Based on what I've heard, around the fifties the length of dinner time took about 20 minutes. Now it usually takes five minutes, and families don't even eat with each other as a family.

What we do at our house is it usually takes 30 minutes, and we all sit down as a family, and talk about our day, etc. I guess we're a bit old-fashioned, but personally I like doing it that way.

Does anyone know if this fact is true? Based on BTTF, it seemed like the meals took pretty long in the 50's.

I think it tended to be that way, if not longer. I admit, we're not that great that way. :lol: I'll sometimes take dinner to my room, or we'll all sit on the couch in front of the TV eating. But, we do still try to go out to dinner once or twice a week.

It wasn't so much (from what I've seen, heard and observed) that people ate slower or anything, but life was way slower paced then, compared to now. There weren't a million distractions and things to do, so that left more family time.

Also families were bigger (alot of couples had babies after WW2 ended, making them about 8-10 year old kids in 1955), so that would make it longer too. Women (mothers, esp) still didn't typically work, so they had more time to cook and prepare dinner.

BTW, my dad was actually born in 1938 (17 in 1955 - oddly enough, I've never reminded him of this, despite my love for BTTF :o ). I'll ask him about this when I can. Even my mom was born in 1954, and might have some early childhood memories of it.

Dinner in my family usually took at least 1/2 hour. There were 5 of us then. When my dad was out of town (which was quite often) we still took our time to eat dinner. I was always the last one to finish tho cuz I ate enough for three people. hehe. I miss those days :)
When we go to dinner at my in-laws, dinner usually takes an hour cuz we sit and talk, have dessert and coffee etc afterwards.

Whenever our whole gets to eat dinner (which isn't all the time because people are working or are doing something else) we usually take a while to eat and talk about our day and other things. I like it this way woo. I never measured how long it took for us to eat though.

We eat whenever...sometimes when my Gradma makes dinner i'm in my room playing my loud music.When it's ready,she comes in and tells me dinners ready and since i'm playing my music i tell her that i'll eat later.This is at around 5:30 or 6:00,i stop with my music around 7:00 so i put dinner in the mico-wave and eat it then.My grandma eats when its ready.My aunt eats when she comes home at 6:30 and my mom eats when she comes home also which is about 7:30.This is like every week day.On saturday,we don't cook.I eat out with my mom at the mall.
BUT on sunday we all eat together,my mom(when i'm watching a movie in my room)comes to tell me to eat...i eat quick because my movie is still going because i hate pausing movies.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE WE ARE NOT THE "T.V SHOW" FAMILY!

This is when school is open...buring summer i don't play music and i eat when its ready.

I'd say that growing up, dinner usually took around a half hour, and we always ate (and still eat) together. Occasionally there would be conflicts--work, extracurricular activites, meetings, etc., but my parents have always made it a point to sit down and have dinner together. I really like it this way, too.

It's kinda funny... you'd think that as the years went by, dinner would take less and less time due to conflicts, but now that my brother is home for the summer from college, dinner has been typically taking an hour. I think we all talk more now and we usually have a little dessert after the meal... my brother ventures off to the pantry and pulls out a chocolate bar or cookies to share, lol.

Yay for dinner. Best meal of the day. :marty:

It takes me a while to eat dinner, with or without my family.

As for the fifties, I wouldn't know, but I'd say the one that went on in Lorraine's house probably took a while because they may have been watching 'The Honeymooners' episode that was playing while they ate.

My dinner normaly takes about 30 seconds in the microwave haha :goldie:

" you wanna pepsi pal you gotta pay for it" :griff:

Aww, this topic is making me feel bad!

When I grew up we always had dinner together as a family, around the dining table and it usually lasted a good half hour, maybe more, as we chatted about our day.

However, with my little family, we hardly ever sit around a table and have dinner together. I can't remember the last time the four of us sat together! We don't even have a dining table! :unsure:

Growing up, my family sat round the table. When (if :() I have my own family I'd like to do the same. I still sit at the table now, but my housemates all eat in their rooms or in the living room. I can't eat off my lap. I just can't do it. :)

Looks like you won't be able to come to my house for dinner then... I'll just have to come to yours! :)

^ Why? Have you got no tables?

[edit]
Oh, yeah. That's what you said above, didn't you?

When I lived in a tiny flat with my ex, we used to sit in front of the TV to eat, but we used an ironing board as a table. This never seemed weird to us until we were close to moving out. The landlord showed some prospective new tenants round the flat at dinner time, and I suddenly became aware that eating off an ironing board probably looked a bit eccentric!

dinner at my home takes about an hour unless we order pizza usaly on fridays we talk about our day and watch tv while we eat. :jen1: