Nicole Thomas spent her childhood watching her mom collect the toys from the various collections. One of her mom’s favorite sets was McDonald’s McNugget Buddies Halloween Collection. It consisted of the McNugget Buddies characters dressed in removable Halloween costumes. Her mom was missing the McNugget pumpkin. Nicole turned over every rock she could to find the perfect gift for her mom.
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After searching, Nicole found a seller on eBay with the McNugget Buddies Pumpkin. She’d been hearing her mom lament about the one missing McNugget Buddie for more than 30 years. The perfect mom gift is now proudly displayed on the mantel.
When McDonald’s sold the first Happy Meal in 1979, it offered a kid-size meal and a free toy. The marketing ploy’s goal was to bring families into the fast-food restaurant. Happy Meal toys are likely responsible for half of the “billions and billions” of meals served. Collecting McDonald’s Happy Meal toys was a popular hobby in the 1990s.
Although the majority of Happy Meal toys were cheap and not worth much. McDonald’s realized that adults were seeking and collecting better-quality sets. The company began partnering with Disney and others to create themed sets. The McNugget Buddies Halloween collection is from 1992.
The current market value for a complete set can be over $200 if they are still in the original packaging. Since Nicole’s mom’s collection is no longer in its packaging, it only has a value of around $50 for the set. Like Beanie Babies and other fads, Happy Meal toy collecting isn’t as popular, but there are still some serious collectors.
You can follow Nicole on TikTok for more wholesome smiles, like her family hanging out together.
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You can find the source of this story’s featured image here and here.
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