Registry and Gift Forum

Did you register for "fancy china"

So my Mom has asked me to register for the shower she is having for me and if any wedding guests want to give a gift.  I'm just curious how many of you registered for fancy china?  
FI and I entertain a lot and love to cook but I'm really not sure I need fancy stuff that I only pull out on holidays.  Think it's cool to register for good everyday stuff?
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Re: Did you register for "fancy china"

  • I think you should register for what you want. I didn't register for china because I already own a Christmas set and a really nice nearly complete set I found in an antique store. I did register for some really nice crystal instead. If you think you may want nice entertaining pieces, then now is the time to get them. Some people don't because they feel they will never use them, don't entertain, or don't have the room. My sister registered for formal china and received almost all of her place settings and some of the serving pieces as gifts.



  • We registered for fancy china and for everyday dining. I was amazed when we got it all (or were able to get it with gift cards).
  • If you think you will use it (and you said you entertain a lot) then I say go for it. This is one of the very few times when people most likely WANT to buy you a nice gift, so I don't see anything wrong with registering for fine china.

    My FI and I registered for everyday dishes and fine china, plus serving pieces.

    Find reasons other than holidays to pull it out, or consider getting a simpler design that won't look out of place if you decide to use it for a dinner party with friends.

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  • No fancy china for me. We registered for everyday dinnerware. I think fancy china is silly. 
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  • I did...and have yet to use it. But I am looking forward to the day I will get to set it up all pretty. I was back and forth about doing it, but ultimately found one I liked and I knew it was a traditional piece. We actually got all 12 sets too. Right now it just looks pretty in our hutch, but hopefully I get to use it one day! To me it was one of those things where I knew I would never buy it for myself and I felt I would regret it later down the road. I know I will not use it a lot, but I am glad I have it. We already had our everyday dishes (my mom bought them for us for christmas before I officially registered) so since I did not need the every day, I went with the china.
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    Anniversary
  • We registered for one nice set of dishes that work well for everyday and for special occasions (Crate and Barrel Aspen).
  • We registered for both casual dishes and fancy china!!!  My Aunts were so excited that I registered for China that I got nearly all of it.  Haven't used it yet, but am excited to pull it out for special occasions :)
  • emmyg65 said:
    We registered for one nice set of dishes that work well for everyday and for special occasions (Crate and Barrel Aspen).
    This is what we originally registered for, but we (really me) switched to Macy's Hotel Collection Bone China.
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  • nope!    I don't really care to have it and didn't see it as something I wanted.  I registered for some nice everyday dishes so I'd have a complete set (which I didn't have already) .

     

  • We knew my mom was planning on giving us her wedding china (since it lost its sentimental value for her when she and my dad divorced), so we just registered for Fiesta for everyday stuff. We got the china from my mom a little over a month ago. No idea when we'll use it, especially since we don't have a complete set. But it looks pretty in our china cabinet.
    Anniversary
  • Nope!

    Plus, both our sets of parents have more china than they know what to do with. When the sad times come, it'll all be ours.  
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  • No, but only because I purchased formal china myself several years ago. And I bust those bad boys out every time we have people over for dinner and when we celebrate birthdays or our anniversary. Most fine china these days is dishwasher safe and they're also usually the most durable kind of dishes you can get. I use mine at least a couple times a month.
  • I'm very traditional, and also love to cook and entertain. I plan to register for nice china because even though I may not use it as much now, some day when I have my own family I'm sure I will! However, I think I'm definitely in the minority because none of my friends have registered for china for their weddings.
  • Nope.  DH is a plain white dish guy. He says food should not compete with patterns on a dish.   It was non-negoatible for him.   


    We have fun shapes of white plates.   And if you think about it they never go out of style.

      I also have xmas plates I got from my parents years before I met DH.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • Our everyday dishes are plain white.  Like @lyndausvi, we like to highlight the food.  We bring in color with table linens.  We do have a set of china given as a gift.....perhaps the most popular pattern sold.  I love it and we use it for special (and some not particularly special) occasions. But if you you will never use the good stuff, there's no sense in registering for it. 
  • I have yet to have a friend register for china lol but I am! I love to cook and entertain. We are also very family oriented and our families host large dinners around the holidays. As both of the oldest siblings, I'm sure one day we will be hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter dinner one day and will need nice place settings. Also, we already own our home so we have the daily plates, bowls, etc. And, the China pattern we picked is dishwasher safe :)
  • I wasn't going to (when I was engaged) because I already have my grandparents' wedding china, and I will have my parents at some point.  So there was no need to register for it.  My plan was to register for a couple everyday patterns, and a ton of clear glass plates to use for entertaining. I, too, prefer white plates. I think they show off the food best.  I also want a Christmas pattern.
  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited November 2014
    Dish styles go through cycles.  In the early 1970's, all my friends were registering for casual pottery dish sets instead of fine China.  Fifteen years later, they regretted it because fancy china was back in style.  Currently pottery is back in.
    I'm getting out my Wedgwood china service next week for Thanksgiving dinner.  Glad I got it all those years ago.  It is also great for having formal teas or coffees.
    One tip - anything with a gold or silver rim should not be washed in the dishwasher because the metal erodes.
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  • Register for the fancy stuff. Who says you can only use it on holidays? China is very durable, more so than the stoneware your everyday stuff is. We use the fancy china whenever we have anyone over, even if we are serving burgers, and they always like it. Friends say it makes them feel special that we pull out the good stuff for them even though we see each other all the time.
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  • We regstered for crystal, but not china. My mom already has three sets of china that are beautiful, so it seemed unnecessary for us to buy more.
    "There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." -Friedrich Nietzsche, "On Reading and Writing"
  • I have a partial set of Lenox mediterra. It is china but I use it for every day. It holds up really well and is more durable than cheaper stuff. Unfortunately it has been discontinued. I have toyed with using eBay to finish it out. Some china is truly fine, the type that is hand painted or whatnot, but good china really holds up well. 
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  • There are two basic types of fine China.

    1.  Porcelain.  This is most often produced in France, Germany and Japan.  It is white and very strong.  It can be washed in the dishwasher as long as all decorations are underneath the glaze, and not hand painted on top of it.   Do not put dishes with metal rims in the dishwasher.

    2.  Bone china:  This is the china that is most often made in England.  The clay is mixed with animal bone, which gives it strength.  It is very white.  If the mixture isn't completely homogenous, the piece can break easily, though.  This happened with an expensive piece of mine, and Wedgwood replaced it.  Lennox makes bone china in the USA, and sometimes dyes it a cream color.


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  • edited June 2015
  • We did at the store, but as I thought about it I realized it could be years and years before we had a hutch for it, let alone used it. Also, while maybe 1 or 2 people would buy it, no one else would, and then our gift money would have to cover buying the rest of the set. So once we got home I deleted it off the registry, and I don't regret it at all.

    I did keep the fancy silver serving sets on the registry, and received them ; we received so many nice platters and quality casserole dishes that I figured they were worth it.

    I also didn't register for any crystal, because I frankly don't like the look of it.
    haha, our China sits in a deep cabinet above the refrigerator.  I guess we could get a hutch for the dining room, but the room isn't super big and it would start to look cramped.  We used the china last weekend and plan on using again for company this weekend.  If we waited for special events, we'd rarely use it.  
  • We registered for fine China and have used it many times since we were married 7 years ago.   The pattern is very simple (Kilbarry Platinum by Waterford) and timeless.   The great thing is that we were given 15 place settings and we have had 15 people over for nicer meals when it was used.    I grew up in a family where the fine China was brought out for holidays and using it was part of the prode of hostessing.   
  • I entertain a fair bit but I already have an everyday set and another set I reserve for company (not fine china), so I'm not registering for more. I don't have storage for it, most of the fine stuff from the major brands is godawfully ugly to my taste, and so it would be a terrible, terrible waste of money for me to buy something different when I already have nice, matching stuff that suits my style for entertaining.

    I really just don't get the need to register for more things when all of my housewares are good quality, in good condition, and not even out of style or anything. I don't need to "upgrade" if the stuff I have is already more than serviceable, I think. It seems so wasteful.

    For other people, though...if you don't have it, need to replace it, or will use it, go for it. China is one of those things that no one is ever going to side-eye on a registry, so put down whatever suits your lifestyle, whether that's a new set of everyday dishes, a set of china for entertaining, or both.

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  • Can't you put both everyday dishes and china on the list?  It's always good to have china if you entertain and want your guests to feel special.  
  • We only registered for everyday dishes-2 sets; one more fun and the other just a nice plain set. We don't live near our family, so we don't really entertain or anything, so we felt china would absolutely never get used. 
  • I did, but I'm still trying to decide if I want to keep it. My Mom has some family china and literally only takes it out on Thanksgiving and Easter.

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  • Fine china, no.

    But I love to cook, and we have lots of people over a lot. So I chose durable and high quality dishware available in open stock. This means from a maker who will keep it available for years so 5 years from now I can buy more to match it. Also, it is sold by the piece as well as in whole place settings.

    Not real expensive. Classic white with a raised basket weave pattern around the flat outer edges.

    I did find a couple of serving platters and candlesticks and pitchers that would really dress up the plain dishes, for fancy entertaining. And I listed out our table sizes with and without leaves for extra seats. Then picked both every day and fancy damask table cloths.
    We got 18 place settings, plus 60 large and small plates and 60 of 2 shapes of bowls, and 20 extra coffee mugs. For what 12 place settings of fine china would have cost. I think expensive stuff rarely used is ridiculous for our rural lifestyle.
    We have had 60 to 70 guests on many occasions, sometimes half kids, without a broken dish. The better than average quality plan dishes have been worth every penny, 8 years now.

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