20 most worthless pieces of junk: #1 -- The happy meal toy
Filed under: Food, Shopping, Consumer Complaints
I'm all for keeping my kid entertained while out at a restaurant. Without some crayons and paper, getting through a meal would be a lot more difficult.But do we really need Happy Meal toys? McDonald's has sold these things since 1979, and after 10 minutes of play, they're long forgotten -- as many children's toys are.
Fast food is bad enough, but throw in a plastic toy that will end up in a landfill soon enough, and you've got one of the most useless pieces of junk on the planet.
Anyone who has had kids since 1979 can tell you how many Happy Meal toys they've stepped on as a parent, usually with a bare foot that needs an icepack afterward. My daughter is 4 and I've stepped on close to 100.Many of the Happy Meals are tied to family-oriented movies, increasing the chance that your kid will continuously bug you to take them to the movie until your ears bleed. The first promotion was the Star Trek Meal to promote "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in December 1979. Many trips to McDonald's were needed to complete the set of toys related to the film, which must have embarrassed teen-age Trekkies everywhere who had to return again and again and ask for a "kid's meal" so they could get a lousy toy.Probably one thing that keeps Happy Meal sales continuing is the hope that the toys will turn into collectibles and that you'll get rich someday. That's what happened to an 11-year-old boy in London who sold his 7,000-piece collection at auction for just more than $11,000.
The sad part is the boy never played with the toys. He left them unopened in their original packages in pristine condition.
If you have too many Happy Meal toys rolling around in your car or underfoot in the living room, do what my daughter's preschool does at its annual carnival: Collect them from parents and give them away as prizes at the carnival. Your useless junk is now someone else's problem.
Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read about his job search at www.AaronCrowe.net.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-09-2009 @ 9:28AM
Donna said...
Basically he ended up with almost free food. 7000 happy meals cost more than the $11,000 he made.
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7-09-2009 @ 11:01AM
Devon said...
Personally when I have kids I will not allow them fast food....I'll let them dine out of course but avoid places like Burger king, Mcdonalds, Wendys, Arbys....places like that. They're terrible for your health and though it may be cheap, you do get what you pay for...cheap food.
And these so called "toys" are just a way for parents to feel better that they spent a lousy 3-4$ on a crappy meal which most kids don't finish anyway because they're busy playing with they're stupid new happy meal toy! Then only a few days later you step on it and shout out obsentities while hopping on one foot....end result: avoid the happy meals and fast food all together.
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7-09-2009 @ 11:55AM
mary said...
you forgot quiznos, and subway. it's better to avoid fast food (especially on sundays) as for the toys, i do collect them i display them on shelves i wouldn't let my visting great nephew play with them unless he gave them back... now it's getting so you can't even perchase a happy meal without a kid present! (to get the toys yourself). it's unfair to some, when you don't have kids yourselves.
7-09-2009 @ 11:16AM
Jennifer Carroll said...
To an adult it may just be junk, but to a child it is a new treasure, a great surprise. And yeah, they may only play w/it for a little bit, then throw it in the toy box or under the bed and forget it. But during that little bit they do play w/it, it brings them joy. There is nothing better than the joy of a child.
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7-09-2009 @ 12:17PM
George Hunter said...
I wish BK and MacDonalds would sell happy meals without the toys at a discount. I hate going to those places anyway and if they didn't offer the toys I think my kids would beg to go a lot less...they are crap with crappy food...
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7-09-2009 @ 2:23PM
Lois said...
I have seen many of those free Happy Meal toys ending up on Ebay, in Flea Markets and Antique Fairs. Some of them are not so worthless.
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7-09-2009 @ 1:12PM
L. Rope said...
Ah yes, the kiddie meal toy... I have to say first, I am not a fan of fast food, however, it does have it's niche as is apparent through their continued existence. As a mother of three, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's or whatever, are apart of my childrens dining experience. Most of the time one or two sometimes all of the children would opt to place their Happy Meal toy in a give-a-way box for less fortunate children, which was ever present in our home. I can remember a few years ago they stopped opening the toy all together. I believe this stemmed from me using the toy to get them to focus on eating. The rule was you had to eat your meal before you could open the toy, hence, they would eat their food, have fun with dining guests then be ready to leave or go play in the balls or on the slide therefore leaving the toy in the plastic bag. There is never a reason to throw out a toy unless it is broken. There is a child somewhere who would enjoy and appreciate that toy even a happy meal toy.
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7-10-2009 @ 6:32PM
tylor said...
100 Happy Meals and your kid is only 4?
That is a bigger problem than Happy Meal toys.
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7-13-2009 @ 8:54AM
Rita said...
I had a whole bunch lying around & I divided them into cartoon characters & Disney characters, then I bought two large plain wreaths and got out my glue gun. Everyone LOVED my wreaths and kept asking me where I got them. They looked very expensive and I use them every year. It was a nice stroke of an idea on my part. I am sure there are a lot of other great uses. Anyone ever hear of "recycle?"
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7-15-2009 @ 12:37PM
Sharyn said...
I love Happy Meal toys for only ONE reason...we save them and put them in the Shoebox Gifts for Samaritan's Purse. I agree with the writer about too many Happy Meal toys being sent to the landfills. McDonald's is the world's largest distributor of toys (sorry, Santa!) But they are colorful and to a child in an impoverished country who gets the toy as part of a shoebox full of toiletries, school supplies, Bible tracts, and candy, they are wonderful. :)
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7-20-2009 @ 10:26AM
kevjohn said...
I'm an adult, with no kids for whatever that's worth, and I still get the occasional Happy Meal. It's a fast, cheap meal and the toys, I mean... free collectables, aren't half bad sometimes. I still have my Kung Fu Panda toys... uhh, action figurines perched on the edge of my desk. Everyone was surprised to learn that these fairly high-quality pieces were free.
Skadoosh.
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