We do not eat very much fast food, definitely less than once a week, but when we do of course my kids want the meals with the toys in them. Abby is not even two so I always have to ask for an “under three” toy for her. The last few times we had been to Burger King, Abby got the exact same toys she already had. They are nice toys (except for the cell phone which is a stupid piece of falling apart crap before we even left the restaurant) made by Little Tikes, but they NEVER CHANGE. In fact, I think a couple of them were even the same from when Jake was little.
I had always noticed that we never got the same toy twice at McDonald’s, even for the under three age group, and I had always noticed they were cute and unique. But today, Abby got the coolest little toy ever in her Happy Meal.
It’s a little barn with a sun that goes up and down to reveal a rooster, a door that opens to reveal a chicken and a barn door that slides to reveal a horse and Ronald McDonald of course. Whoever is designing these Happy Meal toys deserves a pat on the back. It is creative, interesting, interactive and durable.
Oh and Jake got a Lego Racer toy complete with stickers that he got to put on it. Again, a GREAT toy that is durable and fun that he will be able to play with for a long time.
Look, I know that a cheap plastic toy is really not very important in the grand scheme of things, but for my kids it is a treat to eat out, even for fast food, and let’s be real – it’s all about the toy where they are concerned. To me it is unacceptable, months later, to have the same damn toy. They’re kids and it breaks their little hearts to get junk that breaks minutes within opening it or to get the same toy they already have. And in my house, it is usually the kids who dictate where we go if we are stopping for fast food, and again – BECAUSE OF THE TOY.
So thank you McDonald’s for getting it right.
About Kim
That is so true. The other place I really like to go with my children is Chick-Fil-A. Not only do I like their food and love the fact that they are CLOSED on Sundays, but they often have books as their under 3 ‘toy’, usually from DK. My youngest LOVES them. The other reason I really like Chick-Fil-A is they are always more than sufficiently staffed, at least around here, and they happily go out of their way to help Moms. They often will bring the food to your table without being asked, have great placemats for toddlers with adhesive on the back to keep their food off the plain old table and they have anti bacterial wipes to give you too. Hope you have one near you!