{"id":903,"date":"2025-11-03T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/?p=903"},"modified":"2025-11-17T09:31:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:31:45","slug":"mcdonalds-uk-is-scrapping-iconic-red-happy-meal-boxes-for-good-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/mcdonalds-uk-is-scrapping-iconic-red-happy-meal-boxes-for-good-reason\/","title":{"rendered":"McDonald\u2019s UK is scrapping iconic red Happy Meal boxes \u2014 for good reason"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"A\t<\/div>
Happy Meal boxes are about to look very different (Picture: McDonalds\/Metro)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McDonald\u2019s fans in the UK might notice Happy Meal<\/a> boxes look a little different this month, as the fast food chain is scrapping the classic colour.<\/p>\n

For the first time ever Maccies<\/a> is doing away with the iconic red cardboard and launching a completely blank box. <\/p>\n

This limited-edition change <\/a>is part of the chain\u2019s partnership with BBC<\/a> Children in Need to promote mental health<\/a> awareness, and comes after McDonald’s temporarily removed the yellow smile off the box in 2024.<\/p>\n

This takes things one step further and kids will be able to use the white design of the \u2018draw how you feel meal boxes\u2019 to do just that – express their emotions and unleash their creativity.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"The\t<\/div>
The box will be blank for the first time ever (Picture: McDonald’s UK)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Millions of the boxes and crayons will be available nationwide in McDonald\u2019s from November 5 until November 18.<\/p>\n

The hope is that the experience will spark meaningful conversations within families<\/a>, as new research commissioned by McDonald\u2019s found that four in 10 children aged five to 10 struggled to tell adults how they feel, while 73% find it easier to talk about their feelings when they’re drawing.<\/p>\n

Singer, and mum-of-three Kimberley Walsh<\/a>\u202fis backing the campaign and said she’s ‘proud’ to be a part of it as she knows how hard it can be to get kids to open up.<\/p>\n

\u2018Art and creativity have always played a big role in my life and now they\u2019re a huge part of my parenting<\/a> style, too. I find my boys are often calmer and more open to chat when they\u2019re drawing.<\/p>\n

‘Children experience so many emotions every day, which can often be difficult to describe, so finding new ways for them to express those feelings is really important.\u2019<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s research supports this, with 88% of parents saying it is easier to talk to their kids about feelings when they are doing some sort of creative activity.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Kimberley\t<\/div>
Kimberley Walsh is supporting the campaign (Picture: McDonald’s UK)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One in five (19%) parents also admitted they feel society is not doing enough to encourage children to openly express their emotions. <\/p>\n

To help parents kickstart these conversations, McDonald\u2019s and BBC Children in Need have created a suite of free resources on the Family Hub<\/a>, offering practical ways to use art to connect, understand, and celebrate the full range of emotions children experience every day. <\/p>\n

Simon Antrobus, Chief Executive Officer at BBC Children in Need, adds: \u2018Art and creativity can help to give children an outlet when words aren\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

\n
Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">What are your thoughts on McDonald’s new Happy Meal box campaign?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>‘At Children in Need we know that strong, supportive relationships between children and the important people in their lives is critical in easing their worries and supporting their emotional wellbeing. But we also know that it is not always straight forward to know where to start with these conversations.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We are thrilled to support this campaign which turns a simple Happy Meal box into a fun, family-friendly tool for expression and connection, something every family can use to come together.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Those who want to get involved with the campaign can donate to Children in Need via the McDonald’s app by donating the equivalent of their Rewards points. There will also be the option to donate at McDonald’s restaurants at kiosks and tills.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tMore fast food news:\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/10\/17\/mcdonalds-unveils-world-heist-menu-items-canada-japan-australia-coming-uk-24453212\/\"><strong>McDonald\u2019s unveils World Heist menu with items from Canada, Japan and Australia coming to UK<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/10\/27\/chick-fil-a-trying-crack-uk-will-brits-accept-christian-values-24515946\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">US fast food chain returns to England six years after major controversy<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/10\/13\/this-high-street-chain-spent-thousands-self-service-tills-now-backtracking-24413634\/\">This high street chain spent thousands on self-service tills \u2014 now it\u2019s \u2018backtracking\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><title>Comment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Meal boxes are about to look very different (Picture: McDonalds\/Metro) McDonald\u2019s fans in the UK might notice Happy Meal boxes look a little different this month, as the fast food chain is scrapping the classic colour. For the first time ever Maccies is doing away with the iconic red cardboard and launching a completely…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.wigyouup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}