McDonald's Pokémon Happy Meal UK: Dates, Toys and Card List

Pokémon Happy Meals are coming back to McDonald's in the UK and Ireland in February 2027. Each Happy Meal comes with one of 15 Pokémon toys shaped like mini Happy Meal boxes and two random Pokémon TCG cards from a 15-card set, seven of them holo. The UK is the last of four waves worldwide, so the cards will already be out in North America and most of Europe by the time they reach British restaurants.

When is the Pokémon Happy Meal coming to the UK?

February 2027. McDonald's and The Pokémon Company announced the promotion on 29 October 2026 and are rolling it out in four waves. The UK and Ireland are in the last one. Exact UK start and end dates haven't been published yet, and like every Happy Meal promotion it runs while stocks last.

Being last has one upside: by February we'll know how the promotion went everywhere else, and whether restaurants needed limits to keep the toys and cards for children. We'll add the UK dates here as soon as McDonald's UK confirms them.

What's in a Pokémon Happy Meal?

Each Pokémon Happy Meal comes in one of three special box designs (Pikachu, Umbreon or Torchic) and includes:

• One of 15 toys. Each toy is a mini Happy Meal box with a Pokémon face and ears, complete with the golden arches handle.
• Two Pokémon TCG cards, picked at random from a 15-card McDonald's set. They come loose in the box with the toy, not in a sealed booster pack.

The 15 toys are Pikachu, Eevee, Umbreon, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Weedle, Rowlet, Piplup, Sobble, Torchic, Sprigatito, Espurr, Minccino and Munchlax. It's the first time since 2018 that Pokémon Happy Meals have had plastic toys. A QR code on the box also opens a small online game where you hunt for the 15 toys.

The 2026 McDonald's Pokémon card list

The 15 cards are reprints of existing Pokémon TCG cards with McDonald's own set symbol (marked M26) and numbering. The seven holos use the confetti-pattern holofoil McDonald's cards are known for. Pokémon hasn't published the list itself yet, but the cards have been shown ahead of launch:

With two random cards per meal and seven holos in fifteen, a holo isn't guaranteed in every Happy Meal. Older McDonald's promos gave you a four-card pack with one holo inside, so finishing the holo set will take a few more meals this time.

Will the UK get the toy or a booster pack?

This is the one thing nobody can answer yet. McDonald's UK and Ireland removed plastic toys from Happy Meals in 2021, and the 2026 Pokémon toys are plastic. In Quebec, the Happy Meal comes with a sticker and a four-card booster pack instead of a toy, and a few other countries, Norway among them, are getting the booster version too.

So the UK could get the toys, the booster-pack version or a plastic-free alternative. McDonald's UK hasn't said. The cards themselves should be the same English set: every recent UK Pokémon Happy Meal has used the same cards as the US.

Past Pokémon Happy Meals in the UK

The 2021 run is the one people remember. Collectors in the US bought Happy Meals in bulk for the cards and some threw the food away, so McDonald's brought in limits, and the UK launched with a cap from day one.

Are McDonald's Pokémon cards worth collecting?

As a set, yes: they're official Pokémon TCG cards with their own numbering and set symbol, and plenty of collectors keep a McDonald's binder. Holo Pikachu is the card most people chase in almost every McDonald's set. The 2021 25th Anniversary cards are the most collected modern McDonald's set, and the early 2000s Japanese McDonald's promos are the rarest of all. For a gem-mint holo, grading is the way to keep it that way: see our PSA 10 and Ace 10 centering guide before you send any in.

Our take

Looking for what else is coming? Our UK Pokémon TCG release calendar has every confirmed date.

Pokémon Happy Meal UK FAQ