When Should You Use the Fancy Fine China?

Stop Overthinking It—Just Start Using It

Once upon a time, someone may have insisted that you only use the good dishes for special occasions, like holidays, weddings and tea parties. 

I turned on a Friends rerun the other day and saw this familiar scene play out between newlyweds Monica and Chandler.

[Scene: Monica and Chandlers apartment.]

Chandler: Hey, here's an idea, why don't we use our wedding china today?

Monica: No, I think we should save our china for something really special.Like if the Queen of England comes over.

Chandler: Honey, she keeps canceling on us, take the hint.

Monica: What if something gets broken, they're so expensive.

Chandler: What is the point of having them if we never use them?

Perhaps this disagreement sounds familiar? 

We think Chandler makes a really good point—what is the point of having nice dinnerware if we never get to enjoy it? (Besides, we’re pretty confident the Queen of England won’t be paying us a surprise visit anytime soon—may she rest in peace.) 

If something inspires us, adds beauty, or reminds us of an important person, place, or tradition… we want it where we can appreciate it! 

Also, life is short. As Jaya Saxena at Eater puts it in her article, Stop Worrying and Start Using Your Fancy China, 

“The thing about owning nice things is you’re going to die one day. Which isn’t to say throw it all to hell and only eat off paper plates, but that nice things are meant to be enjoyed while we’re still on this earth."

Instead of storing your pretty pieces away for some unknown date, we encourage you to consider enriching and elevating everyday moments with these pretty treasures.

It’s a waste of potential for joy and connection when we keep our treasures and heirlooms out of sight and away from the people we love because we’re afraid of simply using them as they were intended.

Side bar–you just have to laugh at Monica earnestly encouraging her friends to cut their chicken over their plates to avoid scratching them!

If you’re looking for ideas to use your china outside of formal occasions in ways that make sense for how you live, we’ve got you covered.

Check out just some of our favorite ideas, ranging from creatively repurposing teacups to upcycling your dinnerware into unique gifts and décor.

As Saxena aptly puts it, we too recommend the following:

"Take a deep breath, accept the impermanence of all things, and just start using your fancy china."

What do you think of this approach? We’d love to hear from you!