When we were a young family on a budget, we didn’t go out to eat often, we cooked at home. But the occasional indulgence I remember most fondly was the McDonald’s Happy Meal.

When my children were growing up, those meals were a treat enjoyed by all of us. My husband and I, because it was food we didn’t have to prepare, and the kids because it was fun to eat fries and a burger out of a cute container that also included a toy.

We acquired quite a collection of cute toys back in the 1980s. There was Garfield, plastic replicas of Chicken McNuggets as well as plastic play food containers, Muppet Babies, Transformers, Kermit and Miss Piggy, Hot Wheels cars, Super Mario Bros., Ghostbusters, My Little Pony, and Disney toys among others.

The toys were whimsical and surprisingly well-made. We collected many of the series, and they were played with until eventually making their way to the bottom of a toy box.

There were many creative Happy Meal ideas, but for me, the primo Happy Meal experience of all time were the Halloween Pumpkin Pails!

Launched in 1986, the plastic bucket and lid featured McPunk’n, McBoo and McGoblin. A few years later a green witch and white ghost were added. After the French fries and burger were eaten, you had a cute pail to wash out and reuse. It was a little small for actual trick-or-treating, but they were perfect for holding small toys or just setting out in a Halloween display.

You wouldn’t think an adult would get excited about a plastic pumpkin, but I love fall and those containers were adorable.

Fast forward a few years, and my children got older and no longer cared about a Happy Meal. They wanted more food and fewer toys. Their old Happy Meal toys were bagged up and sold at yard sales.

Years later, grandchildren came along, and Papa and I found ourselves back in the Happy Meal groove! We soon learned which child wanted a hamburger and which one preferred a cheeseburger. Apple slices are a nice addition, and the cardboard containers and toys still thrill the kids.

I began writing this column a few weeks ago, and I was totally surprised to just hear McDonalds is reissuing the pumpkin pails this year! What a coincidence! The original three McBoo, McPunk’n and McGoblin are back at participating restaurants from Oct. 18-31. Or until they runout.

What a nice, nostalgic move for the Millennials! And I suspect some of their parents might even smile at seeing the pails again.

Our older grands outgrew Happy Meals recently, just as we knew would happen. I remember the day our grandson told me he’d rather have two hamburgers than one and a toy. My heart twinged a bit; how did we get here already?

Luckily, we have two younger grandchildren, and I still have the pleasure of watching them eat fries and get excited to see what toy is inside the box.

But this week, it doesn’t matter how old they are, everybody is getting a Happy Meal Halloween Pumpkin Pail.

Even me.

• Karen Roth is a semiretired librarian/educator living in Ottawa. She can be reached at newsroom@shawmedia.com.