I recently got married and we didn't register for fancy china. My mom had gotten us a large set of white fairly casual dishes on a really good sale a year or so before (I think it was about $90 for 16 sets plus some serving pieces - she couldn't resist), so we just registered for simple, inexpensive serving pieces that will go with those dishes or our every day, super casual dishes. I do have very fancy silver, but only because my grandmother gave me her set (which I love because it was her's).

My mom never uses her's because she's afraid she'll break a plate and then not be able to replace it.

When I registered for china and flatware, I chose one pattern for each. Plain white plates and classic stainless have served me well for 5 years. Plus, tastes change and you can always update with mismatched pieces as you collect things you love.

I picked a simple white (off-white) set with a shape I really like. We use it daily. It's the only set we have.

At least once a month. But I got Royal Crown Derby Old Imari, which is far more colorful and exuberant than white with a rim, as pictured. It also costs the earth, but it's gorgeous.

We use our china every chance we get! It's the Vera Wang Gold Grosgrain...very simple and chic. I figure...we have it, it's beautiful...no use hiding it away...let's use it! Even if a few friends are coming over it's an opportunity to entertain and make a gorgeous table!

I was given a full set of wedgewood by a sweet older gentleman in my first job (as he downsized). When I got married, we did register for about a week for china, but then as we got home, we talked about how much we liked the set we had and realized that what we had was what we liked. We deleted the china registry and put up with the family grumblings.

I totally had the fancy china registered and we rarely used it. I always preferred the casual set and wished I had just registered for a knock out set of casual instead.

Occasionally; mostly for Holiday meals, but I still love the color, pattern, etc. I have a basic white and silver pattern by Vera Wang. Though we don't use it often, I'm not disapointed that we have it.

We did register for china, though it is a very simple all-white set. I'm not planning on saving it for only holiday meals, but probably will only use it when we have guests over, and it was one of the only 'traditional' things we registered for. For some reason, having a nice set of dishes for special occasions (including guest visits) really meant something to me!

i'm getting married one month from today. i knew from the get-go that i didn't want to register for fine china so i chose to just go for white everyday casual instead.
but i collect "blue heaven" by royal china and would just be ecstatic if folks took my registry suggestion and searched etsy and ebay and added special pieces to my collection... we'll see!

We registered at Heath Ceramics, instead, and YES, we use it every day :-)

Wedding china? What's that? :)

We eloped so we wouldn't have to deal with crap like this. And even then, we've since had to turn down two offers of china. And, now that I think about it, I even had to turn down two diamond rings from relatives (which my husband knew I didn't want.) What is it with these mandated "traditional" wedding gifts?!

Im a FIRM believer in using the good china every day (or at least often)...it's silly to let our favorite functional things sit in the corner to be observed from afar.

I didn't bother registering for china. First, we have a small apartment right now and couldn't a) store 12 place settings or b) have enough people over to use it all at once. If and when the time comes, we'll invest in it. In lieu of china, I was more excited to get lovely everyday dishes...and a Cuisinart :)

I started collecting my favorite pattern -- Wedgwood Oberon -- while I was still happily single. Every time I enjoyed a milestone in life, (e.g., getting my Master's, getting a promotion, etc.), I'd buy myself another place setting. When I did get married, the set was completed.

I still love this pattern but rarely use it. That's partly true because I hate polishing the silver that goes with it! And partly because we so seldom entertain formally.

Never bought any, we're just happy to use the same china we bought almost 20 years ago...has it really been that long??

we use our wedding china and silver weekly at least. don't believe in having something and not using it.

I inherited my grandmother's wedding china--which is a full set of Meissen's pink rose pattern--complete with a coffee service. I use it occasionally, and I just don't see the point of having two sets of formal china--so I'm skipping that tradition.

We didn't register for china (thanks, IKEA), but did for some nice silverware. We only got 2 sets and decided that it was so lovely that we'd use it for our daily ware. When we have guests, we dig out the cheap stuff. Life is too short to not enjoy the beautiful useful things sitting in the house.

China was expensive, I knew we'd end up breaking it, and I didn't want to store two sets of dishware (especially if I never used one set)...so we just registered for a lot of simple, sturdy everyday dishes. We entertain a lot, but we're pretty casual. I was surprised how many people told us we'd regret not having china. We have never, ever regretted it.

My sister was pressured by a client of her husband's, of all people, to register for unusually expensive china. It was from a "special" store, so no one knew about the registry except the client, and in order to have enough place settings, she and her husband ended up buying most of them. She got married five years ago. The china has never left the closet in which it's stored.

We saw no need to register for china, crystal, or silver, and didn't get an iota of grief about it from family, either. We registered for inexpensive basic white everyday dinnerware at Bed Bath and Beyond and love it...so easy to dress up when we have dinner guests. When we chip a bowl, we just replace it for $3.99, and we know we will want something different in ten years anyway. I look forward to getting my mother's wedding china someday - Noritake LaRue, white with a beautiful blue pattern and silver banding.

Ultimately, I'd rather have the good set of cookware!

We both already had sets of (mismatched) plates etc when we moved in together. When we got married we were going to move out of the country soon and didn't need much of anything. We decided to register for only things we wanted: a camping tent, power tools, isight cameras, etc...

Then we didn't return (& paid for) 4 big plates, 4 small plates & 4 cups of the dishes we rented for the actual wedding. We liked the white w/raised pattern & it meant more that it was actually at the wedding. We use those, along with our other mismatched dishes every day.

Do people really not have a full set (or two!) of everything they need in life by the time they get married these days? Or is everyone just getting new stuff because they get married? If it's the latter, I admit, I find that kind of shocking.

I love my wedding china! My parents gave my husband and I 8 place settings of Noritake china (Spectrum) and my extended family bought additional bowls (Sweet Leilani... same shape, matching patterns). I use it as often as I can because the less you use china, the more fragile it becomes. It's also virtually indestructible, as I've only broke a saucer when I dropped it in the porcelain sink.

We also have mismatched fiestaware, which is also really durable. I like the bowls/plates to heat stuff in the microwave.

Luckily there's http://www.replacements.com/ - they'll buy your (in my case) late 80's china and you can start fresh! I could not face my future with seashells on my plates.

Every single day. I don't have any other dishes. And I use my wedding silver every day too -- I don't have any stainless. On purpose.

If the good stuff is all you have, you'll live a nicer lifestyle. And if something breaks, it's fairly easy to get replacements on ebay. Why have two sets? Why only the good stuff for guests?

Wedding china? PAH. Why spend money on something I'll never use. What would I like when I get married.... mortgage gift certificate? Get out of pregnancy stretch marks free card?

i'm not married but i inherited my grandparents wedding china. i try to use it a few times a month even if it's just for some tea and not a whole meal.

We registered for a nice set of plates-not fancy china. Right now we don't have the space to store an extra set. I really like the plates we got, plus we got serving pieces to go with them. To answer binks question-I did have plates that my grandmother got for me when I first moved out on my own. They had colorful drawings of people eating in a french cafe-not exactly my style. So I had to get new plates for my wedding.

I decided not to get any china when I got married (last summer). We're young and I can't picture us having any fancy parties or holidays. We stuck to affordable white dinnerware.

Someone bought my parents a set of china when they got married, but sadly it's a HIDEOUS pattern. My parents never once used it, and when I moved out my mom tried to give it to me. I felt bad about saying no thanks, but scenes of peasants struggling to hitch their cattle rendered in greenish brown are not particularly appetizing.

I was just talking about this to a friend of mine! Personally I think I'll be registering for a TON of Fiesta Ware!! I am already starting my set, and I plan to have a large collection at some point! Why waste $$ on something really expensive when Fiesta Ware is durable and amazing!?

" scenes of peasants struggling to hitch their cattle rendered in greenish brown are not particularly appetizing." LOL!!

We are not from very traditional (or very large) families, and so didn't have the big wedding, etc., etc. My husband's family are French Canadians, and they just don't have the same approach as Anglos do (and my family is European, and they don't follow Anglo traditions either) -- e.g., when our niece and nephew were baptized, I bought them beautiful engraved sterling silver Christening mugs -- and no one knew what they were... (although they were very pretty).

So I just accumulate pieces of Blue Onion china -- some Meissen (from my grandmother), although most of it is Czech. Bought from the Czech Republic (as opposed to Meissen from Moss), it is quite reasonable, and so I make sure to have tons of it.

Because I don't like things too matchy though, I am trying to find a potter to make some plates like this to coordinate (or rather, contrast) with it:

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2008/03/chickeninriesling

...And add a few pieces of Royal Copenhagen (coffee pot, sugar bowl, covered soup bowls), which *are* expensive.

We use our stuff all the time, whenever we have anyone over, at least a couple of times a week. It is actually very cheerful, and seems simultaneously modern and traditional (maybe why Moss carries it).

I believe you really have to buy things that suit your lifestyle -- and really, very few people entertain formally anymore. It is just not how we live, but the older generation sometimes loses sight of that. Much more fun to mix it up anyway.

We registered for a casual everyday dinnerware set, and we use it every day! Formal china didn't make sense for us, since we don't really entertain much. And when we do, it's super casual.

I use my casual white service for everyday, and have large stacks of different salad plates so I can vary the look of that setting, I prefer it to my own china (which I'll end up selling shortly) and when I use china I prefer to use my late mother's set. It has far more sentimental value than my own china service and I'm now designing napkin rings, and will take classes in metalwork techniques, to pair with it. It's a classic silver and white pattern and I remember shopping for it with my father and my mother's surprise when she opened the box one Christmas morning.

I have some friends who made the choice Not to register and then began gifting each other china at their 10th anniversary... perhaps a far better time to, after having settled in, figure out what your entertaining style is as a couple? For my own, I'd chosen a set that's way too elaborate and heavy (Mottahedeh) and it's beautiful but not suited to how I live now. All white is the way to go because you can always dress it up for a fancy dinner by putting chargers under the dinner plates.

I'm getting married next summer and have yet to register for anything, but don't plan on registering for china. I figure that there are so many other things that we actually want and need, it's sort of a waste.

cycpiper, my wedding china was Sweet Leilani! We also got a set of casual china, that I loved as well. But eventually I gave the casual china to some friends - they were thrilled to have a full matching set - and used the Noritake every day.

I think bone china's more useful than regular china - it's tougher. (However, I'm brutal to my expensive dishes/crystal/silverware - everything had better be able to survive the dishwasher. Silver rims don't like this treatment much, but that just made my silver-rimmed Waterford match the pieces of the un-rimmed pattern. :) ) I frequently hosted dinner parties and used all 14 settings on a regular basis.

There was a certain uselessness to registering for china - my mother and grandmother both collect china so at some point I'll end up with 3 or 4 complete sets of Spode. But I got something I liked and used all the time.

I love my china and use it whenever we have friends over for any kind of meal. I've served everything from pancakes & eggs to Passover meals on it. I registered and got it for a reason - to make gatherings w/friends and family special.

I am hoping for Crate&Barrel's Nilsson dinnerware when the time comes. Not white, not china, but it's going to be great for food photography and the classic stoneware Swedish plates will (hopefully) last a lifetime.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=14174&f=22973

Married, but don't have or want any.

Use your china. In order to get my mother to finally use the "good" china and silver, my father said, "What are you saving them for...your next husband?"

We saw the china nearly every Sunday after that.

Think about it---if you registered for it, USE IT!

If you don't entertain that way, don't waste money on it. You'll become a slave to storing and moving it for the next 30 years.

And don't be a snob--consider some Fiesta Ware or Corelle (Corelle's plain white can be dressed up, too) They're both made in America.

We registered for Wedgewood china and plan to use it everyday. We also registered for some fabulous stainless flatware. I think my new husband's grandmother will be giving us her silver someday.

@binks - Not everyone has, needs, or wants two sets of dishes before they are married. We have 6 chipped plates from a set that was left by a former tenant in our old apartment. We also have pieces from two mismatched sets of flatware, which are both ugly and falling apart from the same tenant. I have a very cheap set of pots and pans, which are now scratched and leave funny bumps on our omlettes. I've lived in some expensive cities, been to grad school, husband is now in grad school, and buying myself a complete set of good dishes and cookware has never been a priority despite the fact that I love to cook and entertain, which we do quite often. I guess I was holding out until I got married b/c I knew I would receive generous gifts from family and friends and would never go out and buy china for myself.

We registered for a casual set of china- 'Audrey' from Crate and Barrel, and we use those mixed with some cute vintage pieces given to me by my aunt every day. I have inherited a set of very fancy china from my grandmother that I will perhaps use someday when we have a house (and dining table!) large enough for large dinner parties.

We had random stoneware from Fish's Eddy (and K-Mart's Martha Stewart line!), so we registered for a set of basic white bone china from Crate & Barrel. We use it for parties and whenever my husband gets the plates out, but I always just saw it as a jumping off point for eventual collecting of fun mismatched salad plates, etc. We will be getting silver from his mo and my mom, and crystal from his mom, so we mostly stuck to kitchenware for the registry.

We didnt register for a set of china. My mother had saved sets of china for we three girls since we were children. So when we moved out we got them. And yes I do use my set on holidays and special occasions.

We registered for a casual set of china from Crate & Barrel too. We use that everyday, although after 8 years quite a few of the pieces are chipped and I have been considering some white correlle. I also have my grandmothers china which sat in my parent's basement for 15 years until we had a house with a big enough kitchen to store them. We finally used her china for the first time at christmas. In 50 years of marriage she only ever broke one piece but we managed to break a dessert plate the very first time. When it happened my mom's face turned white. Fortunately she recovered quickly and I think that actually has made it easier for us to use the dishes.

I do recommend registering for nice wine glasses if you are into drinking wine. We have a nice matching set (we registered for a few extra) and we use them whenever we have guests over.

mjs7640 - Corelle is my everyday dish set, also my mother's everyday dish set. Love that stuff.

binks - My husband and I married about a year after graduating college. He had lived with roommates and had little kitchen stuff, I had lived alone and had a bit more (mostly from my parents as Christmas/birthday gifts). We combined what we had, kept everything good, and registered for anything we didn't have or that we had cheap versions of that didn't work well. I will admit that I didn't *need* to replace my everyday dishes, but I'd gotten them on ultra super clearance at the Corelle outlet store before college. I didn't like the pattern, but they were cheap and I needed them. We did register and replace those.

When I got engaged I decided I was only going to register for everyday dishes, no formal silver, china or crystal.

A few months before the wedding my grandmother gave me all of her wedding china (16 place setting serving pieces!) and it's lovely. Crisp white with a platinum band.

I don't use it frequently, because it has to be hand washed, but I use it more than I would if I had bought it new. Something about it being on its second life makes me less afraid to use or damage it.

I love our china. We got married a year ago, and while we only have room to store 5 settings here, we use it every chance we get. I've also inherited an entire additional set from my great grandmother, and the Vera Wang we chose will work in with the older china.

It's not my husband's favorite thing (lots of dishes!), but he indulges me. Our everyday dishes are from Crate & Barrel.

I can't wait for the day when we have a large dining room and can use all 12 settings - formal meal or not, it makes me happy to use our china.

We split the difference and got fancy, non-china plates from Crate & Barrel (the Eva Zeisel) and simple stainless steel Alessi flatware. Also very simple crystal wine glasses from Waterford. Use all of it every day.

We registered for 13 sets (one extra in case something breaks) of Wedgewood china, plus serving dishes, etc, and use them on special occasions like anniversaries, birthdays, showers, etc. There's just two of us now, but we host some holidays for our families and friends and that's when all the dishes get pulled out. I've never needed all 12 settings but since I have a few pregnant siblings I think we'll be running out of plates soon!

I have always loved eating off of nice china, so it was the first thing I registered for. I couldn't pick out a pattern that I liked so I registered for 3 very different but complementary patterns. I never worry about breaking anything since I can always replace with another complementary pattern. We have friends over for dinner quite often and each and every time they comment on how special they feel eating off of "the good plates". It makes me happy to know I have made my friends feel special, not to mention I swear it makes the food taste better! ;-P

Instead of registering for china, I asked my mom if her gift to us could include my grandmothers(who has passed away) wedding china. So even though I dont use it, I dont mind because it still is sentimental and special to me-which is enough for me to keep it around.

Wow, no one I know of buys wedding china. We just picked out a set of dishes we both likes and figured would work for most occasions and were done with it. I would hate for others to pick out my things.

We registered for a beautiful set of china, and we use it everyday. Actually, we don't own 'casual' dishes - just our lovely, simple silver edged china.

The nice thing is that if I ever inherit my mother's china, it'll look great with the very simple set we already have.

Good china holds up just as well as regular dishes (if not better), so why not use it?

Once a week on Shabbat, and for special occassions/entertaining.

I didn't want to register for china, but my now-husband insisted he really wanted it. We have used it (in almost one year) exactly once -- for a tea party I threw. Instead we always use the white basic dinnerware we bought from Williams-Sonoma when we moved in together four years ago. I don't feel terribly guilty about the china, though, because we picked a relatively inexpensive pattern from Lenox.

In contrast, we use one or more of the Riedel wine glasses we also registered for nearly every day!

We opted for a very nice set from Heath Ceramics. It is more our style but still feels nice enough to use when guests come over. We also only registered for 8 settings knowing that we might inherit a larger fancier set in a few years.

We originally registered for a Villeroy and Boch china set, but decided to take it off. We are both clumsy and the idea of fine china kind of got to us after a while. We didn't register for crystal or silver, but some of my grandmother's friends still gave us a few pieces, which I love. Our casual china is Emma from Pottery Barn and I love it! My husband didn't really understand the concept of why we needed 12 place settings- until we had a big party and just about ran out of plates. Sometimes having a full set is a nice thing!

My grandmother and mom both have full sets of china, crystal and silver and that is one of the reasons I didn't register for them. Granted, I would be the happiest person in the world if I didn't inherit those pieces for a very very very long time!!

I didn't register for china/silverware/crystal when we got married two years ago.

However, now the house we own has a ginormous dining room, complete with an antique, built-in hutch. Every few weeks I check out Craigslist and see all of the people selling their wedding china that they "never use." Too bad for them, because before the holidays, I'm going to buy one of these sets for cheap.

Sooner, we hope to swap out our hideous "mix-n-match," hand-me-down casual plates for a sturdy matching set of Corelle's white square plates.

We registered for Lenox's Pearl Innocence and got almost all of the pieces. I wanted something that would last us for years and that didn't look too trendy.

Our everyday china is Mikasa's Italian Countryside which is casual but has detailing that could also be used as our "fancy" china if needed.

We were gifted heirloom china and silver on the condition that we not only actually use it, but put it in the dishwasher. I have to admit that we only break out the silver for company or when we run out of mismatched stainless, but we use the china every day. I love it and I'm so grateful that it came with those conditions so that I wasn't tempted to squirrel it away!

Our Christofle silverplate is used every day and goes through the dishwasher (segregated from stainless steel implements). It shows no marked ill effects from the regime. I polish it about three times a year which takes perhaps 15 minutes.
I subscribe to theory that things you touch often should provide a small daily treat. (now..about that washbasin faucet....)

I love denby's Imperial Blue but I'm literally drowning in china - my mother and grandmother paint it, and me too. 16 place settings of Symphony, 16 of a hand paint I've done, 8 of a hand paint my mom did, 16 of an Occupied Japanese design I've never seen anywhere else. And a table that'll seat ten in my 700 sq foot apartment. I doubt I'll register for anything, but I'm going to be acquiring the Denby anyways :)

I love china !! So does my husband !!

When we got married a year ago, I already had a casual set we loved; so we took a month finding a great china that would be formal, but not too much. My husband finally found it at J L Coquet, Limoges (France). It's very modern, yet still features the white center and a very, very large, platinum rim. But the proportion and the look are just incredibly modern.

We use it eveytime someone comes over, because some of the plates have only a white textured rim, so it's less formal, but shows off the food beautifully. I'm a sucker for white and sometimes, I love cooking.

I'm also on the inheritage line for a 24 complete set of St Louis' glasses, a huge Loux (traditionnal Alsacian) plates set, including some very old pieces and some original ones, and about two classical, 1950's tradionnal wedding china sets. That's just on my side of the family.

The house we just bought will never ever have enough closets...

Yes! I registered for Rosenthal's studio line moon white series and have been using it every day for years. It's refined enough, modernist and sculptural, to be elegant for dinner parties -- and reasonably priced enough to use every day -- and you can mix with other white pieces.
It makes me happy every time I use it.

nope. we returned the few pieces that were purchased off our registry after our wedding (realized it was a mistake the registry people 'strongly recommended' we do). ending up getting my parents set which we use exactly once a year for Thanksgiving. I guess I prefer our casual, bright dishes. It's cheaper to buy multiple sets and mix and match.

Yes, we got a simple white on white geometric pattern with a very thin platinum edge that works well for holiday meals or fun fancy breakfasts. We only pull it out 3-4 times a year, but I'm sure glad we got it!

After a few years of using our Lenox Solitaire only for birthdays, holidays, and dinner parties, I decided to abandon the notion that they should be cherished for posterity...it's just stuff, after all...so, I keep them on an open shelf in the kitchen and use them regularly. If they break, so be it...It will be one more thing I don't have to transport some day. Sometimes, my dog enjoys his kibbles on a Lenox cake plate if there's nothing else available. So what.

@anaximander, JEALOUS of your Denby! I used to work in a china section of a department store and I lusted after the Denby everyday. Imperial Blue was getting really hard to find when I worked there, but it was such a beautiful colour!

I've had Lenox Solitaire for 22 years. My mom advised me to pick something classic, and she was right. I still love it, it still looks perfect with in my more modern dining room. I don't use it every day (two teenagers who stuff the dishwasher full), but do pull it out for every holiday and birthday, so at least once a month.

We registered for Wedgwood White, not expecting to get any. Much to our surprise, one generous family friend bought us 8 place settings.

We use them every day, and have only broken two salad plates in 8 years. They are readily replaceable, fortunately.

They are simple and elegant, and can be livened up with more colorful accessories when the need arises.

I'm getting married next week, but didn't register for any China for the same reason binks said. I've been living with my fiance for a year and a half and when we moved in, my boss gave us silverware from Crate & Barrel as a housewarming present. I think any additional china is just not a necessity for us.

I never married, but for a while, my grandma's wedding china (ca 1930) was my everyday crockery. I left it to my brother when he took over the flat, recovered it when he left. By that time, I'd treated myself to dishwasher and microwave compatible plates, but they still make an appearance when's there's a crowd for dinner here.

My mother passed in '99. I got married in '06 and my dad passed their china, glassware (not crystal) and silverware down to us. We use it, but with a little one we don't use it as often as we'd like. It will shift as she grows. I ate off this china on every major holiday and family gathering growing up and love seeing it in my cabinet now. In fact, our wedding cake incorporated the china's design.

Didn't bother with it. If we had, it would have cost more than the rest of the items on our registry combined. I'd rather our friends and family give us things we'll use on a daily basis.

I always thought it was important to register for china, since it's not something you're likely to buy for yourself (you'll go out and buy a new pot if you need one). That being said, I already had some white Rosenthal china that I used everyday and some gold banded Wedgwood from my mother when I got married. Instead of registering for a full set of something new, I picked out some colorful accent plates to complement the other two patterns.

I love China, so I try to break out the good stuff as much as possible, and it's easy since it mixes so easily with my white. Mixing patterns also feels less formal to me, but I still get to appreciate the good quality materials.

Wedding?

Who says you have to get married to have nice china??????

My spouse and I picked out Denby china (via Macy's) as our only china because we knew we'd be moving at least three times in the first 5 years of our marriage and didn't want to cart around "everyday" and "fancy" sets of dishes. The Denby is amazing -- we love using it every day (we have the "fire" collection, about 30 pieces now). It's beautiful every time I look at it. And very durable! Just as an example, my clumsy husband has only barely chipped one piece of the Denby while washing dishes; in contrast, he's broken over 25 glasses and we haven't even been married two years. We're dedicated to only buying glasses at Ikea now.

HA! No, DOUBLE HA!

I *wish* I could use my wedding set, but we only received two settings before it was flat-out DISCONTINUED (excuse me, I believe I can still purchase a salad plate and a bowl). We pull out the "set" on our anniversary because we can't use it any other time. It's too bad, because it's really pretty.

Never registered for anything, and I certainly wouldn't have registered for china. There are way too many other things I would rather have than elegant plates I'd seldom use.

I've always loved the Classic Century dinnerware from Crate and Barrel, so when we got married we registered for that, and all of the serving pieces to go with. We use it daily, and the serving dishes also see frequent use.

I can't quite see paying the money for fine china - it's a plate! Very beautiful plates, but still, there are other things I would rather have.

Our vintage Noritake china cam from my mom, who found it at a Salvation Army of all places. It's a simple pattern -just gold rims from the 50's and I looove it and use it often when we have people over for dinner.

I recently registered for mine and I registered for a fun casual set and a *usable* china pattern. It's pricey, but dishwasher, freezer and microwave safe (aka no completely useless metal bands or designs) BUT its a reeeally fun pattern I'm fully planning on using as our primary set of

dishes.http://www.lenox.com/index.cfm?franchise=simply&cat=chocolate

It looks like chocolate swirled around a plate. How fun is that?

I love mine, and the great part is that we don't save it for special occasions...or at least not what others might think are special such as "wahoo i finished dinner before 8 pm" or "lets celebrate the dog has had an accident in two weeks" or "my husband sure is cute" or "sweet Jesus i need something, anything to brighten my day"

Life is all about making it special and sometimes that means china and sometimes it means eating right out of the carton.

Its so traditional and feel like its the domesticated humans way as their parents and parents before them all have nice china. Not anything against people that have it, but no way in hell I'll ever have lame, never used, waste of space, gaudy china! I'd rather have nicer-than-I-would everyday dishes/glasses/flatware that I can enjoy everyday and always feel good about using and enjoying.

China is way over rated.

20 years ago we reluctantly selected a china set. We got settings for 12 and I absolutely love them. I never thought I would, but they are colorful and beautiful and make meals feel special.

Unfortunately, the design was retired and replacements cost a fortune, so I do worry about breaking pieces. I keep hoping to find someone selling their set (it's Christian Dior's Tabriz) at an affordable price on craigslist or at a yard sale so I can buy serving pieces and replacements, and possibly even have enough to pass to each of my kids.

If you pick china, PLEASE get at least 2 extra of each plate & bowl. Almost no one I know uses their cups & saucers, especially if they are the wide, shallow kind that let your coffee or tea get cold quickly.

On a related note, we have broken every last crystal glass we've ever had, and are relieved. We hated washing them, storing them, & worrying about them. It's inexpensive wine glasses from now on, so no one feels bad about breaking them.