Let's DISH about Christmas

(This plate is missing the teddy bear)

When my daughters were growing up.... I had a lovely 45-piece set of Spode dishes and assorted matching casserole pieces for Christmas... because back then, we entertained. If memory serves me... the design of the dishes featured a holiday tree. Underneath it were wrapped presents and a cute cuddly teddy bear. My hubby thought the set of dishes was juvenile and didn’t like them. So when the children grew up and family members passed away. I bought a cheap 16-piece set of dishes at Kmart to appease him. Cost me $50. The dinner plates were white, but the salad plates and bowls had one tiny little poinsettia on them. So, they were minimally festive. I really didn’t like them but it’s what was available on my budget, at the time. That was years ago. The old Spode dishes were carefully packed away and forgotten. However, a couple years ago, before Covid, I came across the original Spode dishes. I asked my daughters if they wanted them? My youngest prefers more modernistic, abstract items and passed on the Spode set. But my oldest is all about soft, cuddly teddy bears and loved them. Reminded her of her childhood. I thought that was sweet. So she lugged all the dishes home to her house. I told her if she wanted, she could downsize the set, keep half and sell the others, pocketing the change. This made my husband mad, 'cause he said we could have sold all of them and kept the money ourselves. Truth be told just one Spode plate is going for a pretty penny on eBay, these days. Maybe I should have listened to my husband?? Anyway, with the Kmart set also packed away and missing in action. I now had no holiday plates. Hubby said we didn’t need them. I said we did. But rather go in search of a new set of dishes, I did what I do best. I went thrifting. I found four snowman dinner plates and two salad plates. For a total of $3.99 they came home with me. A few weeks later, I found some bowls that sorta matched and purchased them too.

Since we seldom if ever have company for dinner, anymore... I just needed place settings for two, him and I. So I was all set for Christmas back then. If we did have visitors, I'd just use the everyday Corelle plates (we also have) with festive napkins, even though the combination would look mismatched. When the Pandemic hit a few years later, the Snowman dishes were still serving us well. Just the two of us. But now, as we are seemingly coming out of the darkness into the light, I wanted something different this year. Though the snowman plates are great, they are also heavy, very heavy. I have neuropathy in my hands and handling them can be a chore at times. While there are only a few, it still rains havoc on my poor hands. So… back to the thrift store I went in 2021. My hubby saw no reason to change the status quo, but I did. It took about a month, but back in September, suddenly there appeared a sweet set of Christmas dishes in Goodwill.They were the color of snow, outlined with vines of ivy and berries and a few scattered poinsettias. I instantly liked them. The dishes were delicate and manageable for my hands too. The set included four dinner plates. Four salad plates and four soup bowls. Each bundle of four cost $1.99 for a total cost of $5.97. Which more than fit my budget. Can you believe it??? I was thrilled beyond belief. I love them. And since it looks like one of our daughters… might be coming home for Christmas this year… because of a travel assignment. (first time we'll see each other in three years) We’ll all have matching plates for the BIG holiday dinner. ‘You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes. You get what you need.’   

Do you have special HOLIDAY dishes 

that you use once a year or throughout the season???