Do you place your napkin on your lap?

[WhatNextNowForDS]

Just that.
Been out for a few meals this year and it seems I am uncommon in this, although it was always what i was taught. (Overseas)

Is it not a done thing in the uk?

I don’t drop food onto my lap. That’s not why I place my napkin there. I place it there as it’s convenient to pick it up to use to wipe mouth etc.

If I'm sitting at a table my boobs stop any spillages getting to my lap.

If I'm in a restaurant with a cloth napkin then yes I put it on my lap. Somewhere with paper napkins I don't bother.

Lap. It gives me the 🤢when people use it to wipe their mouths then put it all gross next to their plate as they carry on eating. Yuck.

On the lap. In restaurant (where it only gets used once) leave it crumpled and discarded on the table.
Upper classes, lots of staff; same.

Yes I do, but in reality I'd be better off with a baby bib

Linen napkin goes on lap.

Paper serviette stays on the table.

I leave it where it is. Unless it's been artfully arranged in or around the wine glass or something: then I move it slightly so that it's where it would have been otherwise.

It stays there till I need to use it.

Very occasionally the table space is limited, in which case I'll put it on my lap to get it out of the way.

(I grew up lower-middle class, with relations who were still working class, and we only used napkins on special occasions.)

I am reminded of the old tale of the duke wondering what napkin rings were for. Upon being told that many people would re-use the napkins rather than laundering them after every meal, he exclaimed "can there be such poverty?"

Except when I was heavily pregnant & used to drape it over the top of the bump to catch food!

@ohfibonacci Even worse, I was at very smart lunch in a City Guild dining room. Woman blew her nose in linen napkin and carried on using it.

On lap, always in a restaurant, and isn't it fold towards you for women? At home far more likely to be tucked into my collar eating in front of the tv!

Yes on my lap.

And if eating spaghetti or noodles or mussels, for example, I have no qualms about doing the whole cartoon look and tucking it under my chin.

Do you know, I was taught to do this as a child but I'd completely forgotten it/written it off as a quaint and outdated thing.

I just leave my napkin at the side of the plate in case I need to wipe my mouth or fingers or spit something out.

@BertieBotts eek!!! Spit something out?!

Yes, folded with the crease away from me. Then use the inside to dab/wipe my mouth if needed.

If I put it on my lap then it's covered by the table so it's totally useless.
In any case, food spills land on my fat belly.

Of course. Where else would one put it? I do use thick kitchen paper at home however unless we have dinner guests.

One can just leave it on the table.

Where else would you put them? I don’t understand. We don’t use them every day, but if we have them, or in restaurants, they go on your lap.

My mum has one of those 😂😂😂😂😂

Oh stop with the 'I don't understand' bollocks. Unless you are a bit dim it's not hard to imagine some people just leave them on the table.

I eat it.

Should I not eat it?!

Yes. It is normal in the Uk.

I wish bibs were socially acceptable for adults. My hand doesn't know where my mouth is. My bra is more useful than the napkin on my lap.

Napkin on my lap, always. DS1 (27), however, has no qualms about tucking his into his collar, especially when eating curry or Italian. His clothes thank him for it 😂

Also- I was taught never to say serviette, but rather 'paper napkin'.