Once, they were everywhere. In the kitchen cabinet. On the nightstand. Lining the shelves above the stove. Glasses—not the kind you wear, but the kind that came with a cheeseburger and fries.
McDonald’s led the charge in the 1970s. First came the collector series: Batman, Snoopy, The Smurfs, E.T., Garfield. Burger King followed with Star Wars and The Simpsons. Even Hardee’s got in on it.
Sometimes you had to buy them separately. Other times they came free with a kid’s meal. Parents didn’t mind—these weren’t cheap plastic throwaways. They were real glass, thick and heavy, made to last. You'd drink out of them for years without thinking twice.
Kids picked favorites. You might have had the Joker. Your brother had He-Man. Your cousin had Miss Piggy. And when everyone stayed the night at Grandma’s, the glasses came out—each one different.
They didn’t just show up in fast food bags either. Some came from cereal box mail-ins, grocery store promotions, or big brand crossovers with Disney, Coca-Cola, or Marvel. They were fun, practical, and everywhere.
Today, not so much.
Open a kitchen cabinet now and you're more likely to see stainless steel tumblers and water bottles wrapped in Peppa Pig stickers. Barbie is still around, so is Hot Wheels—but they’re printed on BPA-free bottles and lunchbox thermoses instead.
The shift wasn’t sudden, but it stuck. Fewer fast food chains hand out glassware. Most families drink from insulated cups. And dishwashers weren’t always kind to those old painted graphics.
Still, glassware hasn’t vanished. You’ll find it at garage sales and flea markets. Antique stores carry full sets behind glass cases, usually with price tags to match. The 1977 McDonald’s Star Wars collection is a favorite. So is the 1983 Smurfs series.
Collectors trade them, too. Not just for nostalgia—some are worth real money. The full Batman Forever glass set from 1995 is creeping up in value. Dick Tracy glasses, once left behind at rummage sales, now go for $20 a piece.
What does the future look like? Probably more stainless steel. More collapsible straws. But there will always be a place for these glass relics. They represent a time when meals came with a little magic—and when kids drank their orange juice with Garfield smirking back at them.
At Yipper! Toys, we still believe in that magic. Sometimes it’s not about what’s practical. It’s about what you remember.