Review: Starbucks Holiday Goodies

Lately I've been in need of some serious cheering up, and for the longest time nothing seemed to be working.  Not comforting words from people I love, not yoga or other forms of exercise, not drinking an entire bottle of wine while watching screwball comedies, not terrifically addictive novels or aesthetically profound short stories, not taking Stella for long walks while listening to great music on my iPod.

Then I walked into Starbucks.  Yes I know, I'm a superficial slave to consumer culture, but no business can so successfully rush the Christmas season like Starbucks.  It's true that I don't particularly like Christmas.  I've found in recent years Christmas day itself is anti-climatic beyond words.  I keep expecting it to be this wonderful, magical occasion.  I imagine it as it was when I was a kid, and would wake up at four in the morning intoxicated with excitement and anticipation about whether Santa had been there yet.  (I was never one of those kids who would make my parents get up at five am...I always waited until at least seven, perhaps unconsciously developing my preference for the moment before any big event to the event itself).  Back in the good old days, a thin layer of snow always lay on the ground for the holiday season, and everything tasted like chocolaty mint and smelled like clementines and blue spruce.  In the past, December nights were never pitch black, but a welcoming navy blue glow, and my favourite Christmas movies were always on TV whenever I switched it on.  Christmases of the past were times when everyone in my extended family liked me (and one another).  For some reason, I remember big family dinners as these joyous occasions full of laughter and free of awkwardness.  Now...not.

Thus I find that the magic of the Christmas season seems to wear off when it gets very close to the actual day.  The time I like best is just before just before...late November and early December, when I can still believe that the upcoming Christmas season will turn the world into the idealized dreamland I remember.  No place captures this feeling like Starbucks.  Last year I discovered these delightful holiday sandwiches, which consist of turkey, cranberries, and stuffing nestled between two slices of heavily buttered whole grain bread.  I had my first of the season yesterday and found it to be just as tasty as I remembered.  The quality of these sandwiches seems to be slightly superior to that of their regular sandwiches, which more often than not feature slightly stale and/or soggy bread (yes, I'm a picky bread person).  Not to mention the fact that putting stuffing in a sandwich could be conceived of as daring and experimental...bread inside bread...come on!!  But the fact that the idea actually works is proof of its brilliance.

So positive was my experience with the sandwich that I returned to Starbucks today to try their Peppermint Twist Mocha - at least I think that's what it's called.  Personally I'm not really sure how this is different from the regular peppermint mocha, so forgive me if I don't remember the correct name of the beverage (in fact, the difference was enthusiastically explained to me by my ever helpful barrista, but I can't seem to recall what it was...something to do with the whip cream, I think).  Anyway, it doesn't really matter because it tasted wonderful and Christmas-y, as did the Gingersnap latte enjoyed by my husband (again I'm not really sure how this differs from the Gingerbread latte of last year).  Anyway, I do recommend you make a trip to Starbucks before it gets too close to the real Christmas season.