Last week heralded complaints floating around campus regarding the early arrival of Starbucks’ holiday menu. A common theme seems to be that it’s too early to be drinking Christmas-themed beverages immediately after Halloween and far before Thanksgiving has arrived.

I’d argue that the fall-themed drinks were launched in a similarly untimely manner, as the sun blazed and temperatures hovered at a balmy 90 degrees, yet I heard more excitement than frustration. Granted, there isn’t a holiday in September that’s skipped over like Thanksgiving, but nothing about the weather warranted an early arrival of pumpkin spice.

Do I think Starbucks should gradually transition into its full array of winter holiday offerings? Yes. But here’s why this early release trumps the last.

Firstly, let’s consider the actual flavor profiles of both fall and the holiday season. Christmas-inspired flavors include cookies, peppermint, eggnog chocolate, and gingerbread– comforting, cozy classics. Fall flavors, on the other hand, consist of cinnamon (acceptable), chai (a staple), and pumpkin— a gourd.

A pumpkin is roughly equivalent to a butternut squash. So why are we normalizing it in coffee? I’m not going to say I dislike it, but the concept is strange. And I won’t ever call it a favorite. Call me a certified hater, but it’s weird to drink a sugary coffee flavored with a vegetable. The aforementioned holiday syrups are all classic Christmas desserts and make much more sense as coffee. But I digress.

Secondly, the holiday available-for-purchase cups are much better than the Halloween assortment. They bring cheery reds and festive patterns out to play, and even the to-go plastic cups are decorated with ornaments.

They’re adorable. The Halloween cups were, simply put, atrocious. One had neon plastic goop cascading down its sides. Another had glow-in-the-dark bats. Some lids didn’t match their parent cups. All were aggressive shades of neon mixed with black and mistakes. I never saw anyone buy a cup, nor did the supply seem to diminish. I wonder what happened to them.

Thirdly, the unveiling of Starbucks’ holiday drinks is more than an action, like the fall drinks. It’s connotative of the season of celebration and giving… and receiving… and self-treating– but all good things, nonetheless.

There’s a reason the Christmas classic songs from the 1960s haven’t left the radio since aired. Nor has anyone been able to top them. They bring people nostalgia and excitement. Fall drinks released in the heat give people false hope of cooler weather and a sense of impending doom as the colder weather hits and it is inevitably too cold too fast.

Overall, I’m more than okay with celebrating the holiday season a couple of weeks longer, beverage-wise. You can probably tell that I was never overly attached to pumpkin spice chai lattes. Time flies, so snag your sugar cookie latte while you can. Season’s greetings!