If you want to romance Penny in Stardew Valley, her best gifts include Diamond, Emerald, Melon, Poppy, Poppyseed Muffin, Red Plate, Roots Platter, Sandfish, Tom Kha Soup, all Books, and most Universal Loves. Her birthday is Fall 2, so saving a loved gift for that day gives you the biggest friendship boost.
Penny lives with her mother, Pam, in the trailer east of Pelican Town’s centre. She spends much of her week tutoring Jas and Vincent at the Museum, reading around town, or sitting with Maru, which makes her relatively easy to find once you know the pattern.
Table of Contents
Who is Penny?
Penny is one of the twelve marriage candidates in Stardew Valley. She lives in the trailer in Pelican Town with her mother, Pam, and spends much of her time reading, teaching local children, and looking after the home.
She is close friends with Maru and Sam. Penny and Sam normally dance together at the Flower Dance if neither is dancing with the player.
Her storyline focuses heavily on education, family, and her desire for a quieter home life. She tutors Jas and Vincent at the Museum several days a week and sometimes takes them to the playground on Saturdays.
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How friendship works
Friendship in Stardew Valley is measured in hearts, with each heart representing 250 friendship points. Marriage candidates such as Penny are normally capped at eight hearts until you give them a Bouquet and begin dating them.
Talk to Penny: Normally +20 friendship once per day.
Loved gift: +80 friendship before quality or special-event multipliers.
Liked gift: +45 friendship before quality or special-event multipliers.
Delivery quest: +150 friendship with the requesting villager.
Two gifts in one week: Adds another 10 friendship points on Sunday morning.
Birthday gift: 8× the normal friendship effect.
Stardrop Tea: +250 friendship and does not use the normal weekly gift limit.
You can normally give Penny up to two gifts per week, plus an additional birthday gift even if you have already reached that limit. Gift quality can further increase the value of liked and loved items.
Best gifts for Penny
Penny has one of the broader loved-gift lists in Stardew Valley. She loves all Books and most Universal Loves, with Rabbit’s Foot being the important exception.
Diamond: A straightforward loved gift once you are mining regularly.
Emerald: Another easy mining-based loved gift.
Melon: A Summer crop and one of the easiest farm-grown loved gifts.
Poppy: Another Summer crop that Penny loves.
Poppyseed Muffin: A cooked loved gift.
Red Plate: A cooked favourite made from Red Cabbage and Radish.
Roots Platter: Made using Cave Carrot and Winter Root.
Sandfish: A loved fish available after gaining access to the Calico Desert.
Tom Kha Soup: Cooked with Coconut, Shrimp, and Common Mushroom.
Books: Penny loves all Books, making them another useful option in later versions of the game.
Best easy choices: Diamond and Emerald are reliable if you spend time in the Mines, while Melon and Poppy are excellent Summer alternatives. Save one of these loved items for Fall 2 whenever possible.
Penny’s liked gifts
If you do not have one of Penny’s loved items, she has plenty of easier liked gifts.
- Artifacts
- All Milk
- Dandelion
- Leek
- Universal Likes, except several alcohol-related items, Algae Soup, Pale Broth, and Piña Colada
Milk becomes one of the easiest repeatable options once you start raising cows or goats. Artifacts are also liked, though you may want to donate new discoveries to the Museum before using duplicates as gifts.
Gifts to avoid
Penny’s strongest dislikes fit her character pretty clearly: alcohol is a terrible gift choice.
Disliked gifts
- Algae Soup
- Duck Feather
- Pale Broth
- Purple Mushroom
- Quartz
- Red Mushroom
- Salmonberry
- Wool
Hated gifts
- Beer
- Mead
- Pale Ale
- Wine
- Piña Colada
- Hops
- Grape
- Holly
- Rabbit’s Foot
- Most Universal Hates
Rabbit’s Foot is especially easy to get wrong because it is a Universal Love for most villagers. Penny specifically hates it.
Penny’s schedule and easiest places to find her
Penny has a fairly predictable weekly routine in Stardew Valley, although weather, seasons, the Community Center, the Desert Festival, Ginger Island, and specific dates can change it.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday: Tutors Jas and Vincent at the Museum, then walks them home later in the afternoon.
Saturday: Takes Jas and Vincent to the playground.
Rainy days: Either stays in the trailer or spends part of the day reading at the Museum.
Regular afternoons: Often returns home to do chores, then later sits with Maru on the bench outside the Stardrop Saloon.
Community Center restored: Can spend part of the day reading inside the Community Center.
The Museum is the most reliable weekday location. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, Penny normally leaves the trailer at 9am and tutors Jas and Vincent there before walking them home later in the day.
Contrary to the original draft, she does not simply avoid the Stardrop Saloon area altogether. She regularly sits on the bench outside the Saloon with Maru, and during the first year’s Green Rain she can even spend the entire day inside the Saloon.
Penny’s heart events and best answers
Penny’s heart events in Stardew Valley can contain unusually large friendship swings, so some choices matter much more than they do with other villagers.
Two hearts
Enter Pelican Town on a sunny day between 9am and 2pm. Penny helps George retrieve a letter from his mailbox, which embarrasses him.
Highest friendship answer: “I was. You did a kind thing there, Penny.” gives +50 friendship.
Note that the alternative answer pointing out that she should have asked George before helping costs 50 friendship, even though it addresses his lack of consent directly. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”8″}
Four hearts
Enter Penny’s trailer while she is home. You help her clean up before Pam returns and becomes upset that Penny let someone else clean the house.
There are no friendship-affecting dialogue choices in this event.
Six hearts
Enter the trailer while Penny is home. She asks you to taste a new recipe she invented.
Best answer: “(Lie) Mmm! That was delicious!” gives +50 friendship.
Asking to take the rest home costs 50 friendship, while commenting on the food’s unusual texture has no effect.
Eight hearts
Enter Cindersap Forest on a sunny day between 9am and 4pm. Penny is taking Jas and Vincent on a field trip and asks whether you would like to speak to them.
Best first answer: “I’d love to!” gives +10 friendship.
Best follow-up answers: “Absolutely. I want a big family.” or “I guess so. It’s a natural urge.” each give +20 friendship.
Avoid saying you cannot stand children. That choice costs a massive 1,500 friendship points, equivalent to six hearts.
Ten hearts
After receiving Penny’s letter, enter the pool area of the Spa between 7pm and midnight. She confesses her feelings for you.
The early dialogue choices do not affect friendship. When Penny confesses, saying you feel the same way has no friendship penalty. Rejecting her romantically costs 1,500 friendship points.
Fourteen hearts
After marrying Penny and reaching 14 hearts, enter the farmhouse between 3pm and 7pm while she is home.
Penny offers to redecorate the bedroom in one of three themes: Forest and Moon, Strawberry Home, or Pirate Theme. If you accept, the room changes three days later and includes unique decorations associated with the chosen style. None of the dialogue choices affect friendship.
Fast romance tips
The quickest Penny romance route in Stardew Valley is simple once you have a repeatable loved gift.
- Give her up to two gifts every week.
- Use Diamond, Emerald, Melon, or Poppy as practical loved gifts.
- Save a loved gift for Fall 2 because birthday gifts receive an 8× multiplier.
- Talk to her when you pass the Museum, trailer, or bench near the Saloon.
- Complete delivery quests from Penny for additional friendship.
- Avoid Rabbit’s Foot and alcohol entirely.
- At eight hearts, give her a Bouquet if you want to continue the romance.
- Be careful with the eight- and ten-heart dialogue because the harshest choices cost 1,500 friendship points.
Penny marriage benefits
After marrying Penny in Stardew Valley, she moves into the farmhouse and adds her own spouse room. She also creates a small garden behind the farmhouse where she sometimes sits and reads.
She continues tutoring at the Museum on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, so marriage does not completely remove her existing routine.
Rainy mornings
- Large Milk
- Egg
- Mixed Seeds
- Geode
Days spent inside
- Omelet
- Hashbrowns
- Pancakes
Rainy nights
- Salmon Dinner
- Crispy Bass
- Fried Eel
- Carp Surprise
- Vegetable Medley
Penny’s marriage storyline also fits naturally with her earlier character arc: she continues teaching, reads in her garden, and eventually gets the chance to personalise part of the farmhouse through her 14-heart event.
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