Starbucks 2010 Christmas Mug and Other Merchandise

I know I’m really speeding through these Starbucks Christmas mugs but I’m flying out to Australia to be with family and friends for Christmas and New Years in a few days and am determined to get all these Christmas mugs covered so that when I get back I can blog about Japan’s 2011 New Years mug and then continue covering my other mugs!

This is my final red themed Starbucks Christmas mug in my collection and came out on sale in Japan on November 1st (which I think is a lot earlier than the rest of the world but correct me if I’m wrong).

The look on this mug is very stylised with two very artistically drawn children looking up at the falling snowflakes. This is a very different style from previous designs. The background is also a bit different. While it definitely uses the same red as in the other mugs, there’s a big use of screenprint-like gradients used to create the illusion of hills covered in snow. I do like this mug but to be honest I’m not a fan of the art style (something about the noses 😉 ) but it still looks good in my collection.

Something I didn’t really notice until I started taking photos of the mug is that they’ve moved the “custom drink boxes” from the front-side to next to the handle. I actually really like this idea as it gives more real estate for the graphics rather than the Starbucks company advertising. In fact the Starbucks logo is also a lot smaller than previous mugs.

It makes me curious about 2011′s Christmas Mug.

This time I’ve got two videos to check out. The first one is the usual look at the mug…

…while the second one is a video of the Christmas merchandise display at the Starbucks in Ogikubo, Tokyo Japan. Huge variety of mugs and other merch. No way I could have bought them all so I hope you like the video and find it useful.

How much Starbucks Christmas merch do you buy each year? Obviously I always make it a point to buy the new red Christmas mug. I’m also a big fan of the snow globe Christmas tree ornaments they release. (Actually I make a point to zoom in on this year’s globe in the first video). I also buy the Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee in December to help me get in the festive mood. What do you buy?