How many dinner place settings should I buy

tiptoes27

I have decided to buy some new crockery as I have now ended up with bits of two or three sets. I am not sure how many place settings I should buy. The set I want is 4 piece settings (dinner plate, side plate, bowl and mug) and is currently half price which I assume means it is about to be discontinued. I would like to have one set 'in reserve' to cover future breakages. There are four people in the house and we use a dishwasher which means we need more crockery than if we were washing up by hand. What do other money savers do? I am thinking of ordering four sets - does that seem excessive? I would like to dispose of all the old stuff and just have enough of the new set to be all matching for the first time in my married life of 30 years!!

McKneff

I would have thought 3 sets would be enough.

Have 2 sets in use and put one set away. Im in the same boat and bought only 2 sets of four.

Wish i had been as forward thinking as you. fingers crossed nothing has been broken yet.:D

Please dont forget to give them (the old ones lol) to the Chairty Shop

LJM

id buy 2 for me personally as there are 4 in my family and when others come to eat i could get the others out, how many is in your family

celebrate

i can relate to that
nothing matches in our crockery cupboard and we often eat out out of the kids plates as are at the front of the cupboard (hilarious seeing my hubby eat from a ben 10 plate!)
lol

i would get as many as poss and bin everything you already have

tiptoes27

LJM wrote: »

id buy 2 for me personally as there are 4 in my family and when others come to eat i could get the others out, how many is in your family

Well there are four in my family but have two grown up children at home who always have friends here. I find it a problem with the dishwasher because I only want to put it on when it is full and if you do not have enough crockery you end up putting it in half full or running out of plates and taking the plates out of the dishwasher and washing them up by hand!. I think I will buy four sets cost that will be enough to fill the dishwasher and still have a few in the cupboard.

tiptoes27

celebrate wrote: »

i can relate to that
nothing matches in our crockery cupboard and we often eat out out of the kids plates as are at the front of the cupboard (hilarious seeing my hubby eat from a ben 10 plate!)
lol

i would get as many as poss and bin everything you already have

That made me laugh. Thats how I feel after having odd crockery for so many years I long for a matching set. Maybe I should go for five sets - Then I would have matching crockery for years and years!

Maz123_3

I'd buy 4 sets personally. I had 12 for dinner New Year's Day so that's 3 sets plus one extra for breakages. It all depends how many people you have to dinner at one time

Peartree

I think there are a number of factors involved in the decision.

Firstly, how often do you put on the dishwasher - so how much is going to be out of action in the general family use week? Secondly, how many people, maximum, you ever entertain in a situation where you care about your crockery matching? Thirdly, is the set you are buying one which you will be able to replace on an ongoing basis or one you'll be able to mix and match easily with other sets in the future? Fifthly, how clumsy are you and your family? Sixthly, how much of a bargain are those sets and how many can you easily afford? Finally, how much do you like the set and how likely are you to go off it?

A few years ago I bought a very plain cream set of crockery that I thought I'd never fall out with - and I haven't. It was an incredibly bargain and so I got three sets so I have twelve of everything (even though it meant going to more than one branch of the store). It's Johnsons and is very widely available so it is easy to add bits and bobs as required (often to be found in outlets and on e-bay). It's also a pretty classic design and looks fine mixed and matched with other designs - like cheap coloured pasta dishes and the like. I'm really clumsy (although I haven't broken much) but with a few extra of everything it hasn't broken my heart when there's been a bit of a chip.

I appreciate this might sound a bit overthought and sad (!) but potentially, for the want of a few quids' extra investment now, if you can afford it, you'll save money on having to buy another full set from scratch in a few years' time - if that makes sense.

hermanmunster_3

I would go for 4 sets .. will last ages. We have about 4 and even then manage to run out

shopndrop

I bought some new crockery last year so that we had a matching set, also after nearly 30 years of marriage. There are only 2 of us at home now, but we bought 3 sets of 4. We find that is the right amount for the 2 of us, not to have to put the dishwasher on every day, but enough if we have visitors too.

tiptoes27

Peartree wrote: »

I think there are a number of factors involved in the decision.

Firstly, how often do you put on the dishwasher - so how much is going to be out of action in the general family use week? Secondly, how many people, maximum, you ever entertain in a situation where you care about your crockery matching? Thirdly, is the set you are buying one which you will be able to replace on an ongoing basis or one you'll be able to mix and match easily with other sets in the future? Fifthly, how clumsy are you and your family? Sixthly, how much of a bargain are those sets and how many can you easily afford? Finally, how much do you like the set and how likely are you to go off it?

A few years ago I bought a very plain cream set of crockery that I thought I'd never fall out with - and I haven't. It was an incredibly bargain and so I got three sets so I have twelve of everything (even though it meant going to more than one branch of the store). It's Johnsons and is very widely available so it is easy to add bits and bobs as required (often to be found in outlets and on e-bay). It's also a pretty classic design and looks fine mixed and matched with other designs - like cheap coloured pasta dishes and the like. I'm really clumsy (although I haven't broken much) but with a few extra of everything it hasn't broken my heart when there's been a bit of a chip.

I appreciate this might sound a bit overthought and sad (!) but potentially, for the want of a few quids' extra investment now, if you can afford it, you'll save money on having to buy another full set from scratch in a few years' time - if that makes sense.

Well firstly our dishwasher is on every other day and we now often run out of dishes.
We do not entertain much more than about six at a time.
The set I am going for is half price and I believe it is going to be discontinued. I do really like the set I have chosen and it is also basically cream and a classic design which will not date.
I think you are right when you say a few quids extra investment now will save us from having to start from scratch in another couple of years so I am going to order four sets (maybe five). Thanks for all your replies, it really helps.