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If you hear “Arby’s” and think of roast beef sandwiches instead of collectible holiday glassware, you probably weren’t keeping tabs on the promotional offers there in the 1970s and ’80s. A trove of vintage fast food collectibles that everyone used to have in their kitchen has become symbolic of the era (who remembers glass McDonald’s mugs?), and in those times of rose-colored memory, Arby’s released limited-edition promotional glasses. These glasses came in a variety of designs, including NHL teams, “Rocky & Bullwinkle” cartoons, and — perhaps best known — multiple lines of Christmas cups, which have now become popular with collectors.
Arby’s was one of the most popular fast food chains of the ’80s, and was known for its unique marketing during the decade. One memorable 1980 Arby’s commercial spotlighted a kaleidoscope of customer demographics who loved the food there — from emcee hosts to truck drivers to space aliens — against a singsongy jingle. Under this experimental marketing umbrella fell lines of Christmas glassware. Arby’s designs (which included stemware) were a shockingly elegant turn from a fast food chain famous for “having the meats.”
The glasses found an enthusiastic audience and appear to be widely in use over 40 years later. A Facebook post dedicated to an Arby’s holiday collection from 1978 depicting homestead winter scenes (snow-frosted houses and horse-drawn sleigh rides) is filled with nostalgic commenters, who write, “I WISH THEY WOULD BRING THEM BACK,” and “Love them and use every year.”
Arby’s 1985 holly berry holiday cups are still alive and well
In 1985, Arby’s released what has emerged as a particularly popular, enduring motif among collectors: Goblet-style, golden-rimmed tulip glasses printed with holly berries. On a Reddit thread dedicated to this Arby’s holiday glassware collection, one commenter called theirs a “treasured family heirloom.” According to the poster, the set originally belonged to their in-laws, and during one Christmas dinner, their father-in-law quipped, “‘I ate a lot of roast beef sandwiches for those glasses.'” Other Redditors on the post chimed in with their own sentimental connections to the fast food holiday glasses: “My parents still use theirs every year, and this year I got my dad’s favorite tongue-in-cheek ‘someday all this will be yours’ when we poked fun of the Arby’s glasses.” Another notes that their mother kept the glasses stored in the fine china cabinet alongside “the good stuff.”
It’s unclear exactly when Arby’s stopped producing the holiday glassware that was such a hit from the late ’70s to late ’80s. The seasonal glasses can still be purchased from reseller sites and thrift shops. Currently, the holly berry chalice collection (in sets of four or six) is available on eBay in the $15 to $30 range. The “Winter Pastimes” homestead-style collection is harder to come by, but when they can be found, sets retail for roughly the same price.
