If you aren't doing anything particularly thrilling atm, can we have a quick chat about crockery and those kinda things?

[FlouncingMintyy]

We have 8 usable dinner plates, a few more than that of bowls and side plates, and 6 pasta bowls which we use quite often. We have about 8 -10 wine glasses and maybe 10 other glasses of varying sizes.

I think that is probably way below average for a family of 4!

Am I right? We should probably be buying some more crockery and glasses but I find that sort of shopping horrendously dull.

How many of this sort of thing do you have? and do you have a "best" dinner service like my parents and inlaws?

[Dilidali]

For years I had my MIL's horrid 70s plates and bowls, do you remember those white ones with a brown rim? Vile!
So last year I suddenly grew up and went to John Lewis. Oh, a whole new world opened to me!
I bought 4 dinner plates, 4 pasta bowls,4 cereal bowls and 4 side plates in pink, blue, lime green and grey, I think the range was called summer brights. Then last week I completed the set to up to 6 with whatever was left after sale, which was white. It looks pretty, not to matchy-matchy and they are functional and sturdy, with the added bonus of looking happy.
Also last week I got my first ever cutlery set, a cheap one, but hey, no more plastic handled cutlery ( I loathe them, never sure they are properly clean).
I have 4 square tiny bowls, in white, that serve for nibbles, deserts, icecream, 'no idea what to put this in' so i am using these.
Too many cups that no one likes to drink from, DH would have an apoplectic fit if he knew I am systematically taking them to work and 'forgetting' them there.
One dish for serving that came with two matching smaller dishes.

What I would really really like is a coffee set. My life and that of my friends evolve around getting together for coffee. We use mugs, they all have their favourites, but I miss a cup and saucer type of affair and I wouldn't mind some pretty dessert plates for biscuits/ cake etc because we would use them 2-3 times a week and about twice a day at the weekend.

The other thing on my 'sod it, I'm old enough' list is a tagine dish. There is a reason for their existance, and if, like we do, whip a tagine quite often, I can actually justify it: done in a pan it splatters sauce everywhere and the splots dry immediatly and it is horrendous trying to clean that lot.

Oh, and I also could do with a water jug. A plastic one for the garden and a glass one for the table. My water glasses come from Nutella jars. Got so much growing up to do yet!!!

[Winceywoo]

Oh dear I now realise why my cupboards are bursting. Five of us in the household; I have a set of white maxim dinner plates, bowls, side plates, silly tea plates, cups, saucers, and mugs. All times 10. So that's 70 items so far? Not forgetting the spare set which pre dates the maxim stuff but keep for all those bbqs we never really have. So that's another 30 items. Then, there's the best stuff - wedgewood India which I still love after 20 years. But it's a ten place setting with cups and saucers, coffee set etc so maybe another 90 pieces of china. Ridiculous eh.

[GrumpyKat]

THis may be a little excessive for three...
One every day set with 5 dinner plates (dh has done away with the rest), 9 sideplates and 7 bowls. We used to have 9 of each in honour of a long ago party for nine.
3 white square plates with 4 dip bowls.
5 noodle bowls, 1 large serving platter and 3 rice bowls acquired in Hong Kong, there were 6 of each but dh dropped a load on the way home (are you noticing a theme here?).
5 sundae bowls, 4 fruit salad bowls and a punch bowl from my nan's house.
Most of a new Denby dinner service acquired to replace the plates dh smashed on Saturday night. Bought it at TK Maxx and it's all seconds but 6 dinner plates, 4 side plates and 5 bowls was £54.50. Bargain!
So I now have nearly a best set. I'm going to buy spares, because dh really is the destructor when it comes to crockery!