McDonald’s 2026 holiday season starts early — and it starts with a deal, not a drink. The $8 Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal deal lands Monday, November 2, 2026, and the five new holiday drinks follow on Tuesday, November 3: a Frosted Cranberry Splash made with Sprite, a Red Bull Frosted Cranberry Energizer, and three Cookie Butter coffees. Both offers run for a limited time at participating restaurants, and McDonald’s has announced no end date for either.
One honest note up front: McDonald’s has published no national prices and no calorie counts for the new drinks, so this post prints neither — drink prices vary by restaurant, and any number here would be a guess. The $8 meal price is a suggested price, and the meal deal is not valid for delivery. Everything dated below comes from McDonald’s October 27, 2026 announcement, as reported by Fast Company, Parade, Nation’s Restaurant News and Money Talks News.
The $8 Quarter Pounder Meal Deal: November 2
The first offer out of the gate is the value play. Starting Monday, November 2, 2026, participating McDonald’s restaurants sell a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal for a suggested price of $8: a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, medium World Famous Fries, and a drink. It runs for a limited time, and McDonald’s has not announced an end date — the deal is framed as a November promotion, so treat it as weeks, not months.
Three terms matter. First, the price is suggested, not fixed: some restaurants may charge a little more, and some may not run the deal at all — check the app or your store before you go. Second, the deal is not valid for delivery; order in the restaurant, at the drive-thru, or in the app for pickup. Third, no coupon or app code is involved — the $8 price is the offer itself. For the full year-round McDonald’s menu with prices, see our McDonald’s menu guide; for the savings playbook, the McDonald’s coupons guide.
The Five Holiday Drinks: November 3
The drinks arrive one day after the meal deal, on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at participating restaurants for a limited time. The lineup splits into two flavors: frosted cranberry and cookie butter.
| Drink | What It Is | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| Frosted Cranberry Splash with Sprite | Sprite infused with orange and cranberry flavors, topped with cold foam and cranberry sprinkles | Nov 3 |
| Red Bull Frosted Cranberry Energizer | Frosted cranberry with cold foam and sprinkles, over classic Red Bull or Red Bull Zero (80 mg caffeine) | Nov 3 |
| Cookie Butter Frappé | Blended cookie-butter coffee topped with caramel cookie crumbs and sweet vanilla whipped cream | Nov 3 |
| Cookie Butter Latte | Hot cookie-butter latte with caramel cookie crumbs and sweet vanilla whip | Nov 3 |
| Cookie Butter Iced Coffee | Iced cookie-butter coffee with caramel cookie crumbs and sweet vanilla whip | Nov 3 |
The cranberry pair is the novelty: McDonald’s has never put a frosted cranberry flavor on Sprite or Red Bull before, and the Energizer is the chain’s holiday answer to the energy-drink crowd — 80 mg of caffeine, per Parade’s coverage of the announcement. The cookie butter trio is the cozy side: the same rich cookie-butter flavor across a blended Frappé, a hot latte and an iced coffee, all finished with caramel cookie crumbs and vanilla whip. For the full McCafé lineup these join, see our McDonald’s menu guide.
The McRib Is Back Too
The same announcement week brought back a third item: the McRib returned on October 27, 2026, in select cities — Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia, per Her Campus’s coverage — for a limited time. It is a separate, city-limited return, not part of the November 3 drink launch. We covered the McRib’s return in full in our McRib Is Back guide, including its 520 calories and franchise-set price range.
How to Get Them
Both November offers are participating-restaurant only, so the first step is checking your store in the McDonald’s app — the meal deal and the drinks both show up there at launch, with your store’s actual drink prices. Order the meal deal in the restaurant, at the drive-thru, or in the app for pickup (delivery is excluded). The drinks have no such restriction reported. If you want the full holiday-drink calendar across chains, our Starbucks holiday menu guide covers the November 5 launch and November 17 Red Cup Day.
Prices and Calories: Not Published
McDonald’s has not announced national prices for the five drinks — prices vary by restaurant, and the only figure with a dollar sign in this story is the meal deal’s suggested $8. No calorie counts have been published for the new drinks either, so this post estimates nothing: the Frosted Cranberry Splash, the Energizer and the Cookie Butter trio all read “not published” until McDonald’s says otherwise. For published McDonald’s nutrition figures, see our McDonald’s nutrition guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do McDonald’s holiday drinks launch in 2026?
Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at participating restaurants for a limited time. McDonald’s has announced no end date.
What are the five new McDonald’s holiday drinks?
Frosted Cranberry Splash with Sprite; Red Bull Frosted Cranberry Energizer (classic Red Bull or Red Bull Zero); and Cookie Butter Frappé, Cookie Butter Latte and Cookie Butter Iced Coffee.
How much is the $8 Quarter Pounder meal deal, and what is in it?
A suggested $8 for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, medium fries and a drink, starting Monday, November 2, 2026, at participating restaurants for a limited time. It is not valid for delivery, and some restaurants may charge more or skip the deal.
How much do the holiday drinks cost?
Not published nationally — prices vary by restaurant. Check the McDonald’s app or your store at launch.
How many calories are in the new holiday drinks?
Not published. McDonald’s has released no calorie counts for the five drinks, so this post prints none.
Is the McRib back at McDonald’s?
Yes — the McRib returned on October 27, 2026, in select cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia) for a limited time. See our McRib Is Back guide for its price range and 520 calories.
The Bottom Line
McDonald’s holiday play is two offers, one week apart: an $8 Quarter Pounder meal on November 2 that undercuts almost everything else on the value menu, and five holiday drinks on November 3 built on two flavors — frosted cranberry for the novelty seekers, cookie butter for the cozy crowd. Neither has an announced end date, the drinks have no published prices or calories, and the meal deal skips delivery — so check the app, order at the store, and go in November while both are live. For the year-round menu, see the McDonald’s menu guide.
McDonald’s, Quarter Pounder, McRib, Sprite and Red Bull are trademarks of their respective owners. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by McDonald’s — dates and offers are checked from public sources and vary by restaurant.
