I had a vision of a party that would include an easy clean-up. You know, paper plates and plastic silverware. Only because, honestly, our regular dishes have place settings for 12 and our flatware the same, so there wouldn't be enough for 14 folks.
Well, when I was driving my mother down to Connecticut on Friday to see her 92-year old sister, she took the long drive as an opportunity to quiz me concerning dishes, flatware, tablecloths, tables, napkins, etc. that we'd use for the meal. Too funny! When I made noises about paper plates and plastic silverware, it was quite clear that wouldn't do! She reminded me that she'd given me a set of sterling silver flatware when she moved out of her house, so we could combine them with our stainless. And, I have other one-off dinner plates packed away somewhere that we can use.
So, now I realize we've signed on for a fancy shindig. And suddenly it occurred to me that I don't know where many of the rarely used serving pieces and such are. Where did they get put away in the new kitchen? Did I actually give away all our platters before we moved or do I still have one somewhere to hold that 24 pound turkey I'm cooking? And, shades of my youth when my mother had me polish silver before any big party, tomorrow MW and I will be doing a bit of polishing ourselves, assuming I can find the serving pieces.
Regardless of what pieces we mix and match to make up the place settings, I know we'll all have a lot of fun on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to it, and especially to showing off our new place.
11 comments:
Your Mother is right; paper and plastic are just not good enough for a holiday party, at least not if you are older than 20. Few are apt to notice (or care) about mismatched plates and serving dishes. and I sure hope you can find a big platter for your bird, or you'll be carving it in the kitchen and serving sliced turkey on smaller plates.
Webster - you, like my mother, are right! :-)
Enjoy your holiday!
I'm with your mom, too!! Let others do the clean-up chores, but use the real stuff!!
Peace,
Muff
PS Happy Thanksgiving & enjoy. Take pix!!
Muff - I will take pix if I can find the camera, I put it away when Skip's family visited and now I can't remember where "away" is!
Have a happy Thanksgiving, too!
I'm going to weigh in with you Cranky. Thanksgiving is about interacting with your loved ones not worrying about how stuff looks.
Have a wonderful day regardless :-)
Ditto the first comment about plastic dinnerware. Not when company is coming for Thanksgiving. When alone, however .. anything goes. One year when our kids were young and we were exhausted we had hot dogs for Thanksgiving. The kids loved them and we (uhh ... actually my wife!) didn't have to knock ourselves out.
barrie and light - thanks for your comments. Seems we're at 3 for fancy and 1 for casual. :-)
Hosting a crowd for Thanksgiving, especially in your new place, is a great excuse for hauling out the good dishes, setting a pretty table, and making everything look amazing. But really, no matter how you do it, it's all about spending time with friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving, Cranky!
Uh-oh, some of your commenters may visit me one day. SPOILER ALERT: there will be no fancy dishes or utensils. I bought a fancy set this year, but realized it was a pipe dream, only saved a few bowls. My own mother never had any fancy (ie nice) dishes. IF I were healthy and had nice dishes (which I would have if I were healthy and working) then I would show them off along with my new condo. BUT, nowadays I am all about easy and what really MATTERS. Plates do not matter. Family matters. Shoot! I meant to take a stand on this, now I am on the fence. Well, I know you did it up, had a FABULOUS time, and are relaxing now with warm memories, probably glad you chose the nice dinner ware.
One Thanksgiving my family of 4 was not invited to the larger family affair of 20 becuase "they didn't have enough plates and flatware that matched". I was highly offended. Somewhere the blessings of being together with family on special holidays was lost. Since then, I have decided to choose my own family.....I enjoy them more,
zoom and Diane - you're right, it is all about family. But for the matriarch of the bunch, it's about putting on a formal celebration as well. Fortunately, everyone was satisfied with the day!
Anon - sheesh. That is crazy and offensive to be left out of the party because of plates and utensils.
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