If I knew then what I know now, I ...

... never would have wasted $$ buying chinaware ... I can count the times I've used it - in 30 years - on my left hand fingers, and have fingers left over

it is now taking up room in a kitchen cabinet, packed away, not easily accessible - it must be hand washed, just not worth all the trouble

if we have a large group of people over - it's quality paperware instead of chinaware that is used

I doubt if either of my kid's families would be interested in having it, either - I'll ask, but ??? what a waste!!!

I know what you mean. I stopped using chinaware years ago and now use a set of Corel and have been using it for years. It's a cute little set that was given to me as a gift cuz I asked for it, lol. Try putting an ad in the local paper or if you're into E-bay, try selling it there.

Yep, heard that before too! It's still such a tradition for people to get fancy china for their wedding too. If you're not going to use it, then why bother?
Hopefully you can sell it on Ebay.

My mother got a full set of Noritake china when she got married, 52 years ago. It has never been used. It is absolutely gorgeous. My father traded cigarettes for a beautiful Dresden tea set, when he was stationed in Germany 55 (?) years ago. It's never been used either. Neither my sister nor I have a dining room, or even any place to store it, neither of us are married, and neither of us have children, so we don't need it either. I told my folks that they should have both sets appraised and try to sell them.

If yours isn't something that you will pass on to children, you might want to consider doing the same.

DH and I kind of cheated on the chinaware since when we went to look at it it really wasn't us and we weren't willing to give up space in our then tiny apartment to store it. We ended up getting nice stoneware instead and it's great. Microwaveable and in can go in the dishwasher. Honestly, it's not our china so much as the 'nice' set of dishes that we eat on when we feel like it or when people are over, or whenever we run out of our regular dishes and the dishwasher hasn't been turned on yet.

A bunch of my relatives looked at us like we were nuts when we did this, but I've never regretted it. Hopefully you can find something to do with your set.

I love china! I don't have a set, as I don't have a butler's pantry or china cabinet, but as soon as I get either, I'm buying. Not for use, just for looks. It may not be practical, but it's so pretty!

I don't have any, and I don't want any. I do have a nice set of Corel and will probably get a different set in the future - but that's as high priced as I go. I'm actually going to have to go buy more glasses today because I broke yet another one... and that's the story of breakable things in my house.

If you don't use it and don't have space, you could also try asking friends and family if they or anyone they know could use a very nice set. Either sell it to them for a fair price or consider it a good deed and give away.

I have never understood the whole "good" china thing. I use Corel, and when the cats break one, I buy another one. Plain white all the way.
My idiot sister collect sets of china. Some of them are beautiful, but what the heck does someone who is single and never entertains need with 8 sets of china?
I hope you can find someone who will appreciate your set and find it a good home. Ebay is a wonderful thing.

Ours is still packed away from when we moved here 5 years ago

We have nice stoneware and some pretty but normal plate sets we use

I will be acquiring two sets of china in a couple of months. One from each side of the family. I drew the line there because I could have accepted more that one set from each side of the family. I will probably never use them, but I feel that I should help keep part of my family history. One of the sets that I will be getting is over 80yrs old.

for my wedding we got exactly 4 place settings of the china I registered for, Im not really into that stuff but mom made me put it on and if I did then my sisters would have chosen for me! So I got this beautiful china but thankfully not a whole set we have them in our china cabinet and we never use them. We have just enough to make the cabinet look pretty without losing storage space in the bottom drawers. Also another thing we got and i never use...silverware...like the stuff you have to polish.

I have a nice set of stoneware dished that DH and i bought ourselves when we moved in together and we also bought flatware that suits us just fine.. Oh well my grandparents giving a full set of silverware is a family tradition so I wasn't about to argue with them.

Funny I should see this now. My MIL just informed me on Saturday that I am to receive her china. It's a beautiful Royal Doulton pattern that my husband and SIL spent years buying for her. She and I are doing some baking together this Saturday and while we are baking my DH will pack her china and we are taking it home with us. I will say that she used her china quite often. And so will I.

I have my great-grandmother's china as well. She had two patterns (one is Blue Willow) and they're both gorgeous. I don't use them as they are definitely antique and should not be used.

I have three sets of everyday dishes and they all get used. My normal everyday dishes are Fiesta; we have a set for 14, in the different colors, plus the serving pieces. It's very festive with all the colors on the table; we'll be using that for our Easter dinner since we'll probably have about 12 people for dinner.

During the summer, we use our Pfaltzgraff Evening Sun dishes because they're so bright and cheery. Just perfect for those summer months. I only have a service for 5 people and I don't have a lot of the serving pieces in that pattern, but we're working on that.

I also have my Pfaltzgraff Winterberry set that I use for the winter, again for 14 people. I get them out in November and use them until around the end of February. I have many, many of the serving pieces and other pieces to my Winterberry set. My MIL always gives me something to add to the set every Christmas. And I enjoy shopping on ebay for pieces, too.

We also have a small collection of dessert plates. Some with a cute Thanksgiving design. DH gave me an adorable set of Halloween dessert plates several years ago, with pumpkins, black cats, and great big yellow moons. They're so cute and just perfect for pieces of gingerbread or slices of cake.

So yeah, I have a big assortment of dishes. And, with the exception of my great-grandmother's china, they all get used at one time or another throughout the year.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I don't have any, and I don't want any. I do have a nice set of Corel and will probably get a different set in the future - but that's as high priced as I go. I'm actually going to have to go buy more glasses today because I broke yet another one... and that's the story of breakable things in my house.

If you don't use it and don't have space, you could also try asking friends and family if they or anyone they know could use a very nice set. Either sell it to them for a fair price or consider it a good deed and give away.

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As you see in my post, I also use Corel and love it. I have loads of kitchen cabinet space but don't really need or want chinaware. What I would like tho is a set of square Corel dishes. I love that shape dish and have been looking for them in Walmart, so far haven't found any.

Willow, that's cool that you actually use all your china! It's obviously quite a collection. I can understand the sentimental value of keeping something that has been in your family for so long too.
I like to collect pottery, but I only buy stuff that I will actually use. I don't have the space to store decorative items, nor the occasion to use fancy servingware so it's practical pieces only for me, and our everyday dishes are just ordinary stoneware.

I got a complete set (12 place settings and all the accessories) for my first marriage. I actually did use it a lot when I was married to him. I gifted it to my niece-in-law when she got married (she loved the pattern). They she got divorced. I told her to just sell it and get it out of the family.

I'm now sitting on my grandmother's set that is probably 80 years old that I've never used. I'm hoping that one of my niece's wants it, otherwise I will sell it. No idea of the manufacturer on this one - the back of the plates say "made in Japan".

I have a great respect for china and the patterns ... It stems from working in college in the china and housewares section of a fine department store ... Also from my grandma letting me drink out of tea cups and saucers as a small child on up ...

I have quite the teacup collection but as a single gal I just do not need the 3 sets of china I have inherited: I have grandmas , great grandmas( this should be about 100 years old) and great aunts plus Mom bought Fancy stemware .. I will be selling the sets and keeping just the odd pieces I bought over the years.

Originally Posted by GloriaJH

... never would have wasted $$ buying chinaware ... I can count the times I've used it - in 30 years - on my left hand fingers, and have fingers left over

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One of the first big arguments Dottie and I had was about her purchase of a set of Revere Ware with a set of china "thrown in." Well, we're still using the Revere ware (37 years later) and the china is still around. It gets used once or twice a year, and a number of the pieces are chipped, now.

I know what you mean about the china-ware just sitting in the cabinets taking up space. My mom keeps trying to give me hers, but I won't take it. Now my future Mother-In-Law wants to give us her china set too. I live in a small 1 bedroom apartment and I don't even have enough room for all of my own REGULAR dinnerware and with a kitchen table that seats no more than 3 people. Where am I going to store a china set? Or better question, when I am going to use a service for 12 china set in my tiny apartment that seats 3 people at the kitchen table? lol

Originally Posted by sharky

I have a great respect for china and the patterns ... It stems from working in college in the china and housewares section of a fine department store ... Also from my grandma letting me drink out of tea cups and saucers as a small child on up ...

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Oh I have a love of teacups, just not the rest of the set