What Is Starbucks Red Cup Day?

When does Christmas season start? Maybe you put your tree up right after Halloween, even as smoke still rises from your front porch Jack-O-Lanterns. Or perhaps you wait to celebrate the holiday spirit until the final serving of Thanksgiving leftovers is dutifully microwaved. For each person, holiday spirit comes of its own accord. Still, there are a few events that signal the arrival of the holiest and jolliest time of year, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. And then there's Red Cup Day. The event, which occurs at Starbucks locations across the United States and Mexico, has come to mark the start of the holiday season for many consumers. 

Red Cup Day is an annual event that occurs on a different day each year, usually in mid-November. On Red Cup Day, customers who order select items from the store's Holiday or Fall menu receive a free reusable red cup with purchase (while supplies last). For many, these cups are a highly sought-after collectible item. Each year, the free cups feature a new design that evokes the holiday season, similar to its annual paper cup designs. Customers who bring in their red cups for future drink purchases can also receive a small discount.

So how did Red Cup Day and Starbucks' seasonally decorated reusable cups become so iconic? Well, it started way back in 1997, when the chain first introduced its seasonal colorful cups. These cups weren't the iconic red we now know and love, but purple, magenta, blue, and green. It wasn't until 1999 that the chain switched to the now iconic red color. The 1999 design featured a motif of various wintery items, including coffee percolators, ice skates, and snowflakes. Since then, the annual design for Starbucks' cups has become a point of anticipation for many. 

Following the popularity of its seasonal cup release, Starbucks introduced Red Cup Day, an annual event in which customers can take home their very own festive cup to reuse throughout the season. And, like the paper version of the cup, the designs for the plastic version change each year, giving customers another glint of holiday joy. The exact date for this event changes each year. The chain often hints at the arrival of Red Cup Day each year on social media. The cups are also first come, first serve, and available in limited supply, so customers often arrive early to ensure they receive their free cup, a precursor, perhaps, to the hustle and bustle of Black Friday.

One thing is for sure: Starbucks knows the holidays. Many customers anticipate the annual drop of its pumpkin spice latte, the harbinger of America's autumnal fixation on pumpkin spice, and its yearly Holiday menu, which features such delights as peppermint mocha lattes and festive winter-themed cookies. As the dates of its seasonal product launches are often markers of each season's unfurling, for many, Red Cup Day is an unofficial start to holiday celebrations, and the day has, in previous years, been a particularly busy day for the chain. 

In recent years, the excitement over Red Cup Day, or at least the foot traffic it draws, has dampened, with fewer customers making their way to the cafe chain for their complementary red cup (via Forbes). However, for many, this day remains a tradition for those in search of a delicious holiday beverage and a free, festive cup to mark the year's festivities. Many customers have also taken to social media to share in their participation, with many posting under hashtags such as #starbucksredcup to engage with other Red Cup Day participants. Others collect these cups and display them as a part of their Christmas decorations. Regardless of your level of participation, the day is certainly a great excuse to grab a seasonal drink for yourself. 

Despite the enduring popularity of Red Cup Day and the chain's seasonal cup designs, they are not without controversy. In fact, in 2023, many union Starbucks employees staged a walk-off during Red Cup Day. The workers chose the day due to its popularity among customers, hoping to make the single-day protest have a high impact. The popularity of Red Cup Day certainly upped the stakes of such a protest, which wanted to highlight the workers' request for better pay, staffing policies, and benefits for union workers. 

It's not just the day itself that has taken on some controversy. Those festive red cups themselves have become the source of some very heated opinions. Most notably, in 2015, the release of the chain's red holiday cups spawned a boycott by many who saw the ombre red design as antithetical to the Christmas spirit. The core of the controversy surrounding that year's cup seems to be in the cup's minimalistic design.

Previous cups featured motifs, patterns, and even winter-themed characters (such as the 2012 Snowman cup). The 2015 design, however, only featured two different shades of red blending into each other. The cup design was spare, but it was no doubt in line with the chain's previous holiday cups. However, despite the cups never specifically referencing Christmas, many found this design choice to be an attack on the holiday and its religious origins. Even so, the cups remain a staple of the entire holiday season (New Year's and all).