A spooky tradition at the Golden Arches is finally back.
On Oct. 1, McDonald’s announced the return of its Happy Meal Boo Buckets, and the reactions on social media have been decidedly mixed.
Customers can get their hands on the trick-or-treat style buckets starting Oct. 15, at participating McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. This year, the brand says the pails are “getting a refresh” with new monster designs in white, orange, green and blue — last year’s lineup included a purple vampire.
This year, bucket-holders can customize their vessel with themed stickers for what McDonald’s calls a “truly monstrous makeover.” All four bucket designs will be available while supplies last.
McDonald’s has been doling out Boo Buckets to kids and nostalgia-hungry adults since 1986. The buckets have gone through several refreshes over the years, from the original trio of orange designs to the addition of a witch, ghost, skeleton, mummy and more.
Past versions of Boo Buckets have come with lids, which have become a facet of the holiday item social media users reminisce about.
People reacted to this year’s designs on Instagram, X and TikTok with overwhelming displeasure, flooding the comments sections of multiple posts.
“Strong pass on these 😂,” wrote one Instagram user. “Worst boo bucket designs released yet 😂.”
“If their target audience was collectors, they dropped the ball,” remarked another. “If their target audience was a landfill, congrats!”
“If that’s what they’re actually gonna look like, it’s a no,” TikTok user @alaskananna said in a Sept. 10 video. “I don’t know what I’m more disappointed with: the 2024 Boo Buckets or the new Apple release.”
Lots of folks complained about the lack of lids, with one commenter begging, “Can we PLEASE bring back the tops?”
On the other hand, some folks are loving this year’s design.
“Omg those look so cute,” wrote one X user.
“thank you mcdonald’s,” wrote another, to which the McDonald’s account replied, “you are welcome Samantha.”
