Lenox Winter Greetings Festive Travel Mug

An astounding 16 billion disposable coffee cups are used each year. These cups use plastic to coat the inside of the cup and to construct a lid to make the cups portable. That’s a lot of waste added to the nation’s landfills. Instead, Americans can ditch the disposable cups and opt for environmentally friendly mugs that can be used again and again. If you’d like specialty mugs for use during the holidays, you’ll be pleased to discover there are a host of options available.

Decide if you need your festive mug to be portable. Mugs that are made for traveling tend to be taller to hold more liquid and slimmer to fit in the cup holders in your car. They also come with a lid to prevent spills. The Lenox Winter Greetings Festive Travel Mug has all of these features and includes an adorable painting of a red bird perched on a holly leaf with specks of 24-carat gold added throughout.

Determine whether you’re looking for a festive mug to use as a centerpiece. These mugs can be filled with holiday-colored candies or flowers or just left to decorate the space on their own. You can place them in the center of your dining room table, on a fireplace mantel or over your coffee table. The Christmas Vacation Collectibles Moose Mug is a good choice, as it is made out of glass and has an elegant look. It’s also nostalgic, bringing back many fond memories for those who’ve seen “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

Look for mug sets if you plan on serving eggnog or hot chocolate to friends and family. As you do this, consider how much liquid the cups hold. While typical coffee mugs have a 12-ounce capacity, some festive mugs only hold 8-9 ounces.

Examine the material used to make the mugs. The Spode Christmas Tree Mug, Set of 4 is made from a high-quality porcelain, while the Certified International Christmas Mugs, Set of 4 has a ceramic construction. Both are lead-free. It’s also important to check whether these mugs can be used in the oven, microwave or freezer. Some are more fragile than others and you want to make sure the mugs will fulfill your needs.

Consider any extras. Some festive mugs come packaged in a unique gift box, so you can give them as a Christmas present. Others have holiday characters as their handles and 3D designs on the front of the mugs.

• Look for any satisfaction guarantees or warranties offered by the company before you make your final decision. There are businesses that have one-year warranties against defects only and companies that have a Breakage Replacement Program put in place. Without these guarantees, you might not get any restitution if the mug you purchase arrives broken or breaks shortly after the first use.
• Check the product care label before you place your festive mug in a dishwasher. While some are dishwasher-safe, others are not and must be washed by hand. Often times this is because of a decoration attached to the mug, and not the actual material used to construct the mug.
• If you want to gift a festive mug without the box, you can fill it with one or more of the following items: candy canes, chocolate kisses, a winter-scented candle, hot chocolate mix, cookies, an assortment of herbal teas, chocolate covered pretzels, flowers and gift cards. If the mug is for a child, consider adding a few trinkets, like a plastic ring, yo-yo, Christmas pencil, deck of playing cards or a small stuffed Santa or reindeer.
• To protect your counter and table surfaces, you may also want to purchase a set of Christmas coasters. They come in solid colors, as well as a variety of patterns and pictures. You can even get a set that matches your mugs. For example, if your mugs have Christmas trees on the front, you can buy a set of coasters with a Christmas tree on top or a set of coasters that is plain green like the trees on your mugs.
• It is important to consider price when choosing a festive mug. Some mugs actually come in a set, so you’ll need to divide the number of mugs by the total price of the set to determine the cost of each mug. Even though the Spode Christmas Tree Mug, Set of 4 and the Certified International Christmas Mugs, Set of 4 have a higher price tag than the Lenox Winter Greetings Festive Travel Mug and the Christmas Vacation Collectibles Moose Mug, they are a better deal because they have a lower price per mug.