It's been a while since Tim LeTourneau sent out a community e-mail, but he has done it again to promote the Holiday Party Pack (Christmas Party Pack) which is coming out this week, and the As Played By campaign for the Sims. He says that the holiday giveaway on the official site, during which Maxis will make 12 new holiday downloads available on the exchange, will start next tuesday. Included in the e-mail are the two screenshots below.

"Hi Everyone,

"I can't believe we are already in the middle of November. This year has literally flown by. It's scary actually. The Sims 2 had its 1st Birthday in September, and in October it arrived for all the game systems. Now The Sim 2 Holiday Edition is about to be released. There is never a dull moment around here.

"One of the highlights of the last couple months for me was meeting all the players that participated in the "As Played By" campaign. The Sims community is one of the biggest motivators for us as gamemakers, and we are continually blown away by your creativity and ingenuity. Having many of you here on site working hand in hand with us on the campaign was an incredible experience for all of us. I just wanted to say thanks again for all the inspiration, you definitely keep us going. If you haven't seen the "As Played By" items, you can check them out here:

http://simsplayedby.com

"Since I'm assuming most you already have The Sims 2, The Sims 2 Holiday Pack (or Christmas Pack in Europe) is the version that has just the new holiday content; I didn't want anyone to think that they had to purchase the whole game to get the holiday items. We will also be starting the Great Holiday Giveaway at http://thesims2.ea.com starting November 15th and running all through Christmas, so you should definitely check out the site. In the meantime, I thought I would set you guys up with some exclusive screenshots. I can't wait to see the houses, movies, and stories you make using the new items.

"Talk to you soon,"

Tim