Update: Starbucks' iconic holiday cups are officially back in stores nationwide. While we're all eager to see this year's designs in person, don't forget that you can also get a reusable cup for free today only when you order a seasonal beverage. Bring that festive red cup back into Starbucks after 3 p.m. November 3 through January 7, and you'll get 50 cents off a grande holiday drink. What a way to ring in the holiday season.
This story was originally published on November 1, 2019.
The holiday season is all about tradition. Most of us celebrate in the same ways every single year, which for some is comforting and for others can feel repetitive. This year, Starbucks has managed to find a way to make both the creatures of habit and the adventurous spirits happy. To design its annual holiday cups, the company's creative studio drew on the past for inspiration and then gave each pattern a contemporary twist. The results are four of chicest cups we've seen from Starbucks in years.
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Starting tomorrow, Starbucks will begin selling its beloved seasonal beverages including the Peppermint Mocha, Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, Caramel Brulée Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Gingerbread Latte, and Eggnog Latte. When you order one of the seasonal drinks or any other Starbucks beverage, it will come in one of the four new holiday cups. The four patterns that appear on the cups are Stripes, Flora, Espresso Houndstooth, and Stargyle, all of which you can see below.
Pretty cute, right? According to Starbucks' official announcement of the new cups, its creative team "snipped pieces from Starbucks holidays past — a star, a branch of coffee cherries, a flame. They added doses of vintage colors and patterns, like mint green and argyle and reinterpreted them with graphic flair and a dash of glitter and shine." One instance of this modernization of holiday designs past is the star featured on the Stargyle cup, which was borrowed from the packaging of Starbucks' 1999 Christmas Blend. The graphic interlinking diamonds and the bold greens change the pattern up for the 21st century. We bet some of us wish they could do the same with their family's holiday traditions. Maybe the cups are a sign that this year is the time to try it.
In addition to the four new patterned holiday cups, Starbucks is also introducing a limited-edition reusable red cup. This past March, the coffee chain announced it was working to develop a fully recyclable cup, and in July, it pledged to eliminate single-use plastic straws by 2020. The introduction of a reusable take on its iconic red holiday seems to be Starbucks' way of keeping its commitment to environmentally-friendly practices without sacrificing the celebratory fun.
Customers can get the red reusable cup free of charge when they order a holiday beverage at Starbucks tomorrow. Additionally, those who bring their reusable red cups back to their local Starbucks stores between November 3 and January 7 can get 50 cents off a grande holiday beverage after 3 p.m. Starbucks is rolling out five new stylish holiday cups to hold our favorite classic holiday drinks so that this year, we can have the best of tradition and progress.