It’s season’s eatings as Supermac’s goes à la card
SUPERMAC’S boss Pat McDonagh has added some Christmas cheer to his restaurant’s children’s meals – by giving away sets of Christmas cards.
The Irish fast-food mogul has been including packs of 40 Christmas cards with meals for children to send to their friends and family.
‘Kids like to send cards to each other, but sometimes they’re expensive enough, so we came up with this idea to give them the Christmas cards, so they can write them themselves and give them to classmates, friends, cousins or whoever,’ Mr McDonagh told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
‘It’s been working pretty well, and it’s a friendship thing as well, and if it works you keep doing it.’
So far this Christmas the restaurant has given out 3,000 packs of cards, and it expects to distribute the same number again before the season is over.
Fast food giant Burger King recently caved in to a campaign by parents and agreed to get rid of plastic toys included with its children’s meals, while McDonald’s has brought in a recycling scheme for the toys, which are often colourful characters tied in with current film releases.
But Supermac’s started giving out the cards three Christmases ago, and Mr McDonagh said the issue of plastic waste was not a hot topic at the time. His firm started giving out the cards simply as a way to spread the festive spirit at a time when fewer people were sending each other Christmas cards, and many were doing so by email or social media.
Supermac’s staff around the country also spread Christmas cheer by wearing Santa hats, festive jumpers and running winter wonderland areas in some branches, while upturned chicken buckets with Christmas baubles dangling inside have been turned into seasonal bells.
‘It’s a feelgood factor thing,’ Mr McDonagh said. ‘Some people don’t like Christmas but the vast majority do and it brings good memories and feelings, and that’s what we’re trying to generate.’