Today is World Emoji Day, an annual event created by search engine Emojipedia’s founder, Jeremy Burge, in 2014.
It’s purpose is to simply celebrate and encourage the use of emojis and 17 July was picked to mark the occasion because that’s the date used on the calendar emoji symbol.
You can join in on the day by using tagging #WorldEmojiDay on your social media posts, there’s even a World Emoji Day 2020 party hosted on Facebook every year.
According to Emojipedia, there’s also a list of new emojis set to be launched for 2020 include bottle-feeding parents and the transgender flag, people hugging and gender-inclusive people wearing a veil and a tuxedo.
If someone you know is a diehard fan of using emojis in texts and messages, we’ve scoured online to find the fun, playful gifts to treat them to, from homewares to jewellery, that doesn’t all just feature the classic yellow smiling face.
You can trust our independent round-ups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.
Table of Contents
Food and drink
For a selection of sweet treats, this hand-decorated emoji cookie gift box (Etsy, £12.99) makes a tasty novelty present.
Handmade to order, it contains six cookies in a letter-box friendly gift box, which is an ideal gift to send to someone if you’ve been in lockdown and separated from your fellow emoji lover. Plus you can add a personalised message to it.
For anyone trying to cut down on their single-use plastics, this emoji water flask (Not On The High Street, £19.50) is an easy place to start.
The 350ml reusable bottle will keep drinks hot, or cold, while out and about, and help reduce the millions of plastic bottles that end up in the UK’s landfills every year.
It can be personalised with a name, and you have 15 emojis to choose from which consist of the water drop with different facial expressions.
For a budding chef, add to their arsenal of kitchen tools with this personalised wooden spoon (Etsy, £3.99).
You can pick which emoji is printed on it too, from happy to hearts to the wink face.
Arts and crafts
If in lockdown you’ve recently picked up knitting, this wool face knitting bag (Etsy, £15.95) will keep all your needles, wool and pattern safely together without fear of your hard work unwinding. If you want to learn how to start knitting though, read our guide on everything you need to start knitting here.
When it’s sunny, you can bring it to the park for some knitting in the sunshine too and the canvas tote also doubles up as a handy picnic bag for all your snacks.
Speaking of arts and crafts, we love this set of emoji crayons (Etsy, £3).
Hand-poured using toxic-free wax, each box contains 28 mini crayons embedded with varying facial expressions.
Keep kids occupied over the school holidays with this emoji colouring book (Amazon, £4.99).
It has 50 designs for kids to work their way through, from beach scenes to underwater adventures, and they can use their new emoji crayons to bring them to life.
Jewellery and clothing
If you’re looking for a more grown-up gift these peach emoji earrings (Etsy, £9.96) make the perfect fit.
An ode to the peach emoji, which often is a metaphor for more than just fruit, they’re handmade and make a colourful addition to your ears.
A pair of socks is always a useful gift, even if it’s not the most exciting.
These emoji angel face slipper socks kids (Sockshop, £9.99) will keep little toes warm and colourful.
Available for four to 12 year-olds, the powder blue and pink design make them easier to identify and keep as a pair, instead of mysteriously going missing in the washing machine.
Games and homewares
For a family-friendly gift that everyone can enjoy on a rainy day, try this ginger fox emoji game (John Lewis and Partners, £7.99)
The goal is to collect a full set of emotions, with devious actions cards designed to thwart your attempts at winning.
This emoji cushion (Prezzy box, £9.99) is a no-brainer buy for any emoji fan.
Decorated with the heart eyes facial expression, it’ll make a colourful and fun addition to any sofa, bed or armchair.
Read more
10 years of emoji: How aubergines helped us all connect online
Buckingham Palace gin: If you couldn’t get one, buy these instead
School holidays: Everything you need to keep kids entertained
Frida Kahlo: The gifts fans of the Mexican artist will love