For the Christmas season of 1988, McDonald’s was offering up not one, not two, but THREE limited-time offerings for the Christmas season.
There was the 9-piece or 20-piece Holiday McNuggets, which featured a limited-time orange sauce for dipping and came in a festive “gift” box inspired by the season.
There was also the frosty Eggnog Milkshake and the rarely seen Peppermint Sundae.
As much as my mom and I would go to McDonalds, I have zero memory of ever getting to try any of these fantastic-looking treats. Back in those days, the thought of egg nog grossed me out so I wasn’t missing anything there, and I’ve always been a die-hard caramel sundae man so I may not have given the peppermint one a try. But those nuggets with the orange sound amazing, and I’m very disappointed that I never got to try them.
It’s been a little while since I added any new scans to the archives, so what better way to make up for that than by posting a Halloween-related scan. There’s already a McDonaldland Fun Times magazine scan in the archives, but it’s from 1990 and wasn’t tied to a holiday or anything. But this one, oh my, this one is a Halloween-themed one and from the mid-80s, so it may be more in some of your wheelhouses. I hope you enjoy it.
I have a deep nostalgic connection to the McDonald’s Taste of the Month promotion from 1995. Maybe it’s because I was driving and able to go get things for myself, or maybe because I worked across the street from a Mcdonald’s. But whatever the reason, I loved a lot of the special items they rolled out that year as part of the promotion, and this Patty McMelt is near the top of my list of promotional menu items.
I’m still trying to track down info on the releases for each month that year, and I’ve not found suitable info on this one yet. But I do know that it came out early in the year, as in January, February, or March. I know this because I remember it being cold and snowy when I was enjoying them. I’m a sucker for a patty melt, and this version was pretty good. I’m not sure what the slice of Canadian bacon had to do with a patty melt, but they threw a piece on this sandwich, and somehow it fits. Their grilled onions could have been a little more grilled for my tastes, but that minor squabble aside, McDonald’s version of a Patty Melt is worth remembering.
Most people have little or no memory of it existing, and the commercial below is about the only reference I’ve ever been able to find about it online. I’ve made the plea before, but I’m going to make it again…if you know anything about any of the taste of the month promotions from 1995, please get in touch with me. Any info at all, no matter how big or how little the detail would be appreciated. The Arch Deluxe made its debut as part of the promotion in my area, and my favorite of the lot, the Super Hero Burger, was part of it, but I still have a lot of gaps in my knowledge.
A couple of years back, I wrote about Five Classic Christmas Commercials. That post featured some commercials that I’m most nostalgic for, as they still stand out in my memory from childhood. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get back to the concept, but we’re going to look at five more Christmas classics.
Hills Department Store (mid-80s)
We all had favorite department stores when we were younger, you know, back before Wal-Mart and Amazon were the go-to destinations. In my area, that department store was Hills. Going to Hills was a treat any time of the year, but at Christmas, it was simply magical. No other store around had as big of a selection of toys as Hills, and they always made sure to flaunt that fact. They weren’t lying when they said “Hills is where the toys are”, as you can certainly see in this commercial. And man, seeing that U.S.S. Flagg is still quite a sight even today.
McDonald’s Holiday Chicken McNuggets (1987)
McDonald’s Holiday Chicken McNuggets have quite a reputation in the retro community, as a lot of people seem to remember the promotion fondly. In short, at Christmas, you could get McNuggets in 9-pack or 20-pack boxes that looked like Christmas presents, and they came with seasonal dipping sauces different from their normal offerings. What’s not to love about all of this?!? These things could hit the market today and become a big hit all over again.
Nintendo Action Set (1988)
For a period in the ’80s, Nintendo was THE toy on everybody’s wish list. I actually got mine at a random time of year and not for Christmas, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the hell out of it. I am jealous of all the cool kids though who got this action set with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt, and the zapper gun. Mine only came with the Nintendo Player’s Guide.
Pound Puppies at Hardees (1986)
Pound Puppies were a big deal for a while in 1986, and I wanted them as much as the next kid. But they were pricey when it came to the full-sized versions, so getting a miniature from Hardees was a sweet deal. I think I had two of them from this promotion, and they were the only Pound Puppies I was ever fortunate enough to have.
Burger King’s Chicken Tenders (1985)
W covered the Holiday McNuggets earlier, and while their presentation was cool, Burger King’s Chicken Tenders were vastly superior when it came to taste. And while you could get a 9 or 20-pack of McNuggets, you could get Chicken Tenders in 50-pack boxes! You were going to be the hero of the family Christmas party if you showed up with a 50-pack of these things!
The TRN Time Machine podcast is hosted by myself and Jason Gross as part of The Retro Network. I’ve not had time to be very involved over the last couple of months, but I hate to let those great old episodes just sit there gathering dust. So I’m presenting them here for a new audience to discover and enjoy.
In this episode, get ready to bounce around the decades as we time jump looking at some Foods We Miss! We’ll be covering square pizzas at Little Caesar’s, pop culture pasta from Chef Boyardee, cereal, patty melts at McDonald’s, and the Tic Tac’s rival Dynamints just to name a few. Snacks, candy, beverages, and more are covered in this delicious episode.
