Thoughts for Food: Have You Ever Gone to a Fast Food Restaurant for a Toy?

The other night, as I was sitting in the drive-thru lane at McDonald's to redeem a free Boo Bucket Happy Meal with my rewards points, I recalled the times as a kid when I'd beg my dad to go to McDonald's to get a Happy Meal because of a toy I saw on TV. Then, I thought about how I don't really see my nieces and nephews doing the same. Interestingly, the few times I've seen someone ask for a Happy Meal toy recently, it was an adult trying to get a specific toy (to complete a set, I guess?).

So my question for you guys is, "Have you ever gone to a fast food restaurant primarily to get a toy or other merch (like Coca-Cola glasses or Halloween buckets and the like)?" If you're older, do you feel there's a nostalgia aspect that drives the purchase? Saturday morning cartoons and the Happy Meal commercials that came with had more than a little to do with my want for Happy Meal toys. But that's not something that exists anymore. There's a generational line after which a person did not grow up with Saturday morning cartoons and instead grew up watching YouTube and various on-demand streaming services.

On another note, how do you hear about Happy Meal toys or other kids' meal toys? I learn about them through writing this blog (for over 10 years now!) and from point-of-sale displays when I'm at a restaurant, but I'm curious to learn how it is for others.

As for the Boo Bucket, I plan to fill it with candy and have my nieces and nephews play "Guess how much this cost me?" for it (and then making them share the candy with their siblings anyway...).

Photo via McDonald's.