Does everything on your holiday table match?

LuvOrlando

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Does everything on your holiday table match? Is this dated?

I got a bunch of new formal place settings and cutlery last holiday season and now I am looking to collect vegetable bowls and all but something irks me about it being too matchy matchy. I always matched but maybe something else would make it more trendy? I can't decide if I want to mix up serving bowls and all with similar white and platinum settings, mix in just glass or crystal or mix it up with silver metals or a combo. I know this is a fluff thing but still, I'd like a nice table, sometimes pretty things can enhance mood.
 
I use my wedding china for the place settings, but I only have one matching platter and two serving bowls so I definitely mix and match the rest. I’ll have a wooden charcuterie board on the table as well as complimentary casserole dishes and other serve ware. It definitely looks better that way to me.
 
I have 2 different sets of formal dishware which coordinate well together for a total of 20 coordinating/matching place settings, & I have “fancy” silverware for 24 that includes all the serving utensils.

I do have some serving pieces that match the place settings, but not enough for a larger meal like Thanksgiving, so I have several other service pieces as well that coordinate nicely but aren’t necessarily part of the sets - it’s a mix of vintage & newer pieces & in different finishes. For example, I have an awesome vintage glass deviled egg platter & a newer pottery-made deviled egg platter. One of my serving dishes is a square white china dish w/ a wedgewood blue old-fashioned hunting scene on the side, & I only use it at Thanksgiving.

I do NOT have enough glasses & stemware. Over the years, some of our nicer crystal glasses have broken, so our drinking glasses are mix & match. I need to find a completely new set of stemware.
 

We have a set of Corelle place settings that are white with a red and green holly border that we use for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our everyday place settings and service pieces are plain white Corelle, so they blend in with the holiday dishes very well. There are only three of us, so it’s simple to match things up. We don’t use the good china anymore as it is not dishwasher safe, and a pain to wash by hand.
 
I host Easter every year and use the china I inherited from my mother.
When I host Christmas, we have Christmas dish set.
I don't host Thanksgiving

Easter table this year. We do "tea". I love my china!!
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We have 10 to 20 for holiday gatherings so no matching here. I do have wedding china with matching serving pieces, crystal and silverware that we use for less than 10.

We use holiday paper plates and bowls to eat from when we have more than 10. Some of my serving bowls were my grandmother's that she used at holidays. So those on my table or buffet line are more important than matching to me.

I do set a nice table display with tablecloths on the tables we eat at our deck or spread through the house if the weather is not cooperative.
 
Ours is a mix that I “try” to present in a cohesive manner. I adore formal dinnerware and prefer bold patterns, but had to scale it back a bit with our wedding china when my husband had to remind me that I wouldn’t be entertaining royalty. So I went with a bold place setting pattern for the china that has both silver and gold in the banding (Lenox Jewels Sapphire). I then paired it with simple silver banded serving pieces from the same china company (mainly Lenox Mayfield) as well as some gold banded fluted pieces from my grandmother’s collection (also same company). There’s also some blown glass, silver plated, and crystal pieces to balance it out. I picked the crystal drinkware and sterling utensils more for price per setting, but both coordinate well. We also inherited some extra silver of the same pattern from my FIL. We inherited a ton of antique glass pieces from my husband’s grandmother that don’t really go, but they’re good for desserts. There’s also my great grandmother’s china and a bunch of other random pieces that just usually stay on display.

This evil witch previously tied into our old friend group through her husband made some snide comments about my choices… implying that the china you choose says a lot about you as a person…hence why she picked something simple and obviously refined. I guess she just doesn’t like bright and bold? Oh well…I know it’s loud, but I like it. I even used to go with a much more basic striped ivory table cloth but it really washed everything out (and was a stain magnet) so I tried a paisley and I think I like it better. I hate to clean it all so it doesn’t come out often, but I really enjoy it when it does.


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Ours is a mix that I “try” to present in a cohesive manner. I adore formal dinnerware and prefer bold patterns, but had to scale it back a bit with our wedding china when my husband had to remind me that I wouldn’t be entertaining royalty. So I went with a bold place setting pattern for the china that has both silver and gold in the banding. I then paired it with simple silver banded serving pieces from the same china company as well as some gold banded fluted pieces from my grandmother’s collection (also same company). There’s also some blown glass, silver plated, and crystal pieces to balance it out. I picked the crystal drinkware and sterling utensils more for price per setting, but both coordinate well. We also inherited some extra silver of the same pattern from my FIL. We inherited a ton of antique glass pieces from my husband’s grandmother that don’t really go, but they’re good for desserts. There’s also my great grandmother’s china and a bunch of other random pieces that just usually stay on display.

This evil witch previously tied into our old friend group through her husband made some snide comments about my choices… implying that the china you choose says a lot about you as a person…hence why she picked something simple and obviously refined. I guess she just doesn’t like bright and bold? Oh well…I know it’s loud, but I like it. I even used to go with a much more basic striped ivory table cloth but it really washed everything out (and was a stain magnet) so I tried a paisley and I think I like it better. I hate to clean it all so it doesn’t come out often, but I really enjoy it when it does.


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Can't believe someone made a comment like that about your set, how shockingly crass. I like your set, it tells me you are confident.



My set from my wedding in the early 90s has a lot going on, I will keep it for Easter since it has peach in it. I wonder what this person would say about me:rotfl2:this has waaayyyy more going on than yours.
Screenshot 2023-11-20 at 8.04.56 PM.png


I did get a new set this year for my 30th anniversary and it has no color, I wanted a neutral so I could play around more with the tablecloth. Turns out 30 years is a lot of peach holidays & truth be told the peach color got to me over time, it is a lot of peach.
 
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I do like for my table settings to match. I use my Heartland for Thanksgiving and my Old Country Roses for Christmas, always with cloth napkins. I have placemats that match each set, and Reed & Barton flatware that I use with both sets.

I read an article about how to have lovely china without spending a lot of money. The lady went to thrift stores and found a single place setting of fine china. She bought a different set for each place setting, meaning that each guest had their own set of lovely china. I thought it was a great idea.
 
This is the new set I chose, Montvale, it is still decidedly fru fru but also neutral so I am trying to decide what sorts of vegetable bowls and platters would look pretty with it. There is a bit of relief in the design so it plays on the light with matte and shiny that doesn't come across all that great in images.

What would you all recommend for serving bowls and all?Screenshot 2023-11-20 at 9.06.19 PM.png
 
Can't believe someone made a comment like that about your set, how shockingly crass. I like your set, it tells me you are confident.



My set from my wedding in the early 90s has a lot going on, I will keep it for Easter since it has peach in it. I wonder what this person would say about me:rotfl2:this has waaayyyy more going on than yours.
View attachment 812246


I did get a new set this year for my 30th anniversary and it has no color, I wanted a neutral so I could play around more with the tablecloth. Turns out 30 years is a lot of peach holidays & truth be told the peach color got to me over time, it is a lot of peach.

I suspect the girl was focused on the salad plates and saucers, which have a wider and stronger band of the patterning (below). Regardless, how was my china pattern hurting her to warrant such a remark?

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This was what I really wanted but I think my final selection was a good compromise. Clearly, I like blue.

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Yours is very pretty!!! The peach tones have a spring vibe but also works in well for fall/Thanksgiving since the peach should tie in well with oranges and browns/tans…at least that’s how I’m envisioning it all set up 😂 I suspect people would miss the peach if you went with something else. It’s funny how these kinds of things become part of our traditions.
 
I have a variety of plates, some which I bought for $1 at a resale shop. I prefer an eclectic table with different plates. For me ot looks more interesting. We have a variety of crystal wine and champagne flutes so i put a wine glass and a flute at each place setting, in a variety of colors and styles.
 
My good china, stemware and linens all match but the cutlery and serving pieces don’t always, depending on how big the crowd is and how many dishes are being served. We usually put the food out buffet-style on a sideboard anyway, so it doesn’t really affect how the table looks.
 
This is the new set I chose, Montvale, it is still decidedly fru fru but also neutral so I am trying to decide what sorts of vegetable bowls and platters would look pretty with it. There is a bit of relief in the design so it plays on the light with matte and shiny that doesn't come across all that great in images.

What would you all recommend for serving bowls and all?View attachment 812257

Thought I replied last night, but apparently I fell asleep mid post! 🤣 😴

This reminds me a lot of my parents’ newer pattern. Lenox Windsong was their wedding china, but I think they got a Noritake pattern similar to the one you've shared that they prefer to use. That being said, they are not matchy matchy and prefer a hodge podge of pieces to go with it from various relatives' old collections. I think that's why they opted for this over the wedding china. The pattern is quieter and could be paired with a number of things without looking too disjointed in presentation.
 
We still have most of our wedding china (Lenox) and was fortunate to either get most of the serving pieces to go along with it, either via wedding presents or by buying it later on, so most things match. We have a few other pieces that get used for holidays as well, but I would say 80-90% of it is matching. We only really use this china 2 or 3 times a year.
 
We have a set of good china (Noritake), so we use it. I have service for 19 (wedding gifts plus some additional place settings picked up at a garage sale- discontinued pattern.) Have a few matching serving pieces; the rest is neutral, and for holidays, I put out seasonal linens. I have smaller sets of silverware and glassware, so that does not always all match exactly, depending on the number of people present.
 














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