Starbucks Themed Office Cubicle

 

This year Starbucks decided to design their holiday cup with a simple red with no decorations. It blew up on the internet for a short while and was perceived by some to be anti-Christmas or even anti-Christians. As someone who doesn't have strong feelings about Christmas, Starbucks, holiday decorations, or red cups, I didn't understand why this would be something worth getting upset about. Christmas is a happy time, so is the simple act of getting time off; I'm assuming to be able to buy an overpriced cup of creamy goodness is also something to be grateful for, so perhaps, these people were just looking for excuses to spread hate.

Folks at work decided to do a Holiday Cubicle/Office Decorating contest for Christmas so I took the opportunity (and simplicity of the design) to make my cubicle into the controversial cup!

First Place in the 2015 Office Decoration Contest

Thanks to the simplicity in the design, I was able to finish this in about an hour (a little bit here and there over a few days).

• First, I bought red wrapping paper from the dollar store and taped them on the 2 side of my cubicle
• I replicated the special order check boxes and printed each one on a 11" x 8.5" paper
• I then printed the word "Starbucks" on 2 pieces of paper to make it long enough. Initially I wanted to print them on 11" x 17" papers but accidentally printed them on 11" x 8.5"s, which turned out nicely anyway
• Then I printed the Starbucks logo on an 11" x 17" paper and cut it out
• Lastly, I folded some 11" x 17" paper and taped them to the top of my cubicle for the lid portion of the cup

I made the cup because I wanted to support the idea that anyone has the right to be happy. I wanted people to know that you don't have to be Christian to feel good about Christmas, or have decorated coffee cups to spread the Christmas spirit; that being politically correct doesn't mean you're anti-others, and that whoever is lucky enough to afford Starbucks coffee should probably just focus their energy on being grateful.

After the contest, I opened up my cubicle decoration to be drawn on by everyone. Folks started stopping by to look at the things others drew or wrote, and add a little bit of their own. Over the course of 3 days I noticed people started writing holiday blessings more than just doodles, and the cup that sparked so much controversy on the internet eventually became a place where people came together.

Everyone's Holiday Wishes

No matter who we are, what we believe in, or where we live, we are more similar than we are different. Love will always trump hate, and every time we act, no matter how small it is, we have the power to make the world just a little bit better.