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TV Dinner turns 50 years old! 
I missed the 50th Anniversary of the TV Dinner! I have fond memories of TV dinners. If my mom came home from the grocery store with TV dinners, that meant she and dad were going out soon and my brother and I would have a babysitter. I don’t remember if we were excited about having the TV dinners, which were always eaten on TV trays right in front of the TV, or excited about the babysitter. When I was young - between 5 and 10 years old- we rarely ate out, so I think we thought of TV dinners as exciting. My mom also limited how much TV we watched, so the TV dinners also meant we would be allowed to watch television that night. Mom and dad going out for the evening had a basic procedure.
1. Mom and dad get ready to go. This was always exciting. My mom, as most moms, didn’t work outside of the home, so she didn’t spend lots of time curling her hair or putting on makeup each day. She always looked nice, but she looked very pretty when she and dad would go out.
2. The babysitter arrives and instructions are given. I think the television was usually on by this time and my brother and I were already entertained. I never sat still much, so I’d bounce between the television and the babysitter.
3. The TV dinners would go into the oven right away. There was some procedure for making sure the applesauce didn’t get too hot.
4. The TV trays were set up in front of us. We sat on the couch.
5. We enjoyed our TV dinners. The meal was the same for years - turkey or chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and apple dessert.
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