Happy Meals come with a burger or chicken nuggets, fries, a drink, and a toy. They've been around since 1979. A U.K. mother found out at 32 that Happy Meal boxes have another use.
“32 years old and just finding out that Happy Meal boxes can be turned into a plate,” TikTok user Kirsty (@kirstyfoxx) wrote.
She shows the trick. She spots horizontal perforations in the box. She peels it off, making two pieces—the top and bottom halves. She uses the bottom half as a tray and dumps the food in.
“Am I the last person on the planet to notice this,” she asked.
@kirstyfoxx Am i the last person on the planet to notice this ???? #mumsoftiktok #mumtok #honestmotherhood #motherhood #2under2 #postpartum #mumlifebelike #toddler #relatable #relatablemum #toddlersoftiktok #mum #parentsoftiktok ♬ just a girl - autumnaudios
Kirsty’s video got 9.9 million views. Some viewers were just as surprised.
“The way my almost 40 years old a$$ just grabbed my keys to go get a Happy Meal. Because I just gotta see this,” one viewer wrote.
“I worked there and I didn’t even know,” another stated.
A former McDonald’s worker said this design is new.
“Was a manager at McDonald’s for 8 years. This is something new, they haven’t always been like this,” they said.
Others tried it with no success.
“I’ll save some of you the trip because not all Happy Meal boxes do that,” one user said.
“Back to say; this DID not work. No place to even peel it apart. Must be certain boxes,” another commented.
Did McDonald’s change its Happy Meal boxes? It's unclear if U.S. McDonald’s boxes have changed. They don't seem to have the same feature.
U.K. boxes, however, do. This design was introduced in 2017.
Another British mom, @mumlifemylife, also went viral for this hack. “Life hack, don’t forget to pull the tab on the Happy Meal box,” she wrote.
McDonald’s often experiments with Happy Meal boxes. In 2016, Swedish McDonald’s had boxes that turned into virtual reality glasses.