scorecardStarbucks holiday cups are back. See how the designs have changed over the last 25 years.
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Starbucks holiday cups are back. See how the designs have changed over the last 25 years.

Sarah Belle Lin   

Starbucks holiday cups are back. See how the designs have changed over the last 25 years.
Four Starbucks holiday cups for 2022Starbucks
  • Starbucks has released the latest holiday cups. It's a set of four cups styled like wrapped gifts.
  • The coffee company introduced the first holiday cups in 1997, created by designer Sandy Nelson.

Starbucks has revealed this year's holiday cups: a series of four designs done in red and mint green and styled to resemble wrapped gifts – complete with "gift tags" on the backs of the cups.

Starbucks introduced its first holiday cups in 1997 – and they haven't always come in the familiar red. In the first two years, Starbucks used purple along with its whimsical designs. In 1999, the cups donned a festive candy-apple red for the first time, and the rest is history.

Many of these iconic designs were the brainchild of Sandy Nelson, a senior designer at Starbucks from 1997 to 2011.

"What's happened now in popular culture is that the appearance of the red cup signals to people that it's time to celebrate the holidays," said Nelson in a statement. "Who would have thought 25 years ago that would happen?"

The Starbucks holiday cup has generated its share of controversies here and there. In 2017, #BoycottStarbucks trended on social media after a conspiracy theory emerged about the cup's 2017 design supposedly featuring a gay couple holding hands.

Two years earlier, a minimalist, two-toned cup design sparked backlash after a video claiming that Starbucks "removed Christmas from their cups" went viral. The cups were a trending topic for major publications, late-night talk show hosts, and even former presidential candidate Donald Trump, Insider reported.

Here's a look at Starbucks holiday designs over the years:

2022

2022
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2021

2021
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2020

2020
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2019

2019
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2018

2018
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2017

2017
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2016

2016
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2015

2015
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2014

2014
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2013

2013
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2012

2012
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2011

2011
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2010

2010
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2009

2009
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2008

2008
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2007

2007
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2006

2006
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2005

2005
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2004

2004
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2003

2003
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2002

2002
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2001

2001
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2000

2000
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1999

1999
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1998

1998
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1997

1997
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