Yes, another McDonalds thread, when you were growing up was McDonald's....

[Molly Meow]

My parents treated it as a convenience. Not a treat, reward, or "real" meal. The closest one was 1/2 hour away, and we would eat there once a month when we went shopping. It was quick and cheap.

That's the way I think of it now. I only eat there when either a) I'm starving, away from home and have hardly any cash or b) I'm seriously craving a milkshake.

 

[powellrj]

we only had a walk-up McDonalds and red barn. It was a treat and I remember we would pull-up and my dad would walk up to the window and order the food and bring it back to the car where we would all eat in the car! When I was in Jr. High School McDonalds made a sit down area and once a week I was allowed to walk with my friends and have lunch there. A regular Hamburger, small fries and small coke was .55.

Burger Chef came next and we loved to eat there because they had the works bar! you could order you burger plain and add what you wanted to it! Thats what got my DH through college. They would order small burgers plain and load up the toppings to get a cheap meal!

 

[cgcw]

It was a treat for us too. My parents didn't eat McDonald's even when the kids did. And, it took forever to drive to the nearest one.

As others have said, they certainly didn't have them around like they do now.

 

[Chattyaholic]

Definitely a treat, we didn't go out to eat often at all.

We had a "Hamburger Heaven" here that was similar to McDonalds', etc. and I remember going there, and Burger Chef, moreso that McDonalds or Burger King.

But most of the time it was Chef Boy Ardee or occasionally Mom cooked.

 

[pjlla]

Once a year treat for us! My grandparents would take me, my brother, and my two cousins to McDonald's for supper the night before school started in the fall. Not sure exactly what year they started this tradition, but we continued up until my second or third year of college in the early 1980's. After supper at McDonald's we took a drive.... and always saw the best things for some reason! Maybe it was my Grampa that made it all seem so special! That is TRULY the only time I remember going to McDonald's as a child......................P

 

[Kimberle]

Yes, it was.

McD's at that time was only a drive up place w/ a counter (no drive through). You walked up, got your food & ate in the car. A hamb, FF & soda was pretty much the same size as a happy meal today. No qtr pounders, or anything. I do remember them having wonderful fish sandwiches!

The last day of swimming lessons in the summer, the bus (Parks & Rec) always stopped at McD's for a big treat. My Mother would give me *ONE* dollar. That was enough for a CB/FF/soda.

 

[snoopy]

The only time I ever ate at McDonalds was if someone else's parents took me there. My grandparents were in the fine restaurant business, so fast food was a dirty word around our house.

 

[MosMom]

It was a treat but when I was growing up there wasn't one on every corner. We had to drive a good 30 minutes to even get to one. I remember it too. I have a picture of myself with my friends at a McDonald's birthday party. It was in March because we had Shamrock shakes!

 

[MosMom]

Man I remember Burger Chef. There was one in the mall. LOL I remember never liking them because everything always had a ton of mustard on it.

 

[Disney Doll]

It was a treat. We most often went there on Fridays during Lent, to get a Filet-O-Fish. We'd go occasionally at other times durin the year, but it definitely fell into the category of "treat".

 

[tkd lisa]

I guess I'm in the minority here. I'm 40, so probably right in the responding age group, but I grew up with a working mom, who really was a terrible cook. We typically ate at McDs or Burger Chef every couple of weeks, usually on our way to some activity or another. It wasn't something we considered a treat. We always went there after swim meets too. I clearly remember getting hamburgers and small fries for 25 cents apiece, and you'd get a scratch off card for the 76 Olympics. Lots of US winners that year, so I had lots of "freebies"!

Did anyone else's McD's give you a free burger for an A on your report card? Ours did, and that's another time we regularly went there - report card day.

Now my cousins definitely considered it a treat. They had 8 kids in that family, and I remember how thrilled they were to be able to get a hamburger and fries at Mc Ds.

 

[Happy Homeschooler]

Once a year. We'd drive down to Indiana to see our extended family for Christmas, and on the way we'd stop for fast food. We never thought of it as a treat, or at all special.

 

[binny]

definately a treat!


It still is for my kids lol. We dont eat fast food very often but we do get a take n bake pizza most Fridays LOL

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

We went there pretty frequently. I have 2 much older sisters. 1 worked at Burger King and the other worked at McDonald's (when they were both teenagers. I was about 7 or 8). We used to go there to see them and play in the play area.

 

[piratesmate]

Neither...The first fast food place (McDonald's) opened in our area when I was 16 or 17. The only time I ever got there was on a date....for their 19 cent burgers.

For my kids it was always a treat. We rarely go there now, unless we're desperate.

 

[Jilliebean]

We went to McD's once a week on the way home from piano lessons but we definitely considered it a treat because our "eating out" at McD's was all the restaurant dining we ever did.

As an adult, I probably eat fast food 3-4 times per year and don't consider it a treat at all! Luckily neither of our DDs have any interest in fast food at all!

 

[tinkwishes]

It was a treat for me like most of you! My mother was a working mother and somehow had dinner on the table for us by 6:30 each night--and I am talking GOOD homemade food. No hamburger helper, frozen dinners, etc. We are talking fried chicken, meatloaf, pork chops, roast, lasagna, etc. BOY DO I MISS THOSE DAYS! Unfortunately, I am a working mother of 2 and just can't seem to do all that my mother managed to accomplish each day.
I can remember having birthday parties at McDonalds. They had a caboose for the festivities. It was the BOMB!!

 

[Parkhopper]

It was a treat for us as well. We went to McDonalds probably once a month at the most and usually after church. We knew better than to ask if we could go (that was a sure-fire way to make sure that we didn't!)

Suzi

 

[Nancy]

When I was young it was a treat. We didn't have a Burger King and McDonalds had no seating so you ate in the car. The first time we had BK was driving down to Florida. road trips were mainly when we had fast food back in the 60's/early 70's. By highschool I would stop by MD's to get fries alot. My kids don't get those 2 places too much now...when they were dancing there was a Wendy's right next door and they went there all the time. Now our fast food is pizza 1 night a week and some kind of takeout another night (usually subs or Chinese)

 

[sha_lyn]

Treat. Nearest one was about 30 miles from our house, however it was about 5 miles from my aunt and uncle's house. Had lunch occasionally if I was with them, but the big treat was breakfast. I stayed summers with them and often on Sat he would stop and pick up hot cakes and sausage for everyone on his way home from the dump.

We had a local buger place called Burger Chief that was a walk up with tables outside. When I was around 8 or 9 it burned down. We could see the smoke from our house. They rebuilt it as a really nice restaurant with a drive through. We also had the Chilli Dog and Jiffy Freeze that were car hop places. Growing up they were a treat. Chilli Dog is still in business but is now a walk up to window.