Welcome to day twenty of my advent calendar of ornaments. This year, rather than 2020 & 2021’s Cheesy Christmas, it’s our hodge-podge of a Christmas tree that’s front and center… I’m giving you a tour of our tree, one ornament at a time, until Christmas Day.

Today’s ornament is all commercial and not a bit hand-made…

A Starbucks Problem?

Yep… we might just have one… or “had”…

When we lived in Canada, there were 3 Starbucks within a 5-min drive from the church so we consumed a lot of their stuff.

• When people needed a chat… Starbucks was a good spot to go & be out of the hustle of the office.
• Sometimes, when others were coming into the office, they’d offer to pick one up on the way for us… a treat.
• At the end of a long day, we’d head through the drive-through on our way home…

Yeah… we put the “bucks” in “Starbucks”, but that’s not a problem now given that the nearest Starbucks is about an hour away, and we’re rarely in that city. On the rare occasions that we make it up to Paris, Starbucks remains a nice treat, but it’s really only once in a blue moon.

The ornaments… 5-or-6 symbols of rampant capitalism on our tree (😆) but they’re still a fond memory. Liz & I each have one of the hot-drink cups, and the kids each have one of the clear cups, because at the time, they were all about the mocha chip frappucinos and the vanilla bean lattés… all served in those clear, plastic (gasp) cups.

Oh they’ve developed a taste for the hot coffee drinks since then, but these ornaments date back to those earlier times…

… and that’s today’s Christmas ornament.

Give the gift of Parisian strolls this Christmas.
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