The Vintage Happy Meal Boxes McDonald's Customers Want To Make A Comeback Every Halloween

Dining out at a decades-old chain like McDonald's can invoke some powerful nostalgia. Although the price of the Big Mac has changed, many menu items haven't, with the dependably colorful environs only adding to the transportative experience. Not to mention, recollecting the chain's many Happy Meal boxes only adds to the blast from the past.

First released nationwide in 1979, this toy and food combo took some time to find its economic footing, but eventually turned into an iconic part of the chain's experience. Subsequently, quite an array of vintage McDonald's Happy Meal toys have accumulated over the decades. And once the Halloween season rolls around, an old surprise continues to remain in customer's hearts.

These memorable toys are the assortment of Jack O' Lantern-themed plastic buckets, which first debuted in the New England area in October of 1985. Charmingly named McBoo, McPunk'n and McGoblin, these vessels offer a volume just big enough to hold a small snack — a storage space that McDonald's capitalized on in their 1986 commercial. Whether used for a light run of trick-or-treating or even long-term storage, the Happy Meal item proved so successful, it received a nationwide release the following year and has remained in on and off circulation ever since.

Although now toys from a prior century, the Halloween buckets continue to captivate customers. Since their arrival in 1985, pail set releases continued through the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, although often with skipped years. All along, new updates debuted: Designs like the McWitch in 1989, glow in the dark features in 1990, and completely new themes like Mr. Potato Head in 2010. Unfortunately, news broke regarding a final launch in 2016, with offerings from the Peanuts universe seemingly the final design. So across the accumulated versions, fans reminisced over certain styles, even selling and buying old buckets on resale sites like eBay.

Thankfully, optimism for a comeback paid off, as the pails reappeared in 2022, and have since continued with a drop in 2023, 2024 and an October 2025 release, too. McDonald's still gives ode to the original debut, calling the item Boo Buckets, but has since redesigned the modern releases with new faces and even added a fourth purple offering. Typically the items are only available for the last few weeks of October, giving them a seasonal allure that continues to draw many fans. So leading up to Halloween, swoop by a location, grab McDonald's best selling item, and a Happy Meal, all to obtain the long-running prize.