This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Charlotte Mandrier. It has been edited for length and clarity.
On Monday, September 14, I was cleaning up my inbox and deleting emails when I saw that Starbucks was collaborating with the Peanuts brand to sell merchandise inspired by “The Great Pumpkin.”
I remembered last year when Starbucks released a small number of bear cups. My daughter, who is 9, had wanted one but hadn’t managed to get hold of one. She was so disappointed.
She clearly hadn’t known about the Snoopy cups that were going on sale, or I would have heard about it from her. She is obsessed with Peanuts, Snoopy, and “The Great Pumpkin.”
She watches the movie all year long
As an autistic person, she has a special interest in Peanuts, specifically “The Great Pumpkin.” She watches it all year long, even though it is a very fall movie. She listens to the music from the film’s soundtrack. She was born in Santa Rosa, where the museum commemorating Charles Schulz — the cartoonist who created the Peanuts comic — is located. When she was little, she went to a camp at the museum and learned to ice skate at Snoopy’s Home Ice next door. She even looks like Linus. She loves everything about this brand.
Courtesy of Charlotte Mandrier
As it happened, her birthday is in two days. So when I saw that these limited-edition Snoopy cups and other merchandise celebrating the movie would be on sale, I told my husband I was going to try to get one for her.
I woke up in the middle of the night
I set my alarm for Tuesday morning at 3:30 a.m., quietly sneaking out of the house to arrive at our closest Starbucks in downtown Chevy Chase at 4 a.m., when it opens.
Courtesy of Charlotte Mandrier
Walking six blocks to get there, I only saw one other woman on the street. It turned out she was going to the same Starbucks to wait in line, too.
When I got there, no one was in line yet, and I felt so relieved. I had imagined that there would already be a huge line, with people hoping to take all the stock to resell it later.
I suppose that since it was a fairly commercial area, rather than a residential area, people didn’t think to go there to get the merchandise.
Slowly, others arrived. There were three of us waiting for the merchandise, and three regulars who were just there to get their coffee.
Courtesy of Charlotte Mandrier
Although they were meant to open the doors at 4 a.m., apparently, there was a staffing issue, and they didn’t open until 5 a.m. The regulars said that it wasn’t normal for the shop to open late.
The lights were on, but we couldn’t see anyone inside. We tried knocking because we weren’t sure if someone was there, and just didn’t know we were waiting. We were desperate to get the good stuff.
There were about 10 Snoopy cups
While we waited, I used my phone to take photos of the merchandise and count how many cups were available. I could see about 10.
Then someone finally unlocked and opened the doors for us. Once I got in, I bought a Snoopy cup, a tote bag, a keychain, a mug, and some pins. It came to about $200.
Courtesy of Charlotte Mandrier
One of the regulars who was there got swept up in the hype and got a cup, even though it wasn’t why she’d come.
It was incredibly exciting that I had managed to get the stuff. I was so excited, imagining my daughter’s face in two days when she opens her birthday presents.
Sneaking back into the house at 5:30 a.m. and hiding it all away, I pretended I had just woken up.
As soon as she sees on YouTube that these cups were for sale, I know she’ll be disappointed, thinking that, like last year, she missed out. I’ll give an Oscar-winning performance, telling her I wish we could have gotten there sooner, and maybe we can look for Snoopy cups that people are selling online.
And then, in two days, I’ll give her all the Peanuts presents. I really cannot wait.
