Like Mariah Carey, Starbucks is welcoming the holidays a little early.

From November 7, the coffee chain announced that its long-awaited Christmas cup designs will appear in stores, just as they will be doing away with the surcharge on non-dairy milk.

Leading the design effort was Starbucks creative director Kristy Cameron, who said her team was inspired by “real moments of joy” for the look and feel of this year’s cups.

“Whether it’s the growing coffee trees, roasting beans, roasting cups or glowing lamps – we wanted to share the warmth of our coffee house and the anticipation of the arrival of the red cups with our customers and partners,” Cameron said in a press release.

This year’s theme is ‘Merrier Together’, which the coffee giant says covers its entire Christmas campaign, with a palette that combines Starbucks’ green and cranberry red with soft pastels inspired by fondant icing. Graphic elements are inspired by vintage Christmas decorations, peppermint and other holiday favorites.

“We’re really excited to opt for green tones this year,” said Cameron, putting special emphasis on the “vibrant and bright” jade green featured in four of the five designs.

The hot cup sleeves feature a ‘wavy motif’ with a scalloped edge treatment called the ‘siren wave’, as well as small badges that allow baristas to write messages.

Warm wishes

For the Warm Wishes cup, Starbucks designers were inspired by the overhead view of coffee cups coming together and toasting each other. The interconnected dots also look like the bokeh of glowing Christmas lights, as circles of light flow together in harmony.

Joyful connection

Starbucks drew inspiration for the Joyful Connection cup from the roasting of coffee, pointing to the “round metal cooling container” into which the coffee is released at Reserve locations, as well as the spinning of a “mechanical arm” that cools the beans. These steps include circle shapes that are combined to form this pattern concept.

Lyrical landscape

“Vibrant, wavy lines” are strung together for the Lyrical Landscape cup. The chain says the design resembles a “perfectly wrapped gift” and is “reminiscent of Christmas ribbons and the green rolling hills where coffee is grown,” with its alternating bands of red, green and pink.

Siren choir

The Siren Chorus cup is inspired by the patterns made from ‘raking coffee beans in the sun’ and the ‘flowing lines’ of the Starbucks siren.

Holiday cold cup

At this year’s Holiday Cold Cup, Starbucks says “festive charms” add a “touch of cheer” to its cool and icy drinks during the holiday season.