"It's so expensive and really they just want a toy and apple juice," one mum wrote. Photo / Getty Images
A mum's do it yourself Happy Meal hack is going viral online, with dozens of parents praising the money-saving idea.
Queenslander Elly Mae told news.com.au as a mum of six, she's learned how to save money at mealtimes.
"It's honestly their favourite, cause they can help make it as well," the Kallangur mum said. She said she most recently made the Happy Meals for some of the younger kids in her family, who range in age from 11 weeks to 10.
Elly said all the ingredients cost about $10 and she gets multiple Happy Meals out of them. "Instead of two from Macca's for the same price," she wrote in a Facebook post.
The DIY Happy Meals, which she calls "Fakeaway Macca's", are made of oven-cooked chicken nuggets and French fries tucked into individual paper bags, apple juice Pop Tops, using recycled containers and individual yoghurt pouches using reusable pouches.
They're all popped into a Happy Meal box with a sweet and sour sauce.
Elly said in comments to her post, the yoghurt pouches in generic red boxes were all available online. She said she made the chip and nugget bags from the baking paper.
Elly's idea quickly went viral in a money-saving Facebook group, attracting more than 350 likes and more than 90 comments in just over an hour.