I have 2 sets ...on of the Haviland Blue Garland and one of the Royal Fine China. One has blue roses with a silver trim and the other is pink roses with a silver trim. I intermix them together when we use them. I have most of the serving dishes to go with them also.

I have 2 sets of flatware that gets intermixed too (same for each place setting)

I've served as many as 30 people with the mixed sets but I don't have a full set of either one....found replacements on ebay for some.

They are stacked in the china hutch but really need to have more room.

All the additional serving pieces are clear so they go with anything.

We use them just "because" without any reason. The price of heavy paper plates gets to be too much.

They get put into the dishwasher when finished...all of it. They are "just" dishes and we enjoy them.

Never had any. Won't inherit any either as none of my parents, in-laws, or grandparents had any. I guess we are just poor white trash........

I would love to have some though.

Annette, should you ever need to replace a piece of your china, go to replacements.com. They have pieces for my set which is well over 100 years old! All you have to do is give them the name and 'model' of your set and they will update you on pieces they have available for sale.

If you love the china, I think you should get it--and use it. I have several sets of dishes---I'd be embarrassed to count how many--and a enjoy using everything. My blue willow came from the grocery store, my white pottery came from the dollar store. I have special Christmas and Thanksgiving dishes, antiques, friend's castaways etc. I also have Royal Worcestershire silver chantilly china I started collecting when I married. I use them all--some, of course, more thanothers.

I have the incomplete set that was on my bridal registry. Now it is discontinued, but I havnt needed to complete the set. We only use it on special occasions-when we remember. But I have young kids . I buy my every day dishes from the thrift store b/c my kids are responsible for loading/unloading the dishwasher , setting and cleaning off the table after meals. You can only imagine how fast we go through dishes....... ;-)

Been married for 35 years..got my china as wedding gifts. Used it, very carefully, for special occasions. I wanted to "save" it for my Son and Daughter. Because, of course, being old it would be worth something. Hahaha. Went on EBay and my Noritake, retired pattern, is worth next to nothing. So I pulled it out and I'm going to use it. I love it and it's not doing anyone any good sitting in fancy china boxes. Son and Daughter can enjoy it now, with me. Funny you asked this question....we just went through this, too.

Nope. When I got married I got a set and have probably only used it twice. I rarely host formal dinners. I much prefer informal gatherings and my good china seems too stuffy for that.

Oh, please don't feel that way!! Not so, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have gotten mine. I would go to resale shops and Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. and buy mix and match sets. If you follow a color scheme or pattern, you can create a beautiful set for a relatively reasonable price. If it's good enough for Martha Stewart, (she likes to mix and match) why wouldn't it be good enough for us!!! LOL Plus you have the fun of the hunt.

I have a beautiful set and use it every holiday, birthday dinners and tea parties with my grand kids.
There are a couple of chipped pieces, but the delight and "specialness" of using the good china makes the chips unimportant.
My children, and now my grand children, feel so special and important when we use the china. All the good behaviors and manners that they've been taught 'pop' to the surface in the presence of the 'good china'.
I love using it!!

What ever you collect, REMEMBER the number one rule; if it is old DO NOT use the dish washer on it. The glaze will crack with time, as my friend eventually found out. Now she has crackled look to her very expensive antique set.