The Unexpected Thing You May Find At McDonald’s This Halloween

McDonald's looks like it could be bringing back its Halloween Buckets for the holiday

By Charlene Badasie | Published

With Halloween just around the corner, McDonald’s might be bringing back its popular Halloween buckets. According to sources with knowledge of the eatery’s calendar, the spooky-themed pumpkin pails will be available for a limited time from October 18 till the 31st. If the rumors are true, the Happy Meal will be returning for the first time since 2016, Nightmare Nostalgia reports.

While several outlets have reached out to the fast food giant for comment, no official confirmation has been given. However, McDonald’s did announce the release of Boo Buckets in Canada. In a post on social media, the eatery said, “Boo Buckets are BACK, and you can be one of the first to get them.” The post went on to describe a contest that customers from the Great White North can enter.

The promotional video accompanying the post ends with an image of two Boo Buckets. Placed next to the green and orange pails is the limited edition instant film camera which is up for grabs. Contest winners will also get a $100 McDonald’s s gift card with their prize. While the Canadian deal doesn’t mean Boo Buckets are coming to the US, it’s definitely a good sign.

McDonald’s Halloween buckets were first introduced in 1986. At the time, they were targeted specifically at kids with adorable spooky-themed buckets. The initial rollout featured McPunk’n, McBoo, and McGoblin that looked like jack-o’-lanterns with slightly different facial expressions. Then in 1989, the eatery added a green witch and white ghost design to round out the holiday collection.

A few years later, glow-in-the-dark vinyl treat bags, aptly named McBoo Bags, replaced the buckets. And in 1992, McPunk’n, McBoo, and McWitch returned with new cookie-cutter lids. The McDonald’s Halloween buckets went on to make frequent appearances with different designs like Mr. Potato Head, Scooby-Doo, and Minions. But in 2016, the McDonald’s Halloween Happy Meal went on hiatus with its final Peanuts-themed pail celebrating It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s recently released a few secret menu hacks, tested the classic menu remix Chicken Big Mac, and introduced a limited-time seasonal pastry to its McCafé Bakery lineup. The Cheese Danish has been available since September 14th and is a throwback to the 1980s, ComicBook reports. The fast-food giant also brought back its Szechuan Sauce as an app-exclusive item for a limited time earlier this year.

What has been confirmed is the reopening of McDonald’s locations in Ukraine after the eatery was forced to shut its doors when Russia invaded the region in February. Three locations became active in late September, welcoming people back to the warm glow of the golden arches. But customers can only order through delivery apps. McDrive and dine-in service will only resume in the coming weeks.

Speaking to NPR about the decision, McDonald’s Senior Vice President Paul Pomroy said, “In recent months, we’ve become convinced that our reopening will return a small, albeit important, sense of normalcy to Ukraine.” He added that government officials in the region said that returning to work is the best way for foreign companies to support the local economy. The eatery is currently implementing enhanced safety procedures which means that locations will be open from 9 am to 9 pm, but will close during air raid alerts.