We have kids, so we needed something sturdy and long-lasting. Corelle is tough enough that after twoish decades my grandma finally gave her corelle dishes to my mom because she (grandma) was tired of the pattern and wanted something new!
We like to have big fancy meals for holidays, and entertain, so we wanted something attractive.
We needed something affordable, so that we could have enough to feed lots of family/friends without resorting to paper, blech!
We wanted something dishwasher-safe and ideally oven-safe as well.
We are fairly minimalist, and wanted something versatile so that we did not need to have multiple sets of dishes (the "Christmas China" verses the "daily use dishes" and so on).
We opted for a simple, classic, white pattern, which will coordinate with any season or table decor, and does away with the need for any other sets of dishes. It's called "Enhancements." Simple, but not boring. Elegant, but not expensive.
The only downside to Corelle dishes is that they are mostly sold in place-setting sets (as shown above). If your family is like mine, you use a lot more bowls and plates than you do cups and saucers, so this seemed a bit wasteful. However this last year we discovered that we could buy individual pieces at Fred Meyer. So we bought two of the box sets (4 place settings each) and then a few spare dinner plates and bowls. As our family grows we will probably buy another box set, because they are more economical than pieces a la carte, but it's nice to know that we can also get individual plates or bowls as needed.
...unless, of course, they discontinue your pattern :) The one I have is called "First of Spring" and my mom picked it out for me and bought me two boxes (4 place settings) the Christmas I was 16. I think it was discontinued about 5 minutes after she bought it, lol! Thankfully, I've been able to find it on Ebay and I got extra cereal bowls, berry bowls, and lunch plates. I even found some pasta bowls to add to my set...
ReplyDeleteMy 2 year old broke (shattered!) a bowl a few weeks ago when she was "helping" me take them out of the dishwasher. The only ever piece I've seen break was when a workman dropped a hammer on one of my mom's plates.
That's the exact set we bought when we first got married and for pretty much the exact same reasons as you.
ReplyDeleteThe next dishes that hubbie and I get will most likely be Corelle. Our current dishes are stoneware and in the three years since our wedding, hubbie has broken 2 dinner plates, a salad plate, a bowl, and at least 2 mugs - and none of those were dropped. I will admit he has a hidden talent for breaking dishes, but the persnicketiness of the stoneware doesn't help. :)
ReplyDeleteCorrelle ware rocks. My grandmother and mother had the same experience as yours did. I don't believe in taking up space for "Christmas china" (and not letting kids use it...where's the fun in that?!) so I chose a pattern I felt could be versatile (the ivy one). They make me happy every time I eat off them, which is daily. And man do I thank my stars when I drop a plate! And to think of it, I've never broken a Correlle wear piece ever.
ReplyDeleteIn California, they have Correlleware outlets, which rocks. That's where I got all the pieces that I didn't pick up at a garage sale. We sadly don't have Fred Meyer.
We can get them at Wal-Mart and we usually will get at least two of the LARGE bowls along with any set. Actually, I really lucked out and found a set abandoned at my college! It was a plain white set (different from yours though) and it was a four or eight piece set and then we just added to it from stuff at Wal-Mart. I'm leery of their glasses though. I'm very worried about glasses due to having been severely cut on my hand washing a glass that shattered WHILE I would be twisting my hand inside of it (this happened twice though the second time I caught it before it could do any real damage but the first time, ugh, I have some pretty bad scars from it) so I prefer those nice thick bar glasses. Those things NEVER break.
ReplyDeleteWhen I go back to the US, I'll have to get another set since I gave away the set I did have. Pooh.
Corelle has become a family tradition with us. My mom has collected patterns over the years from friends/relatives and still has her wedding set from 27 years ago! My mother-in-law found that hers seemed to be more breakable as they've aged (30 yrs), but she also has a hard tile floor in her kitchen. I love all the different patterns available, too. Something for everyone!
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