Meta launches holiday-themed features on Messenger

To remark the festive mood of global users, Meta is rolling out holiaday-themed features, AR effects, and more on Messenger and Instagram DMs.

Along with holiday-themed features on Messenger and Instagram DMs. Meta is also launching a Santa chat experience, virtual holiday games, and AR effects on Messenger Kids.

Meta has launched AR effects for Messenger and Instagram video calls tapping the winter theme with sparkles and snowflakes that freezes the screen. The AR effects can be accessed while starting a video call or by opening the Messenger camera to take a selfie.

Word effects that show animated elements and emojis when people wish their friends with greetings like Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa have been added to chats. New Year’s Eve chat theme for Messenger and Instagram DMs, also comes with its own word effects: 🎉 = Happy New Year, 📆 = 2022, and 🥂= Cheers.

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Two new seasonal soundmojis are available in the Messenger expressions tray, for users who want to add auditory segments in their interactions, by tapping the loudspeaker icon in the tray and selecting the desired soundmojis.

Users can now also send a cash gift with new holiday-themed backgrounds and gift wrap on Messenger using Facebook Pay on Android devices. The cash gift can also include a personalized message.

Here are a few features launched for Messenger Kids this holiday season:

Chat with Santa: Parents can now virtually play the role of Santa for their children by opting into the Santa chat experience. Parents in the US, Canada, and Australia can send their kids messages as Santa 🎅 and kids can message back.

Virtual Holiday Games: Kids can design and share their own ugly holiday sweater or play with the new holiday-themed jackalope virtual pet.

Holiday AR Effects and Artwork: Dancing around in a Santa suit, lighting up the room with a glowing reindeer nose, or ringing in the New Year with 2022 glasses, are a few virtual activities that kids can engage with through the AR Effects.