Good grades deserve to be celebrated! If your kids have been working hard at school, don’t toss those report cards just yet. Restaurants around the country may reward students with everything from free doughnuts and ice cream to pizza, kids’ meals, and game play.

One important note before you make a special trip: many report-card promotions are offered at the individual/franchise level rather than as nationwide corporate promotions. Participation and requirements can vary by location, so I highly recommend calling your local restaurant first.

Here are the freebies to check for in 2026!

🍦 Cold Stone Creamery — Free Ice Cream

Select Cold Stone Creamery locations have offered free ice cream to students with good grades, particularly elementary-age students. This appears to be a locally offered promotion rather than a nationwide Cold Stone program, so check with your nearest shop before heading out.

Find your local Cold Stone Creamery

🍟 McDonald’s — Free Happy Meal

Some participating McDonald’s restaurants have rewarded elementary students with a FREE Happy Meal for a qualifying report card. Because these promotions can be organized by individual restaurants or local franchise groups, requirements may differ from store to store.

Find your local McDonald’s

🎮 Chuck E. Cheese — 10 Free Play Points

This is one of the offers that is currently documented directly by Chuck E. Cheese. Parents can download the Earned an “A” Award or other school achievement certificates and kids can receive 10 FREE bonus Play Points. Chuck E. Cheese also has rewards for accomplishments such as perfect attendance, reading and graduation.

Get the Chuck E. Cheese School Awards & Rewards

🍩 Krispy Kreme — Free Doughnuts for A’s

Here’s a really fun one! Krispy Kreme confirmed that K–12 students can receive one FREE Original Glazed doughnut for each A on their current report card, up to six doughnuts. The student needs to be present with the current-term report card. Store participation can still vary, so call ahead.

Find a Krispy Kreme Shop

🐔 Chick-fil-A — Ask About Good-Grade Rewards

Some Chick-fil-A locations have offered students free food for good grades, but this is not a chain-wide guaranteed promotion. Chick-fil-A confirms that individual Owner-Operators can run their own local promotions and free-food offers.

That means your best bet is to contact your local Chick-fil-A and ask whether they’re currently offering a report-card reward.

Find your local Chick-fil-A

🍕 Pizza Hut — Check for Student Pizza Rewards

Pizza Hut has a long history of rewarding students through its BOOK IT! reading program, but I couldn’t verify a current nationwide 2026 promotion that simply gives every student a Personal Pan Pizza for presenting a good report card. Some local restaurants or school programs may offer student incentives, so check locally before promising this one to the kids.

Check Pizza Hut Offers

🥞 IHOP — Free Kids’ Meal at Select Locations

Participating IHOP restaurants may reward students who bring in a good report card with a FREE kids’ meal or short stack. This isn’t a guaranteed nationwide promotion, so you’ll definitely want to call your IHOP first.

Find your local IHOP

🍔 SONIC — Check Your Local Drive-In

Good-grade rewards have been reported at participating SONIC locations, but I couldn’t verify a current nationwide SONIC report-card promotion. Since SONIC locations may run local offers, contact your closest drive-in and ask whether they’re currently rewarding students for report cards.

Find your local SONIC

🍕 Peter Piper Pizza — Free Pizza, Soft Serve or Root Beer Float

Peter Piper Pizza has an official Student Incentive Program that rewards students for academic achievements. Reward certificates may be good for a FREE personal pizza, soft-serve cone or root beer float, depending on the incentive. Restrictions apply, offers can vary by season and participating location, and the student must be present to redeem the certificate.

Peter Piper Pizza Student Incentive Program

⭐ Before You Go

Because so many of these promotions are determined by individual franchise owners, call your location before making the trip. Ask whether they’re currently offering a good-grades/report-card reward, what grades qualify, whether you need the original report card or can show it digitally, and whether a purchase is required.

Then grab that report card and let the kids enjoy a little reward for all their hard work! 🎉

TIP: Save this post for the next report-card day and share it with another parent who has kids in school!