The Pokémon card rush at McDonald’s has come and gone, with the endlessly-successful monster cards tapping out of their recent Happy Meal run on June 17th 2025.
Considering limited run cards seem to get more and more valuable as the years roll by, perhaps the fables of Happy Meal toys becoming worth their weight in gold might come to pass for the now-past batch of Pokémon cards.
Spare a thought for all those kids who didn’t open their Happy Meal Beanie Babies in the 90s because their dads had promised them some untold riches by 2025.
Sadly, it’s unlikely that any still-cellophaned Beanie Babies have bought anyone a house, not least in this economy.
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Now that Charizard and the boys have ridden off into the sunset, what’s on the Happy Meal menu for kids (and adults) at McDonald’s in the UK?
Following a successful run in America, the next Happy Meal toy to grace the UK is none other than Squishmallows, which were a hit last time they hit the scene here.
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These friendly little dudes are essentially the Beanie Babies of the modern world: cuddly animals, fruits, and treats with chirpy little faces. Not only are they making a return to Happy Meals, but they’ve got an exclusive addition in tow: Halley the Intergalactic Axolotl, quick is not yet available in retail.
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Since first hopping on the scene in 2017, Squishmallows have become popular with kids and collectors alike, making for perfect Happy Meal fodder.
Available in all restaurants nationwide from Wednesday 2 July, there are 15 to collect in the limited run: Aldous the bat, Avery the duck, Babs the bluejay, Cam the cat, Charles the pickle, Cookie the flamingo, Halley the axolotl, Junie the banana, Maritza the cactus, Mirren the moth, Rorty the monster, Rossi the cheetah, Stevon the dog, Theotto the Cthulhu, and Zumirez the bat.
It’s a fine roster of animal friends with a cosmic flair: do Halley the axolotl and Theotto the Cthulhu do battle up there, or are they in planet-devouring cahoots?
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Either way, the Earth is well-defended by the likes of Junie and Charles, so it probably isn’t worth losing sleep over.
These little friends are naturally smaller than the main range of Squishmallows since they need to fit inside a Happy Meal box, but they nevertheless have high levels of detail and personality bound up in the bite-size packages.
They all come with a name tag featuring details about their personalities and career history (presumably), which is ideal for sparking kids’ imaginations and helping them to form inseparable bonds with whichever Squishmallows they’re lucky enough to pull from a Happy Meal.
US Maccies fans were very keen on the range when it ran over there.
One TikToker said: “I was gonna give this set a 10 but I think the texture is a bit firm and not a bit not as squishy as a Squishmallow would be, so I’m gonna get this a nine out of 10.”
Not bad for a free toy.
Rachael Davis