Food
The 2017 cup was so creative.
It’s a big year for those who love the holiday season at Starbucks. For starters, the Peppermint Mocha is back for its 20th year at the coffee chain — along with newer beloved beverages like the Irish Cream Cold Brew and Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte. Not only that, but 2022 is the 25th anniversary of the iconic Starbucks holiday cups, so it’s only right to take a trip down memory lane, don’t you think?
In 1997, the first-ever holiday cup designs made their way to Starbucks locations. (Did you know the holiday cups weren’t even red until 1999?!) Since then, the iconic red cup designs — that have sometimes featured a mint green, lilac, white, gold, or navy accent — have been considered the unofficial start to the holiday season. If you see someone holding a red coffee cup, that’s usually your sign to get going on that holiday shopping to-do list.
Over the years the designs have ranged from animation-inspired to simple ombré to hand-drawn doodles. A few years even had an interactive AI component to the cup designs, who knew? Read on to see what the Starbucks holiday cups have looked like over the past 25 years and scroll to the very bottom to see what designs you can get your hands on this season starting on Nov. 3.
1997
The first holiday cups Starbucks ever released were designed by Sandy Nelson and hit stores in 1997. Instead of the iconic red cups many people find synonymous with the season at Starbucks, the first cups were designed in jewel tones of magenta, sapphire, emerald, and purple and featured holly leaves detailed with tiny coffee beans.
1998
In 1998, Starbucks stores were decorated for the season with deep purple and sepia colors, so the cups followed suit and featured intricate snowflakes on a dark purple background.
1999
For the first time in 1999, the bright red color makes its mark on a Starbucks holiday cup. This design features black line drawings of snowflakes, stockings, ice skates, and other winter scenes.
2000
The “coffeetown” design of the year 2000 used outlines of coffee pots to make the look of a fantastical village.
2001
In 2001, Starbucks gift cards became available for the first time in the chain’s history. The cup design of this year played off of that announcement and was inspired by presents, ribbon, and postage stamps.
2002
Starbucks made waves in 2002, as it was the year the Peppermint Mocha made its first appearance on menus. Meanwhile, the cup design used white line art and an illustration style you may recognize from the 2005 and 2016 cups.
2003
A shadow design of snowflakes and people, as well as tiny white stars make the look of the 2003 red cup.
2004
In 2004, the Starbucks logo looks like a wreath on each cup.
2005
This simple design in 2005 features woodcut-style drawings, string lights around the rim, and a sweet message reminding customers holiday joy “only happens once a year.”
2006
In 2006, the cup draws inspiration from paper silhouettes that are often used for holiday decorating,
2007
Ice skaters spin on a frozen pond in this whimsical scene features a snowflake-flecked background.
2008
In 2008, Starbucks wanted to embody holiday hygge with a knitted pattern that depicts reindeer, a white dove, and a woodland landscape.
2009
The Caramel Brulée Latte arrives on Starbucks menus in 2009, alongside a cup that features cut-paper ornaments and words like joy, hope, love, light, and peace.
2010
By 2010, a more modern design approach is taken for the annual cups. This one shows an animated holiday character catching snowflakes.
2011
The 2011 design had an interactive portion so customers could make carolers, ice skaters, and sledders come to life from the designs using an app called Starbucks Cup Magic.
2012
Holiday characters like this snowman graced the 2012 cups, as did accents of navy and gold.
2013
The delicate design of 2013 uses coffee cherries, coffee flowers, and vintage ornaments to create a swooped pattern.
2014
“Let there be bright” was the theme for the holidays in 2014 at Starbucks, which can be seen in the sunburst design of this year’s cup.
2015
In line with the trends of 2015, Starbucks made their cup a two-toned ombré of poppy red bleeding into a darker-toned red.
2016
Starbucks brought customers together by crowd-sourcing cup designs in 2016. Ultimately, 13 designs from six different countries around the world were chosen, all of which featured white drawings on a red background.
2017
The first white holiday cup made its way to Starbucks in 2017. The goal was to encourage customers to color it in themselves and the outline featured a pair of hands, swirling ribbons, and a splash of red and green.
2018
Starbucks was inspired by vintage aesthetics in 2018 and released a set of four designs with draws like a star, branch of coffee cherries, and a flame from the chain’s past cups.
2019
Holiday gift wrapping was the inspo for Starbucks’ holiday cups in 2019. This is also the year the Irish Cream Cold Brew made its debut on menus.
2020
For this striped look of 2020, designers used washi tape wrapped around cups to create unique looks. A pop of mint green was also used to give the cups a fresh look and a message to “Carry the Merry” was stamped onto the design.
2021
A touch of lilac was added to the holiday cups of 2021 for a refreshed look. This suite of cups was made to look like wrapped gifts using imagery reminiscent of ribbons and sprinkles of stars.
2022
This year the holiday cups feature the classic shades of red and Starbucks green as well as a mint shade to add some drama. You’ll get the retro feel from the four 2022 designs that will help you celebrate the 25th year of holiday cups at Starbucks.
