We tried the entire Kids' Menu at McDonald's!

Disclosure: I am currently a social media "ambassador" for McDonald's of Siouxland and receive some free food from them as part of that program. But, I have been eating Happy Meals since I was a toddler in the 1980s, buying them since I became a mom myself more than a decade ago, and McDonald's did not ask me to post this or have any input in the contents of this post. As always, I strive to provide you accurate, authentic, information based on personal experience and thorough research.

As a mom of four, I love a good kid's meal, which should include kid-appropriate portions of tasty food, for a reasonable price, and with an element of fun. And as I try to write about more of them, I thought I absolutely had to include the GOAT: McDonald's Happy Meals. So, here's my guide to McDonald's Happy Meals, and a review of trying them with my 4 kids. 

Happy Meal History

I still have--and let my kids play with--some of my childhood McDonald's Happy Meal Barbie prizes

McDonald's Happy Meals first appeared on the McDonald's menu in 1977, in Kansas City, Denver, and Phoenix as a test item. It went nationwide in 1979, and back then, a Happy Meal cost $1.10.

Some of the Happy Meal prizes in the 70s included circus and space themed toys, and toys based on the then-brand-new Star Trek movie!

Happy Meals today usually come in colorfully decorated, cube-shaped cardboard boxes, with M shaped handles (one notable exception is the annual Halloween buckets) Inside is an entree, sides, and a prize, and each McDonald's Happy Meal comes with a drink. 

My favorite historic Happy Meals prize is definitely the Barbies. They usually did Barbie and Hot Wheels at the same time, and my brothers would get Hot Wheels while I got Barbie, and we were all so happy. I still have several of the Barbies I got as Happy Meal prizes in the 90s, and they're great for tossing in the diaper bag so my preschooler can play with them when we are out and about. They've gone all over with us!

Happy Meal Entrees

At time of writing this in spring 2025, the entree options for Happy Meals include a hamburger or chicken nuggets. The hamburger is a hamburger patty with ketchup, mustard, onion, and pickle (unless you order it plain) and you can add a slice of American cheese if you'd like a cheeseburger Happy Meal instead. The nugget options include boxes of 4 or 6 Chicken McNuggets, and your choice of sauce including options like ketchup, sweet & sour, BBQ, or honey mustard. The meal prices are based on the entree chosen, and at time of writing at my nearest McDonald's, they are $4.79 for a hamburger (or cheeseburger) Happy Meal, $5.19 for a 4-piece chicken McNugget Happy Meal, and $5.99 for a 6-piece Chicken McNugget Happy Meal. Prices may vary at your McDonald's, and over time. 

My kids really love both cheesburgers and nuggets, so we usually order a mix and then I cut some burgers in half so a kid who got a burger can trade half of it with a kid who got nuggets.

Happy Meal Sides

The default Happy Meal side is extra small size of the iconic French fries from McDonald's, and a small bag of peeled apple slices. You can choose to skip the apples and upgrade to a small fry instead though if you prefer! Yogurt was also offered as a Happy Meal prize for a few years but is not currently an option. We usually stick to fries but sometimes do fries and apples. The fries at McDonald's are just so good!

Happy Meal Drinks

Happy Meals come with a drink and options include cute little jugs of white or chocolate milk, an Honest Kids brand apple-juice box, or an extra-small soft drink. For that soft drink, you can choose from hi-c or pop. For an additional charge, you can upgrade the drink to lemonade, Minute Maid orange juice or to a specialty drink like a Shamrock Shake (and the upcharge is typically a dollar or two less than the cost of buying the same drink as a separate item, so it's well worth it if you know you want that!) My kids usually end up choosing chocolate milk and blue powerade as their Happy Meal drinks. 

Happy Meal Prizes

Some of the Happy Meal prizes we've gotten and kept over the years

The Happy Meal prizes are part of what makes Happy Meals so iconic! Some of the most nostalgic vintage Happy Meal toys are now collector's items, while new favorites are still being included in Happy Meals. Since the early days, Happy Meal prizes have included lots of collaborations with beloved characters. I still have some Barbies, Cabbage Patch Dolls, and Bambi toys from Happy Meals my parents bought me in the 90s! And one of the most famous Happy Meal "prizes" isn't a toy at all, but a Halloween bucket that also serves as the holder for the meal. These were discontinued for a few years but have been back more recently as millennial parents who loved the earlier boo buckets begged to share this fun tradition with their own kids.  In the 2020s, the Happy Meal prizes have included toys featuring:

• Mickey Mouse and other classic Disney characters
• Minecraft
• Pokemon
• the Trolls movie franchise
• Star Wars
• Marvel heroes
• Beanie Boos by TY
• Mario Kart
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Nerf
• Squishmallows
• 2024 summer Olympians

And many more! Based on McDonald's history of fun Happy Meal prizes, plus info from some leaked lists I saw online (which may not be reliable, so I'm not going to share any specifics), it seems very likely that 2025 and beyond will continue to include lots of cute toys kids love with favorite characters old and new from the worlds of movies, kids tv, and video games. 

So far, my kids' favorite toy of 2025 from McDonald's seems to be the Minecraft skeletons.

***

It's easy to see why McDonald's Happy Meals are the industry-standard for excellence in kids' meals, and a nostalgic favorite for so many parents. For food kids love, at a great price, and for the fun factor, it's hard to beat McDonald's Happy Meals.