When does the MW3 Christmas event end?

After a busy year, there’s nothing like sitting back with Modern Warfare 3 to unwind with friends and family. To celebrate the holiday season, Activision kicked off Santa’s Slayground to give free cosmetics to those who have been good this year—but even those on the naughty list can take part.

This new event will be a great way to cap off the year, bringing a ton of holiday-themed items and skins to the game, across weapons, operators, and even across many of the familiar maps in the current rotation. Santa is ready to dish out happiness and warmth for the winter, while also doling out hot lead to those to cross his path.

MW3‘s Santa’s Slayground event start and end dates

If you’re trying to jump into the snow and shotgun shells, you have plenty of time to do so while on your winter break. MW3 players can enjoy the Santa’s Slayground event from Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 12pm CT to Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 10am CT, giving you about two weeks to log in and rack up free goodies in the game’s various modes.

There are two different maps getting changes for the holiday season, Shipment and Highrise, which are now affectionately called Shipmas and Hangover respectively. Each map has been undergone a Christmas-like makeover, complete with lights, decorations, and snowmen.

Santa’s Slayground: Limited-time modes

If you and your friends are looking for a snowy experience in MW3, there are a few different modes that are being added for the holidays. Infectious Holiday is a revamped Infection mode that turns all infected players into Zombie Santa, while Snowfight puts an icy twist on Gunfight by adding snowball fights during the first two rounds of the mode.

In Zombies, players can take part in the Slay Ride in-game event, which takes place on the train that zooms through Urzikstan. You and your squad will face off against Santa himself, for a chance to earn better gear and weapons, along with a special emblem to show off to your pals.

For Slay Ride Resurgence, players can head over to one of the six Deck the Halls tree-themed capture points marked on the Tac Map, allowing them to acquire high-tier weaponry and gear at the start of the match. If you continue to stay around the tree, it will eventually be upgraded to tier two and tier three, which causes the tree to give out even better loot.