Starbucks Rings in the Holiday Season with New Cups

Halloween is over, which means it is officially socially acceptable and not weird at all to start unpacking your Christmas lights and inflatable sleigh and reindeer. Okay, maybe that only applies to your Christmas-obsessed neighbors. If you’re not feeling exactly festive yet, Starbucks has some tricks up its sleeve this year that will surely help stoke the Christmas spirit inside us all.

First, Starbucks has introduced a new line of holiday cups in cheerful red and green patterns; one features a green argyle pattern, and another is printed with mistletoe leaves. Nothing about these cups necessarily screams “Christmas!” (except the colors), leaving plenty of room for people who don’t celebrate. The cups are simply a pleasant reminder of the oncoming winter season when just about everyone is settling into the couch with a cozy blanket and a cup of cocoa. They’ll be available starting this Friday (tomorrow!).

Of course, this is a long-standing Starbucks tradition — and one that has been met with some controversy. In past years, the coffee chain has tried to dial down the overt Christmas themes on the cups. This year, however, Starbucks did go out of its way to remind people of this specific holiday.

“We listened to our customers,” Roz Brewer, Starbucks’ chief operating officer, told CNN. They said they loved the tradition of Christmas.”

Regardless, the Starbucks holiday cups are a fun tradition that fans of the chain, no matter how they celebrate, look forward to every year. And there’s more to cherish at Starbucks than just cups this holiday season: On Friday, Starbucks is bringing back fan-favorite gingerbread lattes and peppermint mochas. Starbucks also said on Instagram that that tomorrow, November 2, if you buy one of the drinks you’ll get a free reusable red cup!

Cup design controversy aside, I think we can all agree that Starbucks has succeeded in distilling the taste of the holiday season into drink form. I, myself, am partial to the peppermint mocha (it’s seriously tragic that it’s not available all year) — but no matter which flavor you prefer, Starbucks’ holiday drinks are a sure sign that Christmas is right around the corner.