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One of McDonald’s most popular and longest-lasting Halloween Happy Meal traditions is returning this spooky season. Yep, the nostalgia-inducing McDonald’s Halloween Buckets are rumored to return on Oct. 17.
Last year we saw the release on Oct. 18, 2022, and you were able to nab these buckets until Oct. 31. While McDonald’s hasn’t officially confirmed the return of the buckets, there’s a lot of internet chatter around the Oct. 17 release date. Plus, we’ve been seeing buzz on a new set of buckets being released this year.
So, which buckets can we expect to be back? How long are they expected to last? We’ve got all the answers. 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.
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What are the McDonald’s Halloween Bucket Happy Meals?
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.”
The plastic buckets with handles 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.
This year, we’ve seen rumors of four buckets. The two returning buckets are the orange McPunk’n and the green McGoblin. The two new buckets are the white McMummy (with black accents that look like mummy wrappings) and a purple McVampire.
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The Halloween Bucket Happy Meals are rumored to return on Oct. 17, 2023.
The Halloween Bucket Happy Meals are expected to be available starting around lunchtime on Oct. 17, 2023. They’ll stick around as long as supplies last, or until Halloween night, Monday, Oct. 31.
Tip: If your local McDonald’s is sold out, you can find some vintage buckets on eBay. But you’ll pay a premium price for them.
Will the McDonald’s Halloween Pumpkin Happy Meal?
Last year, McDonald’s sold their buckets in three designs: the orange McPunk’n, the white McBoo, and the green McWitch. We expect to see these three designs make a return in the 2023 release.
Do the McDonald’s Halloween Happy Meal Buckets come with the plastic lid?
Unfortunately, no. Last year, instead of a plastic lid, the Halloween buckets came with a cardboard lid with stickers on the top to use as decoration for your bucket.
The Halloween Buckets at McDonald’s will cost the same as your regular Happy Meal, which is $4 – $6 depending on your location.
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 $4 – $6 (prices vary by location and type of Happy Meal).
