winter Veil. Alliance:
|
10 | |
| Shoot down another player's Crashin' Thrashin' Flyer with yours. | 10 | |
| Use Lightning Nitro while listening to Rockin' Tunes in your Rockin' Rollin' Racer. | 10 | |
| Collect all five toys that are part of the Crashin' Thrashin' "Iron Armada" set. | 10 |
Other info
- Performing a
/kissemote on Winter Revelers found in inns will reward 5
[Fresh Holly],
[Mistletoe], or
[Handful of Snowflakes]. - Mounds of Holiday Snow containing
[Snowballs] appear in the snowy parts of the Alterac Mountains, Dun Morogh, Winterspring, and Loch Modan. Hardpacked Snowdrifts containing the nastier
[Hardpacked Snowballs] spawn in the Alterac Valley battleground.
[PX-238 Winter Wondervolt] machines in or just outside several cities can transform the player character's appearance into a Little Helper.- On an older version of the official forum, all Community Manager avatars were replaced with a festive snowman avatar during the event.
In the RPG
Brann Bronzebeard mentions the dwarven "winter festival where we tell stories about Greatfather Winter" and how more and more humans have been participating in recent years, as an example of how humans are quick to assimilate holidays from other races.[48]
In other games
Hearthstone
Winter Veil is a seasonal event that takes place around the same time as the World of Warcraft holiday. The Hearthstone iteration varies somewhat from year to year, but always includes a themed Gift Exchange Tavern Brawl, festive hero emotes, and snowy holiday versions of normal battlefields.
Heroes of the Storm
“As seasons change and winter blankets Azeroth, communities gather for feasting and merriment, sharing what they have with one another.”
- — Description of the Winter Veil Warbanner
Winter Veil was a seasonal event that took place around the same time as the World of Warcraft holiday from 2015 to 2017, with themed cosmetics including mounts, skins, and portraits depicting heroes from both Warcraft and other universes as Winter Veil figures or dressed up in festive winter clothing. From 2018 onward, the Winter Veil branding of the event was dropped and replaced by the Toys theme.
Gallery
- Winter Veil avatar used by Community Managers on the old official forum.
- A Winter Veil-themed Hearthstone card back.
- Holiday 2004 wallpaper, "Christmas[sic] in Azeroth", by Samwise Didier.
- Holiday 2009 wallpaper, depicting a Warcraft/StarCraft crossover, by Samwise Didier.
- Winter Veil 2016 promotional art, by Dmitry Prozorov.
Patch changes
Patch 7.1.0 (2016-10-25):
Hotfix (2015-12-16): Players are now automatically dismounted in the area around Greatfather Winter and Winter Veil presents.
Patch 4.3.0 (2011-11-29): The Abominable Greench has been changed, and now generally requires multiple players to kill him.
Patch 2.3.0 (2007-11-13): Blowing kisses to a Winter Reveler can now give you 5
[Handful of Snowflakes].
Patch 1.2.0 (2004-12-18): Added.
References
- ^ a b Greatfather Winter and Great-father Winter quotes
- ^
[Gift of Winter's Veil]
- ^ World of Warcraft Community Site: In-Game Events - Feast of Great-Winter. Archived from the original on 2006-01-14.
- ^
[10-90] A Ticking Present
- ^
[1-90] A Carefully Wrapped Present
- ^
[Aegis of Yuletide]
- ^ Dreaming Festive Reindeer abilities
- ^ a b c d e
[The Feast of Winter Veil]
- ^ a b c Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, chapter 8
- ^ a b c d e f I Got What Yule Need
- ^
[Metzen's Letters and Notes]
- ^ Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 5: "Turalyon might have been Greatfather Winter himself the way Mekkatorque reacted ..."
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2, pg. 182
- ^ Blood Elf Commoner says: Winter Veil has always been a human thing. To see the goblins and orcs take it up is rather strange.
- ^ Eyes of the Earth Mother
- ^ a b Tauren Commoner quotes: "The celebration of the feast of Winter Veil is a source of great warmth during the cold seasons, and its heart is in Orgrimmar."
- ^ a b c
[10-90] The Reason for the Season
- ^ a b
[10-90] The Feast of Winter Veil
- ^ Orc Commoner says: Though we do not truly understand the traditions of Winter Veil, we have taken to them.
- ^ Forsaken Commoner quotes: "We still go through the motions, but the feast of Winter Veil feels empty now. In Orgrimmar, they have the true celebration."
- ^ Night Elf Commoner quotes: "The younger races make a big fuss over Winter Veil. Ironforge's bank is the center of the festivities."
- ^ a b
[1-90] Winter's Presents
- ^ a b c d e f Game Guide: Events - Feast of Winter Veil
- ^ a b c
[10-90] Greatfather Winter is Here! /
[10-90] Great-father Winter is Here!
- ^ a b
Kaivax 2015-12-18. Your Letters to Greatfather Winter. Archived from the original on 2015-12-20.
- ^
Nethaera 2013-12-19. ‘Tis the Season: Dear Greatfather Winter. Archived from the original on 2013-12-28.
- ^
Blizzard Entertainment. Dear Greatfather Winter:. Archived from the original on 2023-09-22.
- ^ a b c d Seasons
- ^
[Ball of Tangled Lights]
- ^
[Old Box of Decorations]
- ^
Blizzard Entertainment 2017-12-16. Prepare to be Merry– The Feast of Winter Veil Is Here!. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. “‘Tis the season to eat, drink, wear gaudy sweaters, and be oh so very, very merry. The Feast of Winter Veil has begun!”
- ^
[Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater]
- ^
[Winter Veil Caroling Book]
- ^ WoW -> Info -> Under Development -> Previous Patch Content: Mysteries of Maraudon. Archived from the original on 2010-02-08. “Denizens of Azeroth also celebrated the Feast of Winter Veil. Trading gifts, munching on cookies and eggnog, and chatting with Greatfather Winter kept both Alliance and Horde in high spirits throughout the holiday.”
- ^
[Fizzy Apple Cider],
[Hot Apple Cider],
[Sparkling Apple Cider]
- ^
[80] Metzen the Reindeer
- ^ a b Greatfather Winter (Highmountain) quotes
- ^
[Pattern: Winter Boots],
[Recipe: Hot Apple Cider]
- ^ World of Warcraft on X (2019-12-25). Retrieved on 2025-12-10. “Happy Holidays and a very merry Winter Veil from your friends in Azeroth!”
- ^
[10-90] A Winter Veil Gift
- ^ a b
[40-90G Daily] Grumpus
- ^ Lil' Helper / Lil' Snowfighter quotes
- ^ Winter Reveler quotes
- ^
[Mistletoe]
- ^
[Smokywood Pastures Sampler] mail
- ^
[Grumpling]
- ^
[Minion of Grumpus]
- ^ Alliance Player's Guide, pg. 139
