Welcome to another installment of WTF Wednesday, where the advice is free but following it might cost you more than just your reputation.
Today’s question was submitted by John Brown (a.k.a. @jbrown3079) of Twitterville Indiana. He’s also the owner of Bellbottom Blog. We don’t yet know if the other 3,078 JBrowns on Twitter endorse his question but he does indicate that he’s asking for “a friend.” This leads us to conclude that A) he has at least one friend, and B)Stuffing there are a lot of JBrowns on Twitter.
Mr. Brown3079 writes:
Dear IBMP,
Should “Happy Meal” toys take up the majority of space in a toybox? Asking for a friend.
Now see, folks, that is a good friend. He could have asked a question for himself but he took his valuable 87 Twitter characters to help out a friend instead. Because, of course, we all believe that he’s asking for a friend, right?
Well, John, like all good answers, this one starts with, “Well that depends.”
It depends, for example, on whether you want to support the hard work of Chinese factory slaves workers who, after a few weeks of work might earn enough to buy a Happy Meal themselves. If so, then a well-stocked toybox of fine imported Happy Meal trinkets is a good choice.
It also depends on your preferred ratio of working toys to broken toys. If you like it roughly equal to the ratio of straight men to gay men at a Cher concert, then yes by all means fill that box with Happy Meal freebies.
Or if you like having a backup plan in case you forget to buy cheap party favors for your kid’s birthday and need an emergency supply, then fill that toybox to the brim with Disney movie marketing crap from McDonald’s.
Those Happy Meal toys have other value as well. If not for Happy Meal toys, we’d have no mementos to remind ourselves of crappy kids’ movies that came and went over the course of an afternoon. The non-degradable, un-recyclable marketing collateral known as Happy Meal toys will be around long after we’ve all died from congestive heart failure and diabetes complications resulting from eating Happy Meals. It’s a legacy you can be proud of.
Also, a kid that is content with a toybox of Happy Meal toys clearly has remarkably low expectations when it comes to playthings. While all the other kids are whining about needing that $300 Lego set, your kid is just trying to collect all four Spy Kids Decoder Rings. That is certainly a reason to celebrate.
Whether you choose to stock your child’s toybox almost exclusively with Happy Meal toys is a personal decision. Hopefully we’ve given you all the tools you need to make the right decision for your household.
Problem solved. You’re welcome!
Got a question for WTF Wednesday? Fire away in the comments section!
I've become my parents 
Angela@BeggingTheAnswer
February 15, 2012
Happy meal toys are the bane of my existence. The kids never play with them, but they refuse to let me throw them away. I usually just toss them after a week or so while the kids are asleep, and they are none the wiser. I’m an awesome parent that way.
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 15, 2012
Heehee. We do the same with the dead goldfish.
ptigris213
February 15, 2012
The best cure I have is never eating at McDonalds.
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 15, 2012
Agreed. 🙂
Kirsty
February 15, 2012
Does the same (excellent, btw) advice apply to the put-together-yourself toys found in the yellow capsule inside Kinder eggs? Because we have a shit-ton of those…
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 15, 2012
Haha! I’m quite sure it does. 🙂
Anntrea (@DoodlesandJots)
February 15, 2012
I don’t think we get happy meals all that often but that junk really adds up!!! They are like little multiplying reminders of our bad parenting! Anyway, there have been a few good ones over the years.. I have a stuffed bear I use as a pin cushion. We have a Disney tiara that has outlasted many purchases ones. Occasionally, we really like the little sculpted figures too like the Kung Fu Panda ones a while back. Most is junk though…
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 15, 2012
Oh, I don’t think we’re being bad parents for doing the McD think once in a while but yes, indeed, they pile up! Oh, and I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need a Disney tiara 😉
whatimeant2say
February 15, 2012
Try selling them on eBay. Seriously. There’s a huge market out there. Or stick them in a geocache. Kids love that.
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 15, 2012
Ooh, smart lady! It didn’t occur to me that people probably collect that stuff. I like it!
Alicia
February 15, 2012
Hehe – we solved the issue really easily: we don’t eat @ McD 🙂 Now – any advice on how to win the lottery for those $300+ Lego sets he really really needs?!
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 15, 2012
So yours needs them too, eh? Mine is convinced he’ll die if he doesn’t get a steady supply of Lego sets. I don’t know much about the lottery, although I’m pretty sure buying a ticket only marginally increases your chances of winning. 🙂
jbrown3079
February 15, 2012
Thanks for answering my question. Actually, the question stemmed from a conversation a group of us had a while back about the number of those kinds of toys we had.
Legos are the true enemy. So are 500 piece puzzles.
And for the McD non believers out there, my son is now 20 years old 6’2″ 175 lbs. He survived.
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 15, 2012
It’s true, I have far more scars on my feet from Legos than from McD toys. And most of my son’s 500 piece puzzles have combined to become a single 10,000 piece puzzle. Minus, of course, the 75 odd pieces that have gone to join so many socks in who-knows-where.
Thanks for the great question!
Jen DZ (@jendezeeuw)
February 16, 2012
I’m just reminded about Happy Meal toys when I was a kid. Didn’t they USED to be pretty special? Like actually quality stuff? I have a memory of stuffed animal Muppet dolls. I was a “kid” during the 80s. Do any of you have these memories of a magical time that offered such quality meal toys?
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 20, 2012
I’m guessing that, like most toys, the quality has gone down hill over time. I think I was one of those neglected kids whose parents didn’t take him to McD’s.
Barb
February 17, 2012
A few of the early McD toys were cool, but they’ve gone the way of Crackerjack prizes, and turned into junk. It’s better to spend a buck on a Hot Wheels and skip the burger.
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 20, 2012
Can’t go wrong with Hot Wheels. Of course, I’d accept free Hot Wheels with the purchase of a burger, too 😉
Diane - It's All Good Until You Burn Dinner
February 21, 2012
Oh wow…my kids are teenagers and we actually have some tucked into a small toy box UNOPENED. That shows how excited my kids were to get them.
Barmy Rootstock (IBMP)
February 21, 2012
Based on some of the other comments, those might be worth something. I bet they’d be interested then!