Hosting - what crockery to buy?

[Coffeehouse22]

Hi - I've always avoided hosting guests as it makes me sooo anxious but I've decided I need to get over this and be a lot more sociable going forward and become a fabulous host :)

I need to start by stocking up on dishes as mine are all mismatched and chipped and I don't really have a lot...really clueless on what to get. Any tips on essentials for hosting please? (E.g. how many dinner plate sets, pasta bowls, wine and prosecco glasses, serving bowls etc to get)? TIA x

Oh by the way at home it's just me, DH and 2 DC x

How many people would you be expecting to host?

@Knittedfairies - sorry I should have said...probably around 6 people

I wouldn't over think or overspend, do you have an ikea near you? Just get 6 plain white plates, bowls and side plates and plain wine glasses. L. 3 or 4 serving dishes (with lids is good... Tkmaxx is great for simple good quality). I've never been one for dressing up the table, it all gets in the way of the eating. Paper napkins are easy, I have cloth for daily use but cannot be faffed ironing for guests so the paper ones become special in my house.

Asda always seems to have at least one nice 16 piece set and they're really reasonably priced. 2 sets would give you 8 dinner plates, 8 bowls and 8 side plates.

What's the budget OP?

I have 2 x 4 person settings ie dinner plate/side plate/bowls in white - these are for everyday use and when friends come round. I love pretty serving dishes and as TipseyTorvey wrote TK Maxx are great for these.
Special occasions - have a full dinner service - now 30 + yrs old - which comes out.
Think about the type of meals you enjoy making and make your purchases around what suits those, ie big rectangular dishes if you enjoy making Lasagnes and Moussakas. Le Creuset are good to go straight from oven to table ie the casserole and Buffet dishes for one pot meals. Keep table linen plain and glasses plain, we have wine and decent water glasses as a lot of guests don't drink alcohol .

Thanks guys!

@Animood - not thought of specific amount...dont want anything super super fancy but i'm willing to spend a fair bit to stock up on good quality essentials.

If you can afford it Denby lasts forever. So pick a timeless design. If you want to be eco or not spend as much look for a second hand dinner service from and auction

We have ms maxim range. It's just plain white. I can then just buy different colour tablecloths accessories etc. ms have stocked it for around twenty years so it can always be replaced if I smash a plate if need be.

Plain white bone china is timeless and hard wearing.

Most can go in a microwave or dishwasher. Dishwasher proof essential if entertaining often or for more than 4-6.

You can always add colour with seasonal napkins, and tablecloths.

Another vote Denby if you can afford it (or have the tesco vouchers)

Another vote for plain white (ikea, argos and m&s all have simple ranges)

You can vary colour with tablecloth, napkins (get cloth napkins, they look for more elegant).

I'd buy 8 of each. Dinner plate, side plate, bowl, wine glass, water glass.

Champagne flutes if you think you'll be serving fizz.

Bearing in mind the time of year you will get some great deals after Xmas eve. John Lewis usually has plenty of white bone China in their sale

You can get beautiful second hand vintage crockery.

I couldn’t get excited about IKEA crockery for entertaining.

Have a look online, there are some beautiful designs available to suit your decor.

www.amara.com/shop/plates

As well as John Lewis, Anthropologie have some nice items for entertaining.

A good tip I was given was buy everything in white, then it all matches no matter how much you add to it

Mix and match is kind of in too? You know like a base colour of grey for example then a few different serving bowls,dishes etc of the colour but design etc different

We have all white from dunelm. Serving dishes are white, mixed in with some blue and white large bowls. Grey linen (or red at this time of year) and silvery napkin rings. My placemats are rubbish though and I need to replace them! I look longingly at Anthropologie stuff...

Oh dear God, avoid Denby like the plague, its bloody awful ugly stuff.

I'd get plain white, then you can add splashes of colour where appropriate.

Villeroy and Boch
Dartington
Royal Doulton
Portmerion

All timeless.

bargain basement to build upon?

www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-functional-dinner-set/p/0511129

There is a thriving market in 2nd hand dinner services.
People who got married from the 50s to the 90s (?) 00s (?) almost all had a dinner service as wedding presents. They were often kept 'for best' but now quite a lot of youngsters starting out don't want them, so people sell them on line.
You can therefore pick up lovely dinner services for not too much money, and get things like vegetable bowls and gravy boats or custard jugs etc all included, if you are looking to invest for entertaining over a few years.

If you are buying new though, I'd always aim to get 2 sets (12 plates and dishes) - if you think about it, you are already 4, so if you have people over you will probably be at least 8, so a set of 6 will still leave you using your everyday stuff and you still won't all match - if that is what you are looking for. So even if you go for Ikea or supermarket or Wilko, get 2 sets and even if you break one or two you will still have a set.

Thanks guys! I've decided to go for 2 sets of plain white so they'll be easy to replace. Bought 8 water glasses and white wine glasses too and champagne flutes. Not sure if it's worth getting separate prosecco glasses or red wine glasses so have left that for now

Possibly too late, but do NOT get the plain white IKEA basics range. It scratches appallingly from cutlery scraping across it and looks terrible after very brief use. Wish I'd read the online reviews before getting it. Sainsbury's is not much more expensive and doesn't scratch like that.

@TrundlingAlong - not too late at all, thanks will avoid IKEA x