Should we be using our 'best' china?

It's such a shame that lovely china and crystal is no longer valued it's the same with dark wood furniture. My great grandparents on my fathers side loved collecting antiques and so did my mothers family as a result I have a house full of lovely old pieces such as 19th century French side board and a full silver cutlery service in a rosewood case.
My mother loved her furniture and china etc and I used to help her clean the silver wear and polish the wood so I grew to love it too! I have tried to look after her things since she died although I did get rid of a couple of small items but my own three daughters have no interest in inheriting any of this! They look for different things!
The eldest might like a couple of bits but her house is already fully kitted out, the middle daughter might like a couple of things but again space is an issue but the youngest likes white French style stuff and modern things so I am sure lots will end up at the charity shop

But somebody will buy them and love them, jenpax

DD is a florist and china cups and saucers are very popular made up with a floral display, they are very popular for Mothers day and vintage style weddings.
I have now given all of my china to her and she now buys them from charity shops.

Anything with gilding is a nightmare it comes off even hand washing but dishwasher is the enemy, also can't go in microwave.

Please don't be tempted to put crystal in dishwasher - makes glass more brittle & liable to break.

I have my Dinner Set from when DH & I married in 1991 - M & S Ashberry which is suitable for dishwasher but I rarely use it now I am on my own (widow). I do however have some Bone China mugs for my Fruit Tea in the afternoon - tastes much better

We don't have 'best' anything. What we have, we use. Why keep things hidden away? If they're beautiful then bring them out into the open and let everyone enjoy them. I understand the concern about delicate items, but at least have them somewhere they're not going to get broken but can be appreciated.

I must admit that the family failing is clumsiness. So nothing delicate would ever exist for long with us.

We have a Doulton "Tumbling Leaves" dinner service given as a wedding present in 1964 which has been used every day since including by my two sons as soon as they were old enough. We have had very few breakages (bone china is very tough) but after years of dishwashing most of the pattern has gone. We have enjoyed it for 52 years now (better than being kept unused for all that time, I think!) We also have cut glass wine glasses (usually only used for best), but I'm sure the younger generation won't want them as their tastes are so different from ours.

Not so sure about the glasses, eggy. I have a set of Stuart crystal champagne flutes which my DD has begged off me on a few occasions to grace her table on special occasions! I assume they won't be going in they skip when we shuffle off the mortal coil!

Having made a point about being so precious about my bone china dinner service, i was emptying the dishwasher this evening and removed five of six bone china tea plates that I bought at a car boot sale a few years ago, because they were pretty, and because we needed a few more 'every day' plates. They go into the dishwasher almost daily. I realised I have never given the fact that they are bone china, and therefore probably not suitable, a second thought, and they have never suffered for it. .

My 70s Denby plates have been through the dishwasher for years now, usually on a fairly low temperature. The glaze is very worn away now so I think it's the harsh chemicals in the powder/tablets that gradually do the damage.

I am enjoying reading about the China and crystal that everyone is using,- or not!

I have a lovely set of Aynsley bone china, that was a wedding present 42 years ago. It's a full dinner set, coffee set and tea set. I used it more when we were newly married than I do now. This thread has make me think that I will start sing it more now. I doubt if my DSs or DILs will want it.

Every day China is quite plain Denby, rather a lot that we've had for years, so I doubt if we'll see the end of that.

Crystal has broken over the years, so now I buy oddments of really good glasses, when I see them in charity shops. I've picked up some really beautiful ones, including Waterford for a few pounds.

I agree it's better to use stuff now and enjoy it.

We try to use everything all the bone china we have. We also have our own( wedding present) and inherited solid silver cutlery set. In the past, we only used this for special occasions and washed knives, forks, spoons by hand because we knew dishwashers harmed the silver. Now, we plonk everything in the dishwashers. Cannot imagine our three daughters every looking after solid silver. Our son couldn't care less, but his wife, our dear DiL would be more careful and appreciative, so perhaps will give it all to her!

I have beauiful table cloths and napkins, some inherited from my grandmother. None of our offspring would want any of these. Perhaps dear GCs when they grow up and embroidered linen becomes fashionable again!

Strike out "everything" and final s from dishwasher. We only have one of them!

I have my tea & coffee everyday out of Royal Albert Country Roses I just love it and it does keep the tea hot I think,at work we get donated lots and lots of china most are complete sets which families get rid of when they are emptying a house its such a shame to see them getting rid of such quality items but space seems to be the main factor with most people and of course the dishwasher problem.

I do not have 'best' crockery. I do have 4 cups saucers and plates that belonged to MiL. I have them on display on a shelf in the front room as DH wanted them.

My mum was a china addict.. I think my minimalist approach to crockery is a reaction to that!

It suddenly struck me a few years ago that it was such a waste to have my wedding present china stuck in a cupboard, only seeing the light of day on high days and holidays. Since then it has been used every day.

I was given a Denby (the RAF blue matt one) handled casserole dish 50 years ago for my 21st and the service grew from there. We've always used it when anyone comes round and it goes in the dishwasher and emerges like a dream. Sadly pieces have got broken over the years, and I refuse to pay the asking price for a replacement plate these days, so I've bought additional plates etc from the second hand market in a similar colourway - also Denby - and do a mix-and-match when needed. I think of it as our "best" stuff but we've had lots of pleasure using it over the years. Not as expensive as eg Royal Doulton so I don't really mind what happens to it when I'm gone.
Ask yourself if your kids would want it. If not, then use it. I'm sure it was originally given to be used and it would be such a shame if all it ever did was to sit gathering dust on a shelf.

Off thread but about ' best china'

We once had a little girl at school who fell off the gym apparatus. She hurt herself between her legs. Another member of staff and myself needed to see what she had done before phoning her mother. She would not let us look. She said ' My Mum said that nobody can see my best china'

About ten years ago I realised that if I didn't use the 'best' china, cups, cutlery etc, they would ultimately be thrown out or given away without being used, so like many other posters, I now use everything and enjoy it.

The same applies to my clothes, although that has taken me longer to accept, having grown up with the concept of keeping new clothing for best and using the older stuff for everyday and the old everyday for housework/gardening. Mind you, thinking back my wardrobe was so sparse compared to nowadays, probably much easier to decide what to wear then instead of wasting half an hour dithering every morning.

I have a friend who has an eight year old DGD, and one day she was looking through all the clothes in the wardrobe and said "Grandma, you have so many lovely things, why don't you ever wear them?"
I like pretty and patterned china ( seems to be more popular now, thanks to Bake Off?)
However, all our pretty and patterned sheets are ageing and we have to replace them with plain coloured ones because there don't seem to be any patterened ones about nowadays.Dorma used to do some lovely ones.

For the lady up thread, Royal Doulton have been taken over by Wedgwood,their head office is in Barlaston Stoke on Trent.
We are china fanatics and have lots of dinner services.
We have a complete set of Spode Christmas Rose which we use at Christmas and New Year.
ebay is a good source for spares for lots of china, and glassware.

Well you are a posh lot LOL none of mine match I do have four plates and four tea plates in black square shape that my son left behind when he to NZ 20 years ago ....that ll do me I use mugs and they are all sorts I have some poppy dishes I bought from Wilco I like them otherwise my glasses are 'liquorice all sorts' too but plenty of them

I would agree that it is a really good idea to use and enjoy all the good and lovely things that we have.
When we downsized and moved a couple of years ago we took all our 'good' things into use and now enjoy them daily.
We got rid of anything which had seen better days and took into use all the 'best' bedlinen, towels and cutlery. We took into regular use a set of Wedgwood and we still have another complete set of Wedgwood china left which is used quite often when we have need of a large number and it always goes in the dishwasher. We had so much of it that we have already given DD a full set out of it so whatever is left will be hers eventually since she enjoys it as much as we do. It is so nice when tastes coincide!

Someone was asking about decanters. Here,too, you could use them as vases for a single stem rose or lily or drop coloured baubles, those tiny cones from larch trees in as a Christmas decoration. If there's space, you could mix them (the baubles or other decorative scatter trinkets) with those cheap strings of battery powered LED lights for a Christmas decoration.

I have two complete tea sets from my mother. They are very pretty. One has blue harebells the other apple blossom. I suppose I use them once a year for Boxing Day tea, but I would never get rid of them. They will go to DD eventually and she will cherish them also.

Good ideas Jacky
BBbevan those tea set patterns sound lovely, harebells and apple blossom.I want them!