It is pretty evident that the next generations after Baby Boomers are progressively less and less interested in china. If a Boomer offers china to their kids, they need to be prepared for “no thanks” or the like. However, special china is still being offered for Christmas, Chanukah, Thanksgiving, Easter, Passover, the Fourth of July, etc. If younger folk do not want this stuff, they must be marketing to Boomers. I am a Boomer, aged 75. My emails from WS think I must be a ripe target for Easter dishes festooned with bunnies and such. This may not merit a response, but I am shocked that a savvy company like WS keeps marketing this sort of stuff. There must be a bunch of closet Gen Z china geeks out there, or a lot of china bound for resale at pennies on the dollar. About thirty years ago we had a home with loads of storage and a small collection of Christmas dishes. They were used less than a handful of times, just like china patterns newlyweds used to get. It was a no brainer for us that putting the everyday dishes in the DW was far better than hand washing and drying, and then storing, rarely used china after slogging through making a large meal. Do any Onions still use, buy, or think of buying special dishes? Does a pastel plate with a bunny and some eggs spark joy? If you ever had any special occasion dishes, do you still have them?
I don’t have any good “China”, but I do have some dishes that I use for special occasions. Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. and when Sunshine and I have company over. I also have some nice silverware & wine glasses tucked away for company, as well.
I had mentioned in another thread that I broke one of my “bread plates” from this set. I’ve been keeping an eye out for a replacement. I found something close that I’ll use if we have company.
But yes, I do like to bring out the nice stuff for company!!
That is a good looking set. Somehow I do not see you setting the table with rounded, scalloped rim plates with flowers around the border and pastel eggs in the center, flanking a bunny.
I always break out my special paper plates for those special occasions.
The good plastic forks as well.
No expenses spared in this household.
I’m a boomer and I’ve got roomfuls of special. Plain white dinnerware seems sad, sophisticated I’m not. I sit up straight when a fancy teacup appears in a TV scene (lots in British shows). Happy Easter!
Aww, this is really cute! I bet you that for some families, a few nostalgic dishes would be gladly accepted here or there.
I’m practical and just want functional food vessels, and I don’t like hosting dinner parties. When friends and family come over, they eat off mismatched plates and bowls, or they use paper plates so I’m definitely one of these later generations.
But I keep a set of Corelle plates from my parents, and this hideous brown and orange set because I would otherwise have no plates when people come over. They do remind me of my childhood though, so I don’t intend to replace these. I actually eat out of bowls and smaller rimmed plates on most nights (and the occasional soup noodle bowl), so those plates from the 70s/80s only comes out during special occasions.
Do any Onions still use, buy, or think of buying special dishes?
No. In fact, I don’t really remember using special dishes , but I had an aunt who kept a table set with them during various holiday seasons.
Oh, and MIL has a turkey platter with a turkey on it.
What is WS?
Wlliams-Sonoma?
I’m Gen X. I got some Corelle and some china (mom’s second husband was looking to unload the wedding set from the first wife). I sent the china, with the exception of some sandwich size plates and dessert bowls, to Goodwill. The Corelle gets used almost daily, although the dishwasher has removed most of the design from the rim of the plates. I also have some stoneware pasta bowls that started life a somewhat vibrant green and are now a more dull, matte green-gray because of the dishwasher. Those china sandwich plates and bowls also have had much of their delicate floral rim designs washed off via the dishwasher at this point. So, I think my priority right now are nice dishes that hold up in the dishwasher. I look at some nicer, glazed stoneware from time to time, as well as having some glazed bowls for ramen. The ramen bowls get washed by hand. Doing dishes, beyond pots and pans, is not a favored task. So, anything new I pick up will need to be able to have a finish that holds up in the dishwasher or it is not worth it to me.
I think many younger people probably do, they just don’t want their parents’ stuff.
They think you are alive and have a working email address.
I think many contributors to HO have aged out of those kinds of holiday dishes, but many have not and want to make holidays special for their families, especially their kids. I’m 69 and my mom used to make a bunny cake with coconut fur and serve it on a platter that looked like an Easter egg every year. I remember that, and it brings back fond memories of my momma.
Any theories about that? It’s making me curious with regard to new designs. It also makes me think that trading might be popular.
What are some venues one might go for that? We mostly talk about venues for cars and motorcycles in this house.
Nope. Never had them, never will. Basic stoneware when I first set out on my own back in the late 1970s; then blue/yellow/white patterned plates from Pier 1 Imports that had a strong Italian feel to them. I finally graduated to simple white porcelain plates with a lined rim that I got on deep discount from the Christmas Tree Shop. A set of 10 for just over $100. Works for me.
My Mom gave me her silver (or her mother’s - can’t remember) and my sister got the other set. I will NEVER use them, as I have regular flatware I use (that I purchased ages ago at Lechmere before they went out of business).
The ONLY “special” dishes I have are antique white ironstone platters and serving bowls (stamped on the bottoms with various makers from England) and a single antique flow blue covered serving dish I purchased in Ireland back in 2002 (and wrapped in all of my old dirty clothes before packing to come back to the States - and it survived!) The platters and serving dishes get used semi-regularly; the flow blue dish comes out if I’m having family over for a meal (not that often, since it’s just my sister and BIL now).
But Easter bunny or chickie dishes, or St. Patrick’s Day, or Thanksgiving or Christmas dishes? Nope.
Much like our home. WS Brasserie is great for everything, and it goes in dishwashers and microwaves. We have some very plain stainless, but we use great grandmother’s silver when there is a big crowd.
I think my flatware came from a stainless steel set I found at TJ Maxx (other than the pieces that came with BF, those are light weight and probably from a supermarket). I don’t think we even had real silver stuff in the house when I was a kid.
I’m Gen X .
Most of my cohort don’t collect china but I do. Most people I know who got married in the 90s and early 2000s still registered for a more formal china pattern and a more durable daily china pattern. The family weddings I went to from 2008-2019, mostly Millenial weddings, they wanted money and didn’t register as much. When they did register, it was for towels and pots and pans, and not Denby, Royal Doulton or Rosenthal.
Out my many Boomer relatives (25 first cousins and their 25 spouses), maybe 1/10 value heirlooms.
There are niche secondary markets online and in stores, for people who have want to unload or collect.
Some of my relatives are obsessed with vintage CorningWare.
I use special occasion items and the good china at Christmas, NYE, Easter and during the summer. Also the good china and silverware for birthdays at home.
In terms of the silver platters, those are used for company. We haven’t been entertaining lately.
It’s probably been 10 years since we hosted a dinner and used the silver platters at Xmas or NYE. We do use the cutlery a few times a year.
Most recently, I bought an Italian dish with dogs on it, 2 years ago, a few weeks after my dog died.
I use it a lot.
My inner child is jealous of your bunny cake. I have been tempted to buy that mold but I don’t really like cake and I have no children in my life to justify it. Lack of storage space and dislike of clutter prevents me from making all kinds of questionable purchases. I don’t entertain at home anymore so I have no use for formal china. I have some appetizer type dishware that I like to use to make cocktail hour on the deck feel more celebratory. After a day working out in the yard a few snacks served on my plate that has a big poppy on it brings me a small amount of joy.
Late Boomer here (1961). For a few years, our “good dishes” came from Ikea, whereas our “everyday dishes” were melamine plates that you could custom design a pattern on some special paper, send it to some outfit that would transfer the design to the plate. Our spawns must have done a couple dozen plates when they were little.
I have no idea what I’m going to do when my mom passes. She still has a lot of mismatched everyday dishes from when I was a kid, the good china she inherited from her mother-in-law, and a boatload of mismatched china and crap from her own mother, too, both western and Asian (Chinese and Japanese).
I’m a boomer. I have collections of pink, and blue transferware that I’ve accumulated over the years from my grandparents and flea markets. I love it and use it for everything, everyday and otherwise. We’ve never bought any holiday-specific dishes, although my daughter and I made a lamb cake for Easter once which was hilarious-looking. I also have my grandparents’ sterling in the back of a closet. Never use it, but do use a combination of sterling and stainless in the same Reed & Barton 1800 pattern. I just don’t put them in the dishwasher.
Gen X here.
I have plain white dishes (WS Brasserie, Cellar Whiteware and some other brand from Home Goods I can’t remember) for everyday. I will also use these on holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas when we eat indoors. Summer entertaining calls for nice paper or plastic dishes for eating outdoors as I don’t want to worry about breakage.
I would rather use decorative/seasonal tablecloths and fresh flowers instead of special dishes for holidays. I don’t really have the space for several sets of dishes, and it’s much easier to store a few tablecloths. I do have a “better” set of flatware that I use for guests–it’s not silver, just a heavier stainless set that’s a bit more decorative.
I won’t buy any dinnerware that cannot go into the dishwasher. I’m already handwashing the enameled cast iron pots and pans so I’m not doing dishes too.
I agree. I have many pieces of Le Creuset stoneware serving and baking dishes in a bunch of colors. I will put out the reds at Christmas, and the light blue/yellow at Easter to match the tablecloth.
