Gen Xers, get ready for a piece of childhood to return because the rumors are true: McDonald's Happy Meal Halloween Pails are coming back this year. The pails, first offered in the mid-'80s, featured cute jack-o-lantern faces and were often used for trick-or-treating. A YouTube video shows what the buckets looked like in 1986. Just a few years later, a video from 1990 shows how much the buckets' design had changed.
The three original pails were named McPunk'n, McBoo, and McGoblin, and in subsequent years underwent a number of redesigns. In 1992, the pails even had a lid that could be used as a cookie cutter. In the version made 10 years later, the buckets didn't have faces or a cookie-cutter lid.
Gallery: How McDonald's Restaurants Have Changed Inside and Out
Whatever incarnation of the bucket appears this year, speculation is leading to tons of chatter on social media as posters take a trip down memory lane. One Twitter user tweeted, "I don’t think people understand that I will absolutely be eating a McDonald’s kids meal as often as possible October 18th-31st for those dang Halloween buckets. I WILL collect them all.”
I don’t think people understand that I will absolutely be eating a McDonald’s kids meal as often as possible October 18th-31st for those dang Halloween buckets. I WILL collect them all.
— anatomy of cake 🎂 (@michaelabroooke) September 20, 2022
Others tweeted how thrilled they were about the retro aspect of the buckets return: "I’m way too excited for these McDonald’s Happy meal Halloween buckets and I don’t even eat at McDonald’s anymore. This is the kind of nostalgia we needed. This is it.” After all, Halloween is the perfect time of year to reminisce about your childhood, no?
I’m way too excited for these McDonald’s Happy meal Halloween buckets and I don’t even eat at McDonald’s anymore. This is the kind of nostalgia we needed. This is it. 😭
— Dead Mans Pier Whitnters Wake 🏴☠️🩸 (@wanttobeleavin) September 19, 2022
The buckets make their appearance Oct. 18, just in time for fans to collect all three before Halloween.
Source: https://t.co/9ah0tK6w7s
— King Qenny (@AKBrews) September 18, 2022
As customers anxiously await to find out if a piece of their childhoods is indeed returning, they can reminisce with other excited Twitterers who can't wait to treat their own kids — or perhaps just themselves.
