In celebration of spooky season, McDonald’s is reviving its iconic Happy Meal Boo Buckets — an annual tradition that the fast food chain first introduced nearly 40 years ago. This year’s trick-or-treat-ready buckets are “getting a refresh,” much to the dismay of longtime Boo Bucket collectors.
The revamped buckets will feature “new Monster designs in white, orange, green and a brand-new color, blue,” McDonald’s said in a recent announcement. Customers can customize their festive pails with themed stickers for “a truly monstrous makeover.” The Boo Buckets will be available at participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide starting Oct. 15, while supplies last.
McDonald’s spooky buckets were first introduced in 1986 and have since garnered a cult following. The first-ever buckets resembled classic jack-o'-lanterns and came in three varieties: McBoo, McPunk'n and McGoblin. An ad posted at the time claimed diners could pick up “three different Halloween pumpkins,” and “get one with each Happy Meal” while supplies lasted.
The buckets have since changed in design and colors, including a witch-shaped bucket, a ghost-shaped bucket and buckets in shades of green, white and purple. Last year’s buckets featured a new addition to the mix — a purple vampire character. The complete lineup also included a green pail with a monster design, an orange one with a skeleton design and a white one with a mummy design.
“They’ll be gone faster than you can say ‘boo,’” McDonald’s said in a press release.
That may not be true for this year’s new buckets, which have already received negative reactions before its release date. One person on Instagram commented, “Strong pass on these. Worst boo bucket designs released yet.”
“At least I don’t have to run around trying to collect these this year. Maybe next year McDonald’s will get it right,” wrote another user. A separate user expressed similar sentiments, saying, “They really made us put the boooooo in boo bucket this year.”
On Reddit, people complained about the buckets’ lack of lids and them being “low-effort.”
“The new [boo] buckets are terrible. Much smaller and no lids. I got a jack o lantern one the year they came back and use it to hold candy and put it on my porch for the neighborhood kids all throughout October,” wrote user u/pwrof3. Another user, u/OldClunkyRobot, simply commented, “Boo! But not in a good way.”
“Nope. I've gotten them the last 2 years & they were disappointing. The handles didn't match up to the faces, the faces were both on one bucket, the lids were just cardboard with stickers, just disappointing all around,” said user u/RogerClyneIsAGod2.
“Why did they look like dust bunnies or Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” Sarah Kim (@skvintage) said in a TikTok video made last month. “Remember last year when they were so good when we got this little purple vampire deal?”
Despite the hate, a few fans said they liked this year’s bucket designs.
“These are so cute for the kiddos!!” said on user on Instagram.
“I think they’re cute. Not nostalgic like the traditional characters, but still cute,” wrote user u/goofus_andgallant on Reddit.
“Any Boo Buckets are better than no Boo Buckets. If this makes kids somewhere happy around Halloween time, then that's awesome!” said Reddit user u/tomarra0.
It looks like McDonald’s isn’t the only major chain releasing Halloween-themed goodies. In addition to the ongoing value meal wars, there’s also a Halloween menu wars.
On Sept. 30, Tim Hortons announced its Halloween menu, which includes several baked goods and beverages along with two new glow-in-the-dark Timbits® Trick-or-Treat Buckets. The buckets can be filled with your choice of 31 Timbits (the chain’s bite-sized traditional donuts) or without. Following suit, Dunkin’ announced its Halloween menu on Oct. 1. It includes a new limited-time Halloween bucket, called the Halloween Munchkins Bucket. The buckets can be filled with a 50-count assortment of Munchkins Donut Hole Treats. It will be available at Dunkin’ locations nationwide starting Oct. 16.
