When to Release Seasonal Custom Emojis: A Monthly Calendar

What to make: Calendar flipping to new page, confetti popping, "New Year New Me" with sparkles, resolution checklist with items getting checked off, champagne glass clinking.

When to drop: January 1st or the first week. People are active after holidays and setting goals.

Usage: Goal-setting channels, fitness tracking, productivity threads. Works for both celebration (made it through another year!) and motivation (let's do this!).

What to make: Heart that pulses, broken heart that shatters, Cupid's arrow flying, chocolate box opening, love letter unsealing, roses blooming.

When to drop: Week before Valentine's (Feb 7-10). Gives people time to use them before the actual day.

Usage: Wholesome servers love this. Gaming communities use ironically. Dating advice channels use seriously. Make both sincere and ironic versions.

What to make: Flower blooming, bunny hopping, egg cracking, rain cloud with drops, sun coming out, spring cleaning broom.

When to drop: Early March for general spring vibes, week before Easter for specific holiday emotes.

Usage: "Touch grass" memes (sun/flower), fresh starts, seasonal vibes. Easter-specific emotes have shorter lifespan but strong engagement during the week.

What to make: Rainbow flag waving, heart cycling through pride colors, progress pride flag, specific identity flags (trans, bi, ace, etc.), sparkle effects in pride colors.

When to drop: June 1st. Keep them available year-round, just promote them in June.

Usage: Identity expression, solidarity reactions, celebration. Make multiple flag variations so people can use their specific identity. These get used beyond June in LGBTQ+ friendly communities.

What to make: Fireworks exploding, BBQ grill with smoke, beach ball bouncing, sunglasses sliding on, ice cream melting, American flag waving (if US-focused server).

When to drop: Late June for general summer, July 1-2 for July 4th specific.

Usage: Celebration, vacation announcements, "too hot" reactions, outdoor activity coordination. Summer emotes have long shelf life through August.

What to make: Pumpkin carving itself, ghost floating, witch hat bobbing, candy corn bouncing, skeleton dancing, spider crawling, bats flying.

When to drop: October 1st. Halloween emotes get heavy use all month, not just on the 31st.

Usage: Spooky season reactions, costume planning, horror movie watch parties, October vibes. This is THE seasonal drop—people love Halloween emotes and will request them if you don't make them.

What to make: Turkey with feathers fanning, pie steaming, leaves falling, cornucopia overflowing, gratitude heart, "thankful" text that glows.

When to drop: Early November. Autumn-general emotes work better internationally than Thanksgiving-specific ones.

Usage: Gratitude threads, family gathering coordination, fall aesthetics. Lower engagement than Halloween or Christmas but still appreciated.

What to make: Snowflake falling, Christmas tree with lights blinking, menorah candles lighting, gift box unwrapping, snowman building, hot cocoa steaming, fireplace crackling, "Happy Holidays" in festive colors.

When to drop: December 1st. Second-most popular seasonal drop after Halloween.

Usage: Holiday greetings, gift coordination, cozy winter vibes, year-end reflection. Make inclusive options (generic winter/holiday themes) alongside specific religious holidays.

Gaming servers: Drop emotes when major game updates launch or during esports tournament seasons. Example: Battle pass icon leveling up, trophy for tournament winners, patch notes rolling out.

Study/education servers: Back-to-school (late August), midterms (March and October), finals week (May and December), summer break (June). Stressed student face, all-nighter coffee, "survived finals" celebration.

Creator communities: "Creator of the Month" celebration, project launch fanfare, milestone counter (1K/10K/100K followers), work-in-progress indicator.

Make them in advance. Don't scramble on December 1st to make Christmas emotes. Create them in November. Build your Halloween set in September. You'll forget otherwise.

Announce the drop. Post in your announcements channel when new seasonal emotes are available. Show all of them in one message so people know what's new. Pin it for a week.

Remove them after the season. This is controversial, but removing seasonal emotes after their season makes people excited when they return next year. Or keep them year-round but only promote them during their season. Test what your community prefers.

Reuse the base design. Your pumpkin emote structure can become a gift box with different colors. Your heart can become a snowflake with different animation. Don't redesign from scratch every time.