10 Best McDonald's Halloween Items of All Time—From Costumed McNugget Buddies to Boo Buckets
Spooky season is upon us once again, and that means it's time to break out the orange and black decorations. Forever entwined with falling leaves and the brisk breeze of autumn, Halloween means many things to many people. For some, the holiday is all about scary movies and celebrating the macabre, while others tend to focus more on all the sweets, treats, and candy sure to arrive on Oct. 31.
A Celtic remnant of pagan traditions long past, Halloween as you know it was properly Americanized and commercialized a long, long time ago. Whether or not any actual ghouls and goblins rise up to walk among us each All Hallows' Eve is definitely up for debate, but the profits that follow Halloween season most certainly are not. Halloween promotions, specials, and sales are ubiquitous and unavoidable this time of year.
No brand has done a better job of culturally attaching itself to the holiday of Halloween in the minds of millions than McDonald's. A merchandising and marketing powerhouse, the Golden Arches recognized the mass appeal of Halloween among its adolescent customer base decades ago. Fast forward to today, and countless adults who grew up on eerie Happy Meals and toy tie-ins can't help but associate McDonald's with Halloween.
From sponsoring classic TV cartoon specials over the years like "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" (1985) and the "Bugs Bunny Mystery Special" (1980) to annual Halloween gift certificates for free ice cream cones and other menu items now dubbed the Halloween Treats Pack, McDonald's has found near-endless ways to incorporate Halloween into its autumn identity.
Of course, much of the Halloween nostalgia and goodwill McDonald's enjoys today stems from the numerous iconic toys, merch, and menu items released by the fast-food chain every October. Let's take a look at the 10 best McDonald's Halloween items of all time.
Halloween Choco Potato Fries
The pumpkin spice craze has dominated seasonal coffeehouse menus for over a decade now, and McDonald's set out to add some fall flavor to its own menu in 2016 with the release of its Japan-exclusive Choco Potato Fries.
The menu item, essentially McDonald's classic fries smothered in chocolate and pumpkin sauce, didn't look all that appetizing at first glance, yet generally enjoyed positive reviews from local customers and critics alike. "The flavors of pumpkin and chocolate went unexpectedly well and it was quite tasty," one customer told Reuters in 2016.
Another review posted by Eater raved about the dish's innovative double chocolate-pumpkin flavoring sauce box, featuring striations that allowed customers to simultaneously drizzle their fries with the two flavors.
Musical Halloween Treats
Curiously, the next item on this list wasn't even sold at McDonald's restaurants. In 1994, McDonald's released a series of plastic "Musical Halloween Treats" that were sold in grocery and retail stores. Details on this particular promotion are scarce, but according to pop culture historian and social media influencer Dinosaur Dracula, these tiny plastic instruments were intended to be handed out to trick-or-treaters in lieu of candy.
The packaging of these totally non-edible "treats" depicted Ronald McDonald playing an electric guitar besides various monsters and ghouls. While this Halloween promotion is probably best remembered as an oddity more than anything else, the musical toys just go to show how committed McDonald's was (and still is) to being involved in every aspect of the Halloween experience.
Sealed bags of the toys can still be found for sale on eBay for around $15.
Monster Crazy Bones
Crazy Bones, or small plastic figures that come in hundreds of varieties and colors, enjoyed an immense boost in popularity during the early 2000s. Mickey D's looked to capitalize on the trend back in fall 2000 with the release of "Monster Crazy Bones" Happy Meal toys.
The collection featured 24 new Crazy Bones, split between 12 original series characters and 12 Halloween-themed figures. Each Happy Meal came with two Crazy Bones (one original, one Halloween) in addition to a trading card. A few of the Halloween-themed figures included Howler (a werewolf), Webs (a spider), and Tut (a mummy).
Nerds Candy Dispensers
What's better than a spooky Halloween Happy Meal toy? How about a Halloween Happy Meal toy that helps you eat candy? In 1998, McDonald's collaborated with the Willy Wonka Candy Company for its annual fall Happy Meal toy: Halloween Nerds Candy Dispensers.
The six distinct figurines included adjustable masks that lifted up to reveal various McDonald's characters or monsters. For example, Ronald McDonald looks to be wearing a scarecrow mask, while Grimace is disguised as a Jack-o-Lantern. Besides the moving masks, each figurine doubled as a Nerds Candy dispenser. A TV commercial for the promotion highlighted that every toy also came with a special bag of "spooky" Nerds candies.
Trick 'N Treat McFlurry
There's nothing quite like a refreshing McFlurry when in pursuit of something sweet (when the erratic ice cream machines are working, at least), but McDonald's locations in Canada opted to make dessert much spookier last year during Halloween season.
Only available at Canadian locations, the limited-time Trick 'N Treat McFlurry included vanilla soft serve, hot fudge swirls, and crushed orange Smarties. The dish was also served in a festive and creepy Halloween-themed cup featuring green skeleton hands forming a heart sign. There's no word as of yet if this spine-chilling dessert will be making a comeback in 2024.
Ronald McDonald and Friends Costumes and Cassette Tapes
The fall of 1995 saw Mickey D's try out yet another unexpected take on the Halloween Happy Meal: Creepy Cassette Tapes. However, ordering a Happy Meal didn't necessarily guarantee a tape. That year's lineup consisted of four cassettes and four McDonald's character figurines featuring clip-on costumes. Each Happy Meal randomly included just one item.
So what exactly was on the tapes? Halloween-themed sounds, stories, and songs, of course! For example, one tape included a song called "I like to scare myself," while another featured a tune called "What am I gonna be for Halloween?"
Scared Silly VHS
The Golden Arches left no spooky stone unturned in 1998 when it came to Halloween promotions. Besides the aforementioned Nerds dispensers, customers that year also had the chance to pick up a VHS copy of "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald—Scared Silly" at participating locations with any purchase for $3.49.
This was no short video either. Clocking in at a runtime of just under 40 minutes, the animated movie told the harrowing story of Ronald McDonald and friends exploring a haunted house and navigating a series of mysterious challenges.
Orange & Black Squid Ink Burger, Pumpkin Oreo McFlurry
In 2014, McDonald's Japan released a limited-time mini menu featuring three Halloween-themed items: The Squid-Ink Burger, Pumpkin Oreo McFlurry, and Camembert Chicken Filet.
The burger featured a bun dyed black by squid ink, as well as orange chipotle sauce, giving the menu item Halloween's trademark black and orange color scheme. The Camembert Chicken Filet, meanwhile, was marketed as "ghostly," thanks to its distinctly white bun paired with creamy white Camembert cheese sauce. Finally, the Pumpkin Oreo McFlurry added pumpkin sauce to the usual blend of Oreo pieces and vanilla soft-serve.
Costumed McNugget Buddies
Beyond just Halloween and October, the McNugget Buddies rank among the most iconic and beloved Happy Meal toys ever offered by McDonald's. First released in 1988, these fun little figures depict humanized chicken nuggets dressed up in various outfits (mail carrier, scuba diver, police officer).
Jump ahead to 1992, and Mickey D's released the first wave of Halloween McNugget Buddies. The set of six featured a vampire McNugget (McNuggula), a mummy, a monster, a ghost, a witch, and a Jack-O-Lantern. These Happy Meal toys are fondly remembered by an entire generation of now-adults who relished collecting and completing the entire set. As an added bonus, each McNugget Buddy costume was interchangeable, meaning you could mix and match outfits to create especially silly and spooky ghouls.
Additional Halloween McNugget Buddy lineups were released in 1994 and 1996 as well, but nothing beats the original version of this iconic fast food toy.
Boo Buckets
No Happy Meal toy conjures up more feelings of childhood nostalgia than McDonald's Boo Buckets. Just the sight of one of these old plastic buckets is enough to evoke cherished memories of long nights spent trick or treating for countless adults who now find themselves taking their own children through the drive-thru for a Boo Bucket.
Initially released in 1986 as a set of three different orange pumpkin pails (McPunk'n, McGoblin, McBoo), Happy Meals were placed directly inside each bucket. After finishing their meal, young McDonald's patrons could use the pails to collect candy while trick or treating on Halloween. A few years later, the pails were given a well-received makeover. For the 1989 Halloween season, Mickey D's released an orange pumpkin pail, a green witch pail, and a white ghost pail. Pails produced for Halloween 1990 could even glow in the dark!
Since then the Boo Buckets have come and gone on a sporadic basis, but many die-hard fans remained adamant over the years that more recent Boo Bucket releases throughout the late 1990s and 2000s failed to hold a candle to the first few versions. Luckily, McDonald's listened to its nostalgic customer base in 2022 and decided to bring back the pails with retro designs reminiscent of those released in 1989.
If you're wondering about Halloween 2024, while no official announcement has been made yet, whispers on social media strongly suggest we'll be seeing yet another edition of Happy Meal Boo Buckets this year as well.
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