For years, the debut of Starbucks' holiday cups has acted as a marker for the start of the holiday season. Once that red cup is in your hands, all bets are off: It's time to put up the Christmas tree, break out the holiday tunes, start baking cookies. In the lead-up to the cup change-out, Starbucks fans speculate what the new one will look like. Will it be red? White? Patterned? Plain? We've seen them all over the last 26 years.
Take a look back at the all of them, dating back to 1997—the year of the very first winter cup. Can you believe it was purple?!
2024
The theme for the 2024 cups is "Merrier Together." And in addition to highlighting the color green, the new cups also feature cozy charms that look like old-fashioned holiday ornaments or peppermints.
2023
The 2023 cups follow the theme, "Share the Joy," and each feature sparkles and bright magenta. There's also a cold cup, which sadly, doesn't include pink.
2022
Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Peppermint Mocha, these designs incorporated mint green into the color palette, according to Starbucks.
2021
A splash of lilac made its way to the 2021 holiday cups.
2020
The design process for the 2020 holiday cups involved wrapping ribbons similar to washi tape around cups, according to Starbucks.
2019
2019 brought four fun and festive cups to get into the holiday spirit.
2019
2019 brought four cups with different designs, such as this polka dot one.
2018
This year's set includes four distinct patterned cups: A red cup with stripes; a white cup with green leaves and bright red berries...
2018
...a red houndstooth cup; and a green "Stargyle" printed cup.
2017
Starbucks' first white cup was covered with sketches—two hands holding, more coffee cups, presents, hearts, and more.
2016
This year's cup featured the words love and joy, plus plenty of customer-created drawings, all drawn on a red background.
2015
2015 was the year of ombré, with a simple, two-toned red cup.
2014
2014's "Let there be bright" theme spawned this red, brushstroke-lined cup.
2013
This cup uses coffee cherries, coffee flowers, and ornaments to paint a holiday scene.
2012
A geometric snowman with blue and gold accents made its mark in 2012.
2011
2011's cups had a cast of characters, including a dog and boy sledding, carolers singing, and an ice skater spinning.
2010
This was one of the only years with a full sentence on the cup.
2009
Sprigs of evergreen sit behind ornaments on this year's red holiday cup.
2008
This year's cup looked like a Christmas sweater. Hand-drawn doves, reindeer, and trees add to the coziness.
2007
2007 celebrated 10 years of holiday cups! This year's design invited customers to "pass the cheer."
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