Holiday rewards

When RuneScape Classic was still known as RuneScape, Jagex decided that they would drop items randomly across RuneScape on certain holidays.

On Easter, Halloween, and Christmas, Jagex would drop a certain item. For example, in December 2001 during Christmas, Jagex dropped 'Christmas Crackers'. These Christmas crackers could only be obtained during a certain day during December. When a player walked around RuneScape, they may have seen a Christmas cracker pop up out of nowhere on the ground nearby. This was how the items were dropped.

Originally dropped for fun, Jagex kept this going on for a few more years. Every Christmas, Halloween, and Easter, an item would be dropped. Unfortunately, players began to notice that these items could not be obtained any more unless they were bought from other players. Seeing this, players began to buy the holiday items low, and then sell them at an incredibly high price. This started the rise in the prices for holiday items. Players were also angry that they missed the drops. Players would complain to Jagex demanding that they redo the drop. Jagex decided to make the next few drops nontradeable. However, this only enraged players even more.

Jagex, realising what was happening, decided to stop holiday drops, as players were becoming too greedy. On 22 December 2003, Jagex put an announcement on RuneScape's main page, saying that they were ceasing holiday drops. From then on, items were not dropped on holidays, but rather a player would have to do a holiday themed task for a NPC to obtain the holiday items.

=Major Holidays=

Easter


2002 Easter event: Easter eggs

On Easter 2002, easter eggs were dropped. They heal 120 life points and are eaten in a single bite. The easter eggs are considered rare because they were only dropped on Easter day. Also, some people ate them because they healed a fair amount of life points, for something that did not have a price at the time.



2003 Easter event: Bunny ears

In 2003, Jagex still had holiday drops, but they were much more different. Players could only get one of the holiday items and all the items were untradeable. The Easter Drop was a set of Bunny Ears which players could wear on your head. If they are lost, players can go to Diango or Thessalia for a replacement.



2005 Easter event: Rubber chickens

Rubber chickens were a holiday item available on the 21 March 2005 for only two weeks. During this time, Jagex placed an Easter bunny in Falador as a non-player character. Players could talk to the bunny and ask for a task, with as a reward a Rubber chicken. The rubber chicken can be equipped as a fun item rather than a real weapon as it has negative bonuses. When equipped, players can "whack" other players with it. Sometimes the Rubber Chicken could slip out from your hands before whacking another player.



2006 Easter event: Easter rings

Players needed to dig up Easter eggs, which were buried by bunnies.. When they found a blue magic egg with a bunny print on it, and ate it, they would temporarily turn into a bunny. If they ate the egg over a hole, they would be able to enter the rabbits' warren. In the middle you could find the Easter bunny. After the player had given 10 eggs to the nearby children, the bunny would give him an Easter ring. When worn, this ring turns the wearer into an egg.



2007 Easter event: Chicken sets

The Chicken Set was a holiday item received from the 2007 Easter event. If the "Flap" emote has been unlocked from the Stronghold of Security, when wearing all the pieces of the set, players can do an improved Flap emote, where their avatar lifts off the ground slightly as if flying. The Bunny-hop emote is also unlocked if it has not been unlocked in a previous Easter event.



2008 Easter event: Chocatrice capes

The Chocatrice cape is the reward for completing the 2008 Easter event. When operated, the player performs an emote in which a giant Easter egg forms around the player then followed by the player bursting out from the top. Note that in the event if you get 10 chocolate chunks after you get the chocatrice cape you unlock the Bunny-hop emote. It can be stored in the Toy Box in the Costume room of a Player-owned house.



2009 Easter event: Easter carrots

The Easter Carrot is the reward for completing the 2009 Easter Event. The carrot can be equipped/wielded as a fun weapon. When you have the Carrot wielded, you will be able to "Whack" another player, for this, the player has to right-click another player and there will be a "Whack" option. It has the same uses as a Rubber chicken.



2010 Easter event: Squirrel ears

The squirrel ears are the reward for completing the 2010 Easter Event. The ears are equipped/wielded as a hat. When wearing the squirrel ears the player can summon the squirrel minions and perform the Squirrel juggle emote.

Hallowe'en


2001 Hallowe'en event: Pumpkins

Pumpkins were among the first holiday items that were dropped by Jagex on Halloween of 31 October 2001. They heal a total of 140 Life points in one bite. It is strongly recommended that a player notes the item as it may be accidentally consumed, especially since they are rare and extremely valuable.



2002 Hallowe'en event: Halloween masks

The Halloween mask appeared in three colours: green, blue, and red. A Halloween mask covers the entire head of the wearer, similar to a full helmet. Historically, the green Halloween mask has been the least expensive of the set. The red Halloween mask is the most expensive in recent history, although at times the blue Halloween mask was more expensive.



2003 Hallowe'en event: Scythes

Scythes were the last holiday items to be dropped in RuneScape Classic, and the last piece of content that was added to RuneScape Classic before RuneScape 2 was released. When they were dropped, players were only allowed to pick up one each. If a player tried to grab another one, their message box would show the message" "You already have a scythe, you don't need another one." Players can wield a scythe as a two-handed weapon. Scythes have the ability to crush, stab, and slash.



2005 Hallowe'en event: Zombie heads

In 2005, players had to scare zombie found in the Lumbridge Swamp. If they did it correctly, the head of the zombie would fall off. Players can right-click the head and talk with it or select actions which other players can see. The head cannot be equipped. If the player got the head via the Hallowe'en event, if they lost the zombie head, they have the ability to go to the Lumbridge Swamp and find another one. Players could scare the 'trick or treating' kids in Lumbridge with the zombie head, making them drop some sweets.



2006 Hallowe'en event: Jack o'lantern masks & Skeleton Sets

The Spooky set, also known as Skeleton Costume, gives no bonus in any stats. Players had to banish different coloured ghosts in order to receive the costume. The costume consists of a mask, shirt, leggings, boots, and gloves. The outfit can be reclaimed from Diango in Draynor Village if lost or destroyed, and items may be stored in the costume room of your house.



2007 Hallowe'en event: Grim reaper hoods

In 2007, players had to do a few favours for the Grim Reaper, which included; Finding his previous servant's skull in the garden, Clean up his lounge, and going through a little course that involved going on a slide, jumping on springboards, wading through a pool of slime and avoiding pitfall traps. After players complete those tasks, they would go downstairs and talk to the Grim Reaper and receive his hood, the Zombie Hand, and the Scared emote.



2008 Hallowe'en event: Warlock sets or Witch sets

After giving Maggie 4 Chocolate drops, 6 Popcorn balls, and 5 wrapped candies, a male player will be given a warlock set and a female player will be given a witch set. This set will change into a witch set if the player changes into a female or attempts to wear the warlock set as a female. The set gives NO stat bonuses; it is only for display.



2009 Hallowe'en event: Eek the Spider & Web Cloak

After putting cobwebs into the Grim Reaper's house, the Spider Queen will give you a Web Cloak and Eek the Spider. Eek can be equipped taking the weapon slot and like the cloak gives no bonuses. with Eek equipped, players have the option to "Play with" Eek, in doing so an animation will play where Eek spins a web in between the players hands and hangs down from it.

Christmas


2001 Christmas event: Christmas crackers & Party Hats

Partyhats, or phats for short, came from opening Christmas crackers. There are six differently coloured partyhats that all have the same shape. They can be worn on a player's head and resemble a crown. They give no stat enhancements. Because they are discontinued and are only obtainable from Christmas crackers which were dropped on Christmas of 2001, they are very rare items and are much sought after. This has made them very expensive items. They can usually fetch between 250,000,000 and 600,000,000 coins on the market.



2002 Christmas event: Santa Hats

A Santa hat is an item that was the final tradeable holiday drop, as part of the 2002 Christmas event. They were dropped only on 25 December 2002. All day they appeared randomly on the ground all over RuneScape, in batches about every six minutes. A player could pick up as many as they wanted. Although Jagex at the time described them as "just a bit of fun", they have since become an expensive and much-coveted item amongst players. Even if a player does not own a Santa hat, they can borrow one from a player via the Item Lending.



2004 Christmas event: Yo-yos

Yo-yos were available on 21 December 2004, for about two weeks. During this time, Santa was placed as an NPC in Varrock, Falador, Ardougne, Catherby, and Yanille. Players could talk to him and ask for a present. The present he gave was a yo-yo. Santa would only give one yo-yo to each player. Players can right click on the yo-yo and select tricks that other players can see.



2005 Christmas event: Hats, scarves & Marionettes

Hats and scarves were given out as part of the 2005 Christmas holiday event. They are non-tradeable and come in four different varieties. If a player destroys or loses their hats and scarves, they can get replacements from Diango in Draynor Village. After obtaining the various Christmas hats and scarves from Diango's workshop, players could take five boxes of baubles to a huge tree in the centre of Varrock. The reward for this was getting one of the marionettes.



2006 Christmas event: Reindeer hats & Wintumber trees

The Reindeer hat and the Wintumber tree are rewarded for completing the 2006 Christmas event. The hat has no bonuses and is untradeable. The tree is untradeable and can be planted on any free space in the Garden or on any free outdoor space of a player-owned house. If lost or destroyed the player can obtain another from Diango in Draynor village.



2007 Christmas event: Snow globes

The Snow globe is an item obtained during the 2007 Christmas event. Players must talk to the Queen of Snow in the Land of Snow, who will give them a snow globe as a gift. The snow globe contains a "snow"-covered model of Lumbridge Castle. Since the end of the event, Jagex has removed the snow globe's ability to produce snow around the player. The snow globe will continue to generate snowballs after the 2007 Christmas event, unlike the snowballs from the previous event, which melted a short while after.



2008 Christmas event: Santa suits & Ice Amulets

The Santa suit is the reward for the 2008 Christmas Event. Players were rewarded this from Santa Claus himself after freeing him from Jack Frost's ice sculpture. The set contains a Santa costume top, Santa costume legs, Santa costume gloves and Santa costume boots. Also, during this event the Head snow imp would give the player an Ice amulet to call a snow imp, which could help you find Jack Frost.



2009 Christmas event: Ghost costume & Candy cane

These were obtained by search in the cupboards of Ebenezer Scourge's house to make with bedsheets, chains, a needle and thread. These were then worn to frighten Ebenezer into releasing Santa from the cage he was locked up in and giving back the food and presents to the feast. The candy cane was later obtained by unwrapping the present Santa had given you, along with a scarf for your imp.

=Minor Holidays=

Jagex occasionally releases events for additional holidays. These events generally do not produce discontinued items and do not last as long.

Thanksgiving


2008 Thanksgiving event: Cornucopias, Raw Turkey, Raw Turkey Drumstick

This was the first Thanksgiving event ever. Players were awarded with a Cornucopia, which is used to store food. It may only store up to 140 life points worth of food. One click will replenish the amount of health lost depending on what the food was stored. It was dropped by Turkeys all around RuneScape, which also dropped the discontinued raw turkey and raw turkey drumstick.



2009 Thanksgiving event: Magnifying glass

Give Thanks emote if not previously unlocked, Magnifying glass, along with the Sleuth emote upon completing the Cryptic Clue Fest.

Start of May


2009 Start of May: Lilies of the Valley

Lilies of the valley were released on 28 April, to mark the beginning of May, despite being released two days before the first of May. They can be found all around RuneScape. As the examine text implies, they are only available for a limited amount of time. If he or she operates the lily or chooses the "Smell" option, the player will perform an emote where they will smell the lily.

April fools


2004 April fools: Toy horseys

A Toy horsey is an item made as a joke by Jagex, poking fun at the requests made by players to have horses. It was released 1 April as part of the 2004 April Fools joke. It is the only sense in which horses exist in RuneScape, though unicorns are similar. Toy horseys are obtainable from Diango for 150 coins, and come in four different colours: white, black, grey, and brown. In addition players can make toy horses in the workshop of player owned houses.



2005 April fools: Spinning plates

The Spinning plate is a toy bought from Diango in Draynor village. However, it cannot be sold back to him, and was released as a joke by Jagex in reply to the constant demand of "Dragon plate" (Dragon platebody armour). On the spinning plate, there is a picture of a dragon. As the Dragon platebody has now been released, the value of the plate as a joke item is now obsolete. Diango says that the shipment of spinning plates were delayed by thieves, who apparently wanted "dragon plates" as well.



2008 April fools: Toy kites

The Toy kite is obtainable by talking to Diango in Draynor Village, for 100 coins. The Dragon kite was released as an April Fools jokes by Jagex on 1 April 2008. If the 'Wield' option is chosen, the kite will float along side of a player. If the 'Fly' option is chosen the player will appear, for a short time, to be flying the kite in a strong wind. The 'Fly' option will only be available if the kite is in your inventory instead of being equipped. Players can also click 'Operate' for the same purpose if the item is being worn.



2009 April Fools: Cabbages

Cabbages began exhibiting odd behaviour; such as bouncing up and down, and moving away and shouting catch phrases when a player attempted to pick them up. People would try to pick them up and they would bounce off saying phrases, and if the players caught them, they would have a wieldable cabbage, which could be thrown over by players.

=Replacing an item=

Tradeable Holiday Items
Even though some items, such as the esteemed Partyhats, can fetch up to hundreds of millions of coins street-wise, they are near worthless when alchemised or sold to General stores buying prices, which also coincidentally determines which items are kept on Death. Tradeable Holiday rewards are usually sold at 1 to 2 coins to a general store. This means that a player who dies while holding 3 near-worthless items (say, three trout) will lose the partyhat despite its much higher street and player value due to its lower store price (unless they used item protect to keep 4 items).

Untradeable Holiday Items

 * Ask Thessalia in the Varrock clothing store that is south-west of the main fountain for your Bunny ears or Scythe back and she will happily oblige.


 * Diango is found in Draynor Marketplace. He will return your holiday items if you lose them, as shown on the image above. He also sells Toy kites, Spinning plates, and Toy horseys.


 * Members can retrieve all untradeable holiday items from their Toy box, provided they completed the event and the item is not in their bank or inventory, or being worn.

Holiday emotes
Since the release of the Rubber chicken, Jagex also began to give a new emote with Holiday events. Some emotes can be found at the emote screen, while others can be done by operating a Holiday reward. Emotes related to holiday events are usually unlockable every year during the respective holiday events.

Emotes

 * {|class="wikitable" width="70%"

!Icon !Name !Unlocking method
 * align="center"|[[File:Scared emote icon.PNG]]
 * Scared
 * This emote was released with the 2005 Hallowe'en event. Players hide their head in their arms, shaking with their whole body.
 * align="center"|[[File:Bunny-hop emote icon.PNG]]
 * Bunny-hop
 * This emote was released with the 2006 Easter event. Players simply jump up and down like a bunny, scratching their nose a bit in the end of the emote.
 * align="center"|[[File:Zombie hand emote icon.PNG]]
 * Zombie Hand
 * This emote was released with the 2007 Hallowe'en event. The character hops backwards, avoiding a huge Zombie-like hand grabbing for it, making temporary scars in the ground.
 * align="center"|[[File:snowman.png]]
 * Snowman Dance
 * This emote was released with the 2007 Christmas event. Players jump from side to side in a happy Christmas-musical-way.
 * align="center"|[[File:Trick.png]]
 * Trick
 * This emote was released with the 2008 Hallowe'en event. To unlock, peer into Maggie's cauldron. The player lifts his arms and bats appear.
 * align="center"|[[File:Give thanks icon.PNG]]
 * Give Thanks
 * This emote was released with the 2008 Thanksgiving event. Players act like a turkey, then change in one. In turkey-form, the player will make some weird dances.
 * align="center"|[[File:Freeze.png]]
 * Freeze
 * Unlocked by completing the 2008 Christmas event. Players received it by talking to Jack Frost, which had to be found with the help of a Snow imp. The player freezes, melts, and gets back again.
 * align="center"|[[File:Around the World in Eggty Days icon.png]]
 * Around the World in Eggty Days
 * This emote was released with the 2009 Easter event. Your player leaves dust in the air, and then returns from behind, and eats an easter egg.
 * align="center"|[[File:Dramatic Point1.PNG]]
 * Dramatic Point
 * This emote was released with the 2009 Christmas event. Your player points directly forward while snow floats around them for a few seconds.
 * }
 * align="center"|[[File:Around the World in Eggty Days icon.png]]
 * Around the World in Eggty Days
 * This emote was released with the 2009 Easter event. Your player leaves dust in the air, and then returns from behind, and eats an easter egg.
 * align="center"|[[File:Dramatic Point1.PNG]]
 * Dramatic Point
 * This emote was released with the 2009 Christmas event. Your player points directly forward while snow floats around them for a few seconds.
 * }
 * This emote was released with the 2009 Christmas event. Your player points directly forward while snow floats around them for a few seconds.
 * }

Operating emotes

 * {|class="wikitable" width="70%"

!Icon !Item !Name !Operating method
 * [[File:Rubber chicken.PNG]]
 * Rubber chicken
 * Chicken Dance
 * This emote is only usable by those with a Rubber chicken, rewarded from the 2005 Easter event. This emote is used by either right-clicking a Rubber chicken and clicking dance.
 * [[File:Reindeer hat.PNG]]
 * Reindeer hat
 * Reindeer
 * This emote is only usable by those with a Reindeer hat, rewarded from the 2006 Christmas event. To activate the emote, players must operate their hat while wearing it. It will make them act like a reindeer.
 * [[File:Chocatrice cape.PNG]]
 * Chocatrice cape
 * Giant Easter Egg
 * This emote is only usable by those with a Chocatrice cape, rewarded from the 2008 Easter event. Players must operate the chocatrice cape to use this emote. It will make players pop out of a giant, yellow egg.
 * [[File:Lily of the valley detailed.png]]
 * Lily of the valley
 * Smelling of a lily
 * [[File:Lily of the valley detailed.png]]
 * Lily of the valley
 * Smelling of a lily
 * Smelling of a lily

This emote was usable by the players with a Lily of the valley, rewarded from 2009 Start of May event. The player must click smell to perform emote. Currently, the item has appeared again and can be picked up almost everywhere. (This leads to the assumption that Jagex will release these every year at the start of May.)
 * [[File:Magnifying glass.png]]
 * Magnifying glass
 * Sleuth
 * This emote is usable by the players with a Magnifying glass, rewarded from the Cryptic Clue Fest event which was released in conjunction with the 2009 Thanksgiving Event. When on the equipped, players can right click and press 'Sleuth'.
 * [[File:Candycane.PNG]]
 * Candy Cane
 * Spin
 * This emote is usable by the players with a Candy Cane rewarded in the 2009 Christmas event. When equipped, players may go to the equipped screen and choose 'Spin' from the right-click menu.
 * [[File:Squirrel ears.png]]
 * Squirrel ears
 * Juggle
 * This emote is usable by the players with a Squirrel ears rewarded in the 2010 Easter Event. When equipped, players may go to the equipped screen and choose 'Juggle' from the right-click menu.
 * }
 * Juggle
 * This emote is usable by the players with a Squirrel ears rewarded in the 2010 Easter Event. When equipped, players may go to the equipped screen and choose 'Juggle' from the right-click menu.
 * }

Trivia

 * Newer holiday items are yet to be lendable; this is synonymous with the fact that they can't be traded (you can't lend an item unless it can be put up in the trade menu). This has led to some dissent among the forums.
 * Many players have tendencies to criticise the newest holiday rewards saying they are being depreciated in quality and effort. Other players sometimes disagree and it usually results in notorious "flame wars" via the official forums or other Runescape-related websites.
 * The Cornucopia from the 2008 Thanksgiving event is the only holiday reward that is still obtainable even after the event. This was seen as a relief to some players that missed the event and has caused some requests to Jagex for other non-tradeable rewards from the past events to be obtainable in some way similar to the Cornucopia.