14 Things That Came Free with Cereal Boxes

For decades, cereal boxes weren’t just packaging — they were portals to fun. From tiny comic books to wall-climbing weirdos, these freebies captured kids’ imaginations and made breakfast feel like Christmas morning. It was all cheap plastic and paper, but somehow, it made those morning bowls of sugar feel like magic.

1. Color-Changing Spoons

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Nothing beat the thrill of a spoon that changed color in cold milk — it felt like breakfast magic. These spoons, often tied to cartoons like Rugrats or Power Rangers, turned blue or red depending on the temperature. For a few weeks, you probably refused to eat cereal with anything else.

2. Mini Comic Books

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Back in the ’90s, cereal boxes like Cheerios were sometimes tucked in mini Marvel or DC comic books. They were barely bigger than your palm but packed full of action and bright art. For some kids, it was their first taste of superheroes before movies took over the world.

3. CD-ROM Games

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Kellogg’s and General Mills were notorious for slipping PC CD-ROMs into their boxes in the early 2000s. Whether it was a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater demo or a Nickelodeon puzzle game, these discs made breakfast the gateway to hours of screen time. Even if your computer barely ran them, you felt like you scored big.

4. Wacky Wall Walkers

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These rubbery, sticky octopus-like creatures flopped down walls in slow, jerky movements that defied logic. They came wrapped in plastic inside boxes of cereals like Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes. Within a day, they’d collect so much dust they stopped sticking — but oh, what a day it was.

5. Glow-in-the-Dark Stickers

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Cereals like Trix and Lucky Charms once gave away glow-in-the-dark star stickers you could plaster all over your bedroom ceiling. At night, your room transformed into a cheap planetarium. You’d lie there, wide-eyed, hoping the glow never faded.

6. Temporary Tattoos

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Printed on the back of the box or tucked inside in tiny plastic sleeves, these tattoos were often cartoon-themed. You’d press a wet sponge to your arm for 30 seconds and walk around like you just joined a biker gang — if biker gangs loved Pokémon. They’d start peeling by dinnertime, but for a few hours, you were cool.

7. Spy Decoder Rings

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Tied to secret agent themes or cereal-specific lore, these plastic rings helped kids decode silly messages printed on the box. They were cheap, clunky, and utterly useless — unless you were nine, in which case they were sacred tech. You probably wore it to school and pretended it was top-secret gear.

8. 3D Glasses

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Some cereal promotions came with red-and-blue-lens glasses for decoding hidden images or comics on the box. You’d put them on, squint at the cardboard, and pretend the blurry nonsense really was jumping out at you. It was low-fi virtual reality, and you loved it.

9. Mini Action Figures

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Smaller than a LEGO minifigure and barely articulated, these were often part of tie-ins with movies or Saturday morning cartoons. You might find Star Wars, Transformers, or The Incredibles figurines buried at the bottom of the box. They didn’t move much, but your imagination filled in the blanks.

10. Cereal Box Records (Yes, Vinyl!)

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In the 1960s and ’70s, some cereal boxes had playable records printed right on the back. You’d cut it out, slap it on the turntable, and hear The Archies or The Monkees warble through the speakers. It was scratchy and barely audible — but it was music, and it was free.

11. Miniature Board Games

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A few boxes came with fold-out board games printed inside and a little plastic spinner or dice included. You’d cut it out, fold it up, and try to keep all the tiny pieces from getting lost under the table. It was janky but charming, like a pocket-sized Candy Land made of cereal.

12. Character Masks

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Some boxes had punch-out masks of mascots like Toucan Sam or Cap’n Crunch. You’d cut along the dotted lines, tie on a rubber band, and boom — you were a walking cartoon. It lasted until it ripped in half, usually an hour later, but the photos live forever.

13. Mini Puzzles

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Tiny cardboard jigsaw puzzles came in baggies with cartoon characters or brand logos. They had maybe 20 pieces max, which meant even young kids could finish them in one go. Then you’d toss the bag into your toy bin, never to be seen again.

14. Toy Racing Cars

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Plastic Hot Wheels-style racers, often branded with cereal logos or tied to movie promotions, were a major score. You’d line them up with your other cars and race them down homemade tracks made of textbooks and kitchen counters. They were clunky but fast enough to leave a dent in the dog’s water bowl.

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