Dinnerware dilemma -- please help!!!

amother

Sun, Sep 03 2023, 8:12 pm

Long story as short as possible:
DH and I were in a position for multiple years where we were hosting communal shabbatons every week (think like shluchim, but not) so we gave away all of our wedding gift dishes because we had no space and never used them (and they were nothing exquisite or worth saving, just basic nice stuff).

Well... now we're not in that position anymore and looking forward iyH to hosting... and we have no dishes. When I look at dish set options online, I am completely overwhelmed. Either the sets are too large or too small, they don't come with silverware, they don't come with drinking glasses, how much do I need to get? etc. etc. etc. I have a million tabs pulled up on my computer and no good solutions.

Part of me wants to just do disposables but a) I feel so guilty because it's so wasteful b) it may be more expensive in the long run if we're hosting frequently and c) is it cheapy to serve guests off of disposables if it's not a huge group for the meal?

Any suggestions? Please help!!!

amother

Lilac

Sun, Sep 03 2023, 8:17 pm

I love using disposables! They make such pretty ones these days that they don't look too cheapy. Think about the time and energy it takes to wash all these dishes after a Yom tov meal, disposables go straight into the garbage. I think it's more important for me to conserve my strength rather than conserving the planet.

ImmaBubby

Sun, Sep 03 2023, 9:58 pm

Some stores like Macy’s have mikasa sets in service for 12, and they include everything you need dishes-wise plus serveware. There are also sets of cutlery. Glasses are easy to find on Amazon.
All this is seriously marked down probably by mid-October, in time for Black Friday which seems to be getting earlier and earlier.
But don’t rule out plastic forever—- there will be weeks in your life when you will be grateful to not be washing dishes after the seuda!