https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/1h2lvir/whatever_happened_to_tv_trays/
created by MesabiRanger on 29/11/2024 at 13:33 UTC
105 upvotes, 180 top-level comments (showing 25)
There was always a rack of these small folding tables in every living room, back in the day.
Comment by AutoModerator at 29/11/2024 at 13:33 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See this post[1], the rules, and the sidebar for details. Thank you for your submission, MesabiRanger.
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Comment by AcanthopterygiiCool5 at 29/11/2024 at 13:56 UTC
117 upvotes, 4 direct replies
lol I have so many TV trays! Super handy and relatively cheap. Unaware this was an old person thing. I have at least three full sets.
I use them a lot of indoor gardening, pop up locations for my seed starting for spring planting. I throw boho cloths from SHEIN on top. I guess I’m your boho eccentric grandma!
I should put one in the living room just for my butterscotches.
Comment by thewoodsiswatching at 29/11/2024 at 14:01 UTC
43 upvotes, 3 direct replies
We sort of do a large tray, except it's a big coffee table and we have two specially made thick pillows we sit on the floor and eat in front of the TV. Japanese-style? We've been doing this for over 20 years. We only eat at the dining table on special occasions or if there's company here. Every night we have a tradition of bringing the tray of food to the coffee table, setting up things, ringing the dinner gong and having dinner watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. If we get there early, we watch Forensic Files until Wheel starts.
A little murder, a little dinner. :-)
Those TV trays were famously wobbly and around us I'm sure they'd be on the ground with a mess within minutes. We are very clumsy people.
Comment by SRB112 at 29/11/2024 at 13:39 UTC
21 upvotes, 4 direct replies
I have a set of 4 folding wooden trays I bought at a thrift store 5 years ago and the other day looked on eBay and see similar sets sell for $140. I'm trying to decide if I should cash in or keep them.
Comment by Nice_Witness3525 at 29/11/2024 at 14:06 UTC
14 upvotes, 0 direct replies
They still exist. Some of us still have our originals from growing up.
Comment by Woodentit_B_Lovely at 29/11/2024 at 20:06 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
In my house I call them 'End tables'
Comment by [deleted] at 29/11/2024 at 16:36 UTC
10 upvotes, 2 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by Scourmont at 29/11/2024 at 13:39 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I still have a couple of the wooden ones. One is holding my printer and another is off somewhere I can't remember.
Comment by NecessaryWeather4275 at 29/11/2024 at 14:26 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It’s in my living room. Why? Need one. They sell them at Walmart and target.
Comment by Dillenger69 at 29/11/2024 at 14:41 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have TV trays. They are super useful for more than just eating in front of the TV.
Comment by ancientastronaut2 at 29/11/2024 at 17:16 UTC
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
In her later days, my mother didn't like the look of them and bought a coffee table that popped up and turned into a big tv tray. Fancy!
Comment by Birdy304 at 29/11/2024 at 13:55 UTC
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I have two wooden ones, I use one for my knitting. I guess years ago people actually used them to eat on in the living room. We did at my Moms house. I am 73, so I’m talking 60s and 70s.
Comment by New_Scientist_1688 at 29/11/2024 at 15:28 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
We have some. They're wood. I can't remember where we got them, but my best friend has the same set and he got it at Target.
I do miss the old aluminum ones we had growing up. Far easier to set up and the tops came completely off to use as a lap tray.
Comment by spoonface_gorilla at 29/11/2024 at 23:59 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
We still have an old 70s (at least) era tv tray in regular use in my house.
Comment by AbleButton4912 at 29/11/2024 at 13:43 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I still have a set. I rarely use them anymore.
Comment by mamamedic at 29/11/2024 at 14:43 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I bought a couple of nice wooden ones at Target 3 years ago, so they're probably still around.
Comment by MissHibernia at 29/11/2024 at 15:21 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Just got a brand new one off Amazon earlier this year for extra work space in the kitchen, so nothing has happened to them
Comment by One-Dare3022 at 29/11/2024 at 15:22 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have an old set of TV trays that my parents bought when they lived in the US in the fifties.
Comment by SeattleUberDad at 29/11/2024 at 15:25 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
We have a few from IKEA. I'm sure a search on Amazon would give you other options too.
Comment by ParrotheadTink at 29/11/2024 at 18:02 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
They’re sitting right there in my living room, next to the bookcase. It’s a set my mom gave us as a wedding present in 1988. Nice solid wood set, a little dinged up here and there but they have been in constant use for 36 years.
Comment by Yeah_right_sezu at 29/11/2024 at 22:08 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I used to work for the corporate headquarters for Enterprise Rent a Car. One year for Christmas, we received wooden TV trays with the green E logo, with a rack with which to store them.
Meanwhile, my supervisors boss got an xmas bonus check of seventeen grand. Yeah. But we weren's 'sposed to know that....
Comment by [deleted] at 30/11/2024 at 03:14 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
My parents still have theirs. It was an exciting night for us kids when the tv trays and tv dinners came out and we got to eat in front of the tv 😊
Comment by ExploringWidely at 29/11/2024 at 14:10 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have a rack from. ... 30 years ago? We still use them now that the kids are mostly out of the house.
Comment by hibbledyhey at 29/11/2024 at 15:11 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
They’re in the garage, because they don’t get used more than a couple of times a year. Uhm, so like, where are yours then?
Comment by Ok-Potato-4774 at 29/11/2024 at 15:29 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
We still have a set and use them regularly. I think with people viewing their entertainment on phones and tablets, they're not as prevalent anymore as they were years ago.