Original McDonalds Boo Buckets ad from 1986!

Following the success of their original release, “Boo Buckets” were then offered again the following year, undergoing numerous redesigns thereafter. In 1989 they were released in three colors—orange, white, and green—to better suit their names. In 1992, the buckets were McPunk’n, McBoo, and McWitch, and they were fitted with a lid that doubled as a cookie cutter. By 2001, the pails lost their faces entirely and no longer featured a cookie cutter lid. So, if the buckets really are being re-released for Halloween 2022, who knows what version of them we’d receive?

At this point, McDonald’s has several different generations of consumers it could make a nostalgia play for—which generation’s childhood memories will be matched by these upcoming buckets?

The internet reacts to the McDonald’s Boo Bucket rumors

Nightmare Nostalgia’s report on the potential return of McDonald’s Halloween pails stems from a photo provided by someone claiming to be a McDonald’s employee. It’s a picture of “the official office corporate calendar of events.” On October 18, an event is listed reading “Halloween Pails Happy Meal Begins,” and it’s listed as ending on October 31. While no other details of the promotion are noted on the calendar image, Nightmare Nostalgia writer Patti Paultergeist writes that “more than a few” McDonald’s employees have corroborated the tip.

Advertisement

Just the slightest whiff of this speculation sent Twitter users into a nostalgic tailspin.

Advertisement

Twitter user @michaelabroooke 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.”

Another user, @wanttobeleavin, tweeted, “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.”

Advertisement

Many other Twitter users tweeted out images of their favorite buckets, tagging McDonald’s official Twitter account and praising the potential comeback. Others made memes. Here’s a selection of other reactions:

McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment; the claims are still unconfirmed publicly by the company as of this writing. Until a response or statement is given, these rumors have to sadly stay in the nostalgia-drenched dreams of the McDonald’s Halloween Pail fans on the internet. And those fans are taking their job very seriously. 

Advertisement