Disclosure: I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s. I am being compensated for this What You Can Do with McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For many of us, the occasional fast food stops are a must for surviving a busy week. For me, weekly stops are part of my working mom survival plan. And I know plenty of stay-at-home parents who need fast food meals to get through the week, too.

The other day, some friends and I were discussing options for utilizing the toys that often accompany kids’ meals. Some parents think it is great for their kids to get a little surprise treat here and there. Other parents look for ways to use those toys in more creative measures.

5 Ideas for McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys

1) Allow Your Child the Simple Joy of an Occasional Happy Meal Toy with Their Food

2) Save the Happy Meal Toys for Stocking Stuffers

This is what we are doing this year. I do allow the girls to instantly receive their Happy Meal toys part of the time. Other times, I save them in a secret spot to use for stocking stuffers later in the year. They will be happy to receive them – no matter when. I have stockpiled quite a collection! This method works best for younger children who may not already expect to receive a toy with each Happy Meal.

3) Use Happy Meal toys as Part of a Reward System

My friend Tiffany at Single Mom Warrior wrote a post earlier in the year on how she uses the McDonald’s toys as her chore chart rewards. She has another post on using them as incentives for a reading program at home. We started doing a similar system several months ago with a “happy chart” for Scooter Britches. She gets to choose a prize from a treasure box when she has received so many stickers on her chart.

4) Use Happy Meal Toys as Additions to “Shoebox” Gifts During the Holidays

If you find yourself with extra toys that maybe your own children don’t need or if you wind up with duplicate toys, use these as extra treats for shoebox gifts during the holidays. For instance, at the school where I teach, one of the staff members holds a shoe box gift competition each December. The students are asked to bring one shoebox gift to be sent to Mexico for children in an impoverished community there. Imagine how exciting a little extra toy in the box will be to children who seldom receive toys.

No matter what you choose to do with your Happy Meal toys, there are plenty of cool ideas for using them!

As you can see here, the girls can’t even keep their hands off of their favorite toys long enough for me to even get a photo of them!

5) Donate the Happy Meal Toys to a Local Day Care or Shelter

You can donate the new or gently used Happy Meal toys to a local day care or children’s shelter. Day care teachers typically welcome donations of toys as they are often limited in facility funds for new toys. The same goes for shelters that house homeless children and foster children or those facilities that serve as temporary shelter for children in crisis. I would suggest you call a facility and ask before taking the items over there.

Obviously, these five ideas will only work for children who are either too young to know about their Happy Meal toys or have gotten too old for the thrill of Happy Meal toys. If you plan to pry a Happy Meal toy out of the hands of a five-year-old who has already claimed it, good luck to you!

Of course, not all Happy Meal toys are toys. My girls loved the Amelia Bedelia book series last year!

Did you know that McDonald’s donates a proceed to Ronald McDonald House Charities for every Happy Meal purchased? That is something to feel good about! Be sure to check out my post on teaching kids to do good through acts of kindness like packing compassion bags for people in your area who could use a a spot of happiness.

Do you have any other creative uses for Happy Meal toys?