McDonald’s evolved from a family-owned restaurant in 1937 to one of the most successful fast food chains in the world. In 1948, the McDonald brothers streamlined the menu from barbecue items to hamburgers, fries, and shakes. Then, in 1952 McDonald’s picked up the famous golden arches logo that is recognizable across the globe. From there, franchizes were sought out, and the McDonald brothers were well on their way to making history. The Big Mac came out in 1968, and a little over a decade later McDonald’s introduced the first Happy Meal. The toys ranged from plush toys to action figures, with the occasional pullback car and wristwatch. See which toys are actually worth money today!
1. Tiny Beanie Babies
You might remember what a huge hit TY Beanie Babies were in the 90s, so much so that people begain collecting them and storing them, in hopes they’d be worth a lot of money one day. The tiny beanie babies that came out in Happy Meals in 1997 were no exception. Everyone wanted to complete this collection, including adults. Apparently, some adults ordered the Happy Meals for the toys, and threw out the food. While technically now these tiny beanie babies are worth a little bit of money now, it’s not enough to retire on by any means. The entire collection of 12 is going for $35 on ebay.
2. Barbie
The Barbie/Hotwheel Happy Meal toys were some of the most popular McDonald’s ever had. Again, as popular as the regualr versions of the toys were, these mini versions were almost even more so! There’s just something about a limited availability that really made people go crazy for collecting these items. McDonald’s featured Barbie toys on multiple occasions throughout the years, but the special thing about the 1993 collection was that the dolls came with actual “hair” instead of plastic. Every kid knows, this is a really really big deal. If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can find these dolls online for $10.99.
3. Fry Kids
It’s unclear whether these “kids” are supposed to be made out of fries, or if they just really love eating fries. Either way it’s hard to argue that they are pretty cute. The Fry Kids came with fun accessories like headphones, cat ears, a baby bonnet and bottle, and one even had a cassette player, indicitive of the year they were featured: 1989. You can find collections of these Fry Kids online for $11.99.
4. Muppets Babies
Who doesn’t love the Muppets? Or, maybe you’re like me and they scare you a little bit. No matter your personal feelings about the Muppets, they were an unquestionable hit in the 80s. McDonald’s featured the Muppets Babies several times, but this 1986 edition had the figures on wheeled vehicles that were detatchable. It was two toys in one! Clearly, other people really loved the Muppets, because you can find the figureines on ebay for $25!
5. Hot Wheels
You really can’t go wrong with a toy car. It’s a classic and always will be. These mini versions of the ever popular Hot Wheels cars were a huge hit with kids and adults alike. If you have a few of these around the house, they might not bring in a ton of cash, but they’ll go for about $8 on ebay, which more than paid for the Happy Meal you got them in!
Tap NEXT PAGE for 5 more interesting things!