E.S. Ivy

author of middle grade books for children

  • Food and Fun
    • Food and Fun
    • Crafts
    • Cooking
    • Entertaining
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Science of Miri Attwater
  • Travel
    • Disney travel
  • Tech Tutorials
    • Scrivener
    • Facebook
    • Pixlr
    • WordPress
  • Kids’ Books
    • E.S. Ivy’s Books
    • Miri Attwater Posts
    • Miri Attwater Reviews
    • Behind the Miri Attwater Series
    • Growing Readers
    • Mother-Daughter Book Club
    • Kids’ Books
  • Blog
    • Recent Posts
  • E.S. Ivy
    • About
    • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Everything in the Dishwasher

30 January, 2013 by ES Ivy

Our Christmas table.

Our Christmas table.

One of my pet peeves is the articles in magazines that to advise you to let go of the stress of the holidays don’t do anything to make your dinner special. Just use paper plates and eat frozen pizza!

Really? I mean, I know all about stress at the holidays. Just ask my hubby, I can definitely set out to tackle too much.

But you can make some concessions without out going as far as paper plates and plastic forks that break. The secret? Everything possible goes in the dishwasher!

My grandmother has a saying, “As soon as I get something, I put it in the dishwasher before I get attached to it.” She paints china herself, and made a point when she gave me my first piece to tell me to put it in the dishwasher or I’d never use it. It was a butter dish that’s been washed about once a week for almost 20 years and it’s still lovely.

A few votive candles with left over Christmas decorations make an easy centerpiece. A light cable wound through the dishes on the buffet adds a festive touch.

A few votive candles with left over Christmas decorations make an easy centerpiece. A light cable wound through the dishes on the buffet adds a festive touch.

Growing up, we ate off my mom’s fine china and silverware every day and it went in the dishwasher. Yes, it got a little bit worn, but we actually *used* it. It didn’t just stay stored away where no one could see it.

I haven’t gotten into the same habit, but when I do pull out the fine china and silver, I don’t wash it by hand. I’ve been washing my china, silver, and nice glasses in the dishwasher for over 20 years now and none of it is the least bit worn. The only time you might want to take care, is if you water etches your glassware. Then you have bigger issues. (I’ve heard that can be helped by using less soap.)

The only things I don’t put in the dishwasher are my fine crystal and biggest pots. You might think I’m kidding, but I’m not. I am so attached to dishwashers that we have two. Yes I know it is terrible for wooden knife handles to go in the dishwasher. But it’s terrible for me to wash them by hand.

My grandmother's crystal, from 1925

My grandmother’s crystal, from 1925

This thanksgiving we had 17 and I ended up using my paternal grandmother’s crystal at the teenager’s table, which made me a bit nervous.

Both these glasses went in the dishwasher!

Both these glasses went in the dishwasher!

So for Christmas one of my gifts as Marquis by Waterford goblets to pair with my water glasses that go in the dishwasher. That’s what I used Christmas dinner. We’re teetotalers, but I like to serve sparkling grade and apple juice for a festive treat.

Is it possible my glasses will chip in the dishwasher? Yeah, it’s possible. But it also might happen when I take them out of the china cabinet once every three years to dust them. And that’s not as much fun.

How do you dress up your holiday table? Or do you go for the ease of paper on the special day? On Christmas Eve, we use paper bowls for our traditional seafood chowder. On Christmas Eve I always still have presents left to wrap! Paper does have it’s place.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Entertaining, Seasonal & Holidays

« Recipe for Easy Roast Beast – er, I Mean Roast Beef!
Title Reveal for the continuation of Miri Attwater’s Adventures, Miri Attwater and All that Glitters »

Find E.S. Ivy Around the Web

  • View E.S.IvyAuthor’s profile on Facebook
  • View ESIvy’s profile on Twitter
  • View mombehindthecurtain’s profile on Instagram
  • View esivy’s profile on Pinterest
ocean's secret cover 190 x 250
best books for girls : All That Glitters cover 188 x 250

Popular Posts & Pages

  • Privacy Policy
    Privacy Policy
  • Netflix The Crown - the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson
    Netflix The Crown - the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson
  • Mom Behind the Curtain is up!
    Mom Behind the Curtain is up!
  • New site - High School, College, Success!
    New site - High School, College, Success!
  • Happy Independence Day!
    Happy Independence Day!

Post Categories

  • All That Glitters
  • Announcements
  • Behind the Books
  • Book Reviews
  • Chemistry
  • Christmas
  • Cooking
  • Costumes
  • Crafts
  • Disney
  • Disney travel
  • Education
  • Education & Success
  • Entertaining
  • Facebook tutorial
  • Food and Fun
  • For Authors
  • Growing Readers
  • Halloween
  • Kids' Books
  • Marine Biology
  • Miri Attwater
  • Mother-Daughter Book Club
  • Other
  • Pixlr tutorial
  • Science Education
  • Scrivener Tutorial
  • Seasonal & Holidays
  • Special Promotion
  • Tech Tutorials
  • Thanksgiving
  • The Ocean's Secret
  • Winter
  • Wordpress tutorial

Search this site

Please note that some of the links on this site are referral links which means I may get a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on them. You pay exactly the same price as you would if you made the purchase directly. I only link to books and services I personally recommend and also it allows me to show you images relevant to posts. esivy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress