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Halloween

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Restaurant Promotion Collector consensus Photo Needed

McDonald’s Halloween Happy Meal pails (pumpkin, ghost, purple witch) (1994)

Year
1994 Community consensus
Restaurant
McDonald's
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About this item

Redesigned pails in a busier cartoon style: an orange pumpkin, a white ghost pail printed with a scene, and a purple witch, the first witch that wasn't green. The lids again had cookie cutters.

Details

Holiday
Halloween
Archive type
Restaurant Promotion
Packaging
Pail used as the Happy Meal container. Lids: green on the pumpkin, white on the ghost, black on the witch, each with a cookie cutter.
Country
US

Promotion details

Restaurant
McDonald's
When
October 7-27, 1994 according to one collector site; Tasting Table (2025) dates the purple witch to 1993. · Oct 7, 1994 – Oct 27, 1994
Country
United States
Promotion type
Kids' meal toy
Known set size
3
Documented here
3 pieces
Data quality
Collector consensus: Collector references agree; no primary source yet.

The set

U.S. set (3)

Packaging & bags

Pail used as the Happy Meal container. Lids: green on the pumpkin, white on the ghost, black on the witch, each with a cookie cutter.

Research notes

Year conflict: Tasting Table (2025) and at least one marketplace listing date the purple witch to 1993. Euclid Boo, Dread Central, Nightmare Nostalgia and SydLexia put it in 1994 and say 1993 had McNugget Buddies instead of pails. 1994 is used here. The owner's note '1994-1995 McDonaldland characters in costumes' doesn't fit 1994: 1994 was pails, and the costumed McDonaldland figures were in 1995.

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Includes

More Halloween restaurant promotions

Sources & verification

Community Identified
  • SydLexia.com - McDonald's Halloween Pails Collector Reference Supports: First-hand recollection of a 1985 test market; names McPunky, McBoo, McJack; 1985 copyright and larger faces. No citations. Reference only: cited, never auto-verified. View source
  • Celebrating The Wonderful History Of McDonald's Halloween Buckets Collector Reference Supports: Test in Boston and New York, October 11-31, 1985. Reference only: cited, never auto-verified. View source
  • A Look Back At McDonald's Halloween Boo Buckets Through The Years Press Release / Official Announcement Supports: Test run in 1985 before the 1986 nationwide rollout. View source
  • A Brief History of McDonald's Halloween Buckets Press Release / Official Announcement Supports: 1986 original release; McPunk'n, McBoo and McGoblin face descriptions. View source
  • McDonald's Halloween Happy Meal 1994 Halloween Pails Collector Reference Supports: October 7-27, 1994; lid colors; pumpkin, ghost and cat-face cookie cutters; purple witch. Reference only: cited, never auto-verified. View source

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