I’m a little baffled and embarrassed that the holiday cups at Starbucks make me so happy. I’m sure psychologists have an easy explanation to this, and it certainly makes me feel like I’ve been brainwashed, but each year, when the red cups roll out, it makes me feel happy and festive. The converse is true too; I start to feel sad when the white cups return with that post-holiday let down feel.
The other day, my son spotted someone with a red cup, and he pointed out that the cup was pretty. This got me unnecessarily excited. The red cups are out! Yet, when I headed into Starbucks the next day, the cups were still white. Maybe it was my imagination, I thought. Alas, what I saw was true, but it seems one store jumped ahead. Nov. 1 seems to be the widespread roll out day, if judging my Facebook feed. I was so excited to see the stacks of red cups, ready to be filled and admired that I uploaded a photo to Twitter, and soon after, a quick check of my Facebook feed revealed I was not alone. Without scrolling down, I could see that three friends had separately posted photos of their red cups. We’re so predictable, and Starbucks has us right where it wants us.
I’ve decided not to be embarrassed about my love of the red cups. I love the holidays, and this is one more, tiny little celebration of my favorite time of year. Even if I have to pay $4.25 for each shot of happiness.
