One of McDonald’s most popular and longest-lasting Halloween Happy Meal traditions, the Halloween Bucket, returns every October. With the popularity of the McDonald's Collector Cup meals, we're always excited for the nostalgia-inducing McDonald’s Halloween Buckets each year.
McDonald’s usually releases several designs featuring different spooky monsters, characters, and colors. The 2024 buckets disappointed some McDonald's Boo Bucket fans who were hoping for more creative designs, like 2023's mummy, vampire, monster, and skeleton. But they did come with a sticker pack so kids could create their own custom bucket.
Here's when you can expect the next McDonald’s Boo Buckets to arrive and how to get one for free with the McDonald’s Rewards app. And if you’re on the lookout for McDonald’s deals or ways to save at McDonald’s, we’ve got all the tricks and treats.
For more smart shopping tips and savings hacks, text HACKS to 57299.
McDonald’s Halloween Bucket Happy Meals come once per year and cost the same as regular Happy Meals.
The Halloween Bucket Happy Meals become available during lunchtime (10:30 a.m.) on drop day. You can get yours while supplies last or until the end of the month.
KCL predicts the McDonald's Halloween Buckets will return on Oct. 14, 2025.
You’ll likely see the return of the McDonald’s Boo Buckets on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.
How we made our prediction
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2024
Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022
The Halloween Buckets at McDonald’s cost the same as a regular Happy Meal, which is $5 – $7.
There's no extra charge for the Halloween Buckets at McDonald’s. They're included in the regular cost of a Happy Meal, which is $5 – $7 (prices vary by location and type of Happy Meal).
For example, near Pittsburgh, a 4-Piece Chicken McNugget Happy Meal (with Apple Slices, small fries, and a small drink) will cost $4.99. A Hamburger Happy Meal (with Apple Slices, small fries and a small drink) will cost $4.69.
Check your McDonald's app for 20% off two Happy Meals or $1.50 off one.
In 2024, some McDonald's Rewards app users saw a coupon for $1.50 off a McDonald's Happy Meal, valid once per day. This coupon wasn't available for all users; you'd have to check your Rewards & Deals in the McDonald's app. If you did get this offer, it worked out to a 30% discount for $5 Happy Meals (prices vary by location).
If you didn't get the $1.50 off coupon, you may have had a 20% off $10 coupon. Which meant when you bought two 6-Piece Chicken Nugget Happy Meals at $5.99 each, you'd pay $9.58 for both — or $4.79 each.
How you can get the McDonald’s Halloween bucket for free in 2025.
Using your free McDonald’s Rewards app, you can get a free Happy Meal (which comes with the Halloween bucket for FREE), when you redeem 6,000 points. Depending on how you're using your points, that will mean you've spent around $60 at McDonald’s.
You can grab Halloween buckets for as little as $1 at Five Below — 80% less than the McDonald’s Boo Buckets.
If your local McDonald’s runs out of Halloween buckets (or you want to grab one for for less), we've seen dupes for as little as $1 at Five Below or Target.
2024 was the third year in a row that McDonald’s Halloween buckets returned.
During Halloween as early as 1986, McDonald’s put their Happy Meals inside plastic trick or treat buckets. This essentially made the bucket the Happy Meal toy.
Although the buckets disappeared for a few years (for unknown reasons) in 2016, they returned in 2022 and again in 2023 and 2024 — so we think they're here to stay.
These buckets have had a bunch of variations over the years, but the most popular featured a simple design with three faces on them.
At first, there were three orange variations: McPunk’n (with a jack-o’-lantern face), McBoo (with a ghost face), and McGoblin (with a more jagged jack-o’-lantern face). And in the nineties, Happy Meal aficionados got the Pumpkin Pails, which included an orange pumpkin, a white ghost, or a green witch.
The McDonald’s Halloween Happy Meal Buckets don't come with a lid anymore.
Unfortunately, just like 2022 and 2023, the 2024 buckets didn’t come with a lid — which disappointed a lot of fans. Instead of a plastic lid, the 2024 Boo Buckets came with stickers on to use as decoration for your bucket. Expect the same in 2025.
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