The Halloween Item McDonald's Is Finally Bringing Back After 6 Years

Fast food items come and go. For example, McDonald's may have disappointed its vegan fanbase when, several months ago, it stopped serving the McPlant. The decision appears to be a response to what has amounted to lackluster demand for this niche menu item, according to Seeking Alpha. But the stoppage may not even be permanent, given that McDonald's noted only that the McPlant's testing period had concluded, according to Restaurant Business Online. Besides, one thing that many McDonald's fans have come to experience is that items can also go and come back.

In fact, this happened only weeks ago, when McDonald's brought back this iconic Danish, which Food Network categorized as an "80s classic." And it happens to be in the process of doing something similar again, according to a McDonald's press release. The company announced the comeback of its collectible Halloween-themed Happy Meal pails. That may be a dream come true for those who signed various recent online petitions (such as this one and this one) to bring back the well-loved pails, which have been missing in action since 2016, according to KNBN NewsCenter1. And McDonald's press release, through its nostalgic call outs and what appears to be a strategic use of the youth-emism, "SZN" in place of "season," seems designed to appeal to the demographic that made these pails so popular among kids in the 1980s.

McDonald's introduced its DayGlo-hued Halloween-themed plastic pails in 1986 (via USA Today). They were a companion to McDonald's now-iconic Happy Meals which debuted in 1979 and are still going strong (via Nerdist). The pails, themselves, became iconic, per a McDonald's press release. It could not have hurt that they served a dual function – both as Happy Meal packaging and as a container for collecting Halloween candy. And they were highly coveted, even if some felt the pails were a bit undersized for collecting Halloween candy (per Dread Central). Nevertheless, McDonald's made the decision to discontinue the Halloween pails six years ago, per KNBN NewsCenter1.

But one need not be an '80s kid to appreciate the beauty and utility of a plastic food container that lends itself so nicely to upcycling as a Halloween loot bag. For those so inclined, the new pails (pictured above), which USA Today says were designed with a nod to the OG, come in three versions. Each features a different Halloween-themed face, color, and lid. McDonald's Halloween Happy Meal pails make their official return on October 18 and will continue to be available until supplies run out, or until October 31, whichever comes sooner. And while we're on the topic of fan favorites that were inexplicably discontinued by McD's, here are five ways to fill the void left when McDonald's discontinued its deep-fried apple pies.