Thrifty shopping pays off
This time of year, retailers know two things about us: They know we want to be surrounded by the traditional trappings of the holidays, things that remind us of our history and traditions, like china and fine linens.
They also know that we want to spiff up our homes and make everything shine. It’s the time of year when we entertain the most and when store displays offer us pretty ways to beautify the rooms around us, we’re vulnerable
Everywhere we look, we’re bombarded by advertisements for furniture, expensive china, sparkling crystal and beautiful linens.
Shelter magazines feature glossy photos of rooms bedecked in rich fabrics, with exquisitely set tables. But for many of us, the budget is already stretched thin with gift buying and other holiday expenses. There isn’t enough left over to buy china and crystal, or to replace what we’ve grown tired of.
It’s easy to make impulse buys that will make our homes, and especially the dining room – the site of those important holiday meals – as pretty as the pictures.
I decided to see just what I could come up with to outfit a dining room for the holidays by spending a couple of hours in some of the local thrift stores and with an imaginary budget of no more than $100, about the cost of one place setting of medium-priced china.
Window-shopping for the things that would bring a table, and even the entire dining room, to life for the holidays was fun. I imagined a dinner for eight. My only plan was to find things that would be good for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was looking for quality, and a good price, and I only had a day.
Here’s what I came up with:
I didn’t find a complete set of china, but at most of the thrift stores I found several different china patterns that would mix and match well. I looked for white or ivory dishes with gold or silver trim, or soft vintage floral patterns. At most thrift stores the dinner plates are all under $2 each. Salad or dessert plates go for 49 cents each, as do the coffee cups. So that means we could set a table with eight three-piece place settings of mix-and-match china for around $24. Not bad
I spotted a large linen tablecloth for $3.99. The 72-inch long cloth was delicate due to years of use and laundering, but it was still very beautiful and didn’t have any stains. Next I selected two separate sets of damask napkins. One was a set of four and the other had five napkins. They were heavier than the tablecloth, and were also in great condition. The two sets cost $2.99 each. I thought perhaps the extra napkin could be used under the centerpiece. So, our holiday table is dressed in soft vintage linens for $9.97.
Moving on I found eight different crystal wineglasses, mixed and matched like the china, for $1.49 each. If you don’t need wineglasses, the water glasses were the same price. I also found a vintage set of glass salt-and-pepper shakers with sterling silver tops for $5.99. They just needed a quick polish. That makes $17.92 for the glasses and shakers.
I found a new porcelain pie and cake plate with matching server, still in the box, for $6.99, and a large white turkey platter for $4.99. I added a couple of large colorful vegetable bowls for $1.99 and $ 2.99. That gets the food on the table for $16.96. Our table is set for under $70.
I picked out a pair of heavy glass candlesticks for $4.99 and a 99-cent bag of four (new) candles to decorate the table.
Since I still had around $25 of my imaginary $100 left, I thought about dressing the room. It’s those little extra touches that blow our budget when we’re at the mall or in stores that specialize in home decorations , so I looked for that kind of thing while I shopped. I found a couple of interesting choices. First I found a pair of fabric dining room chair slipcovers, in soft gold velvet, for $4.99 each. They would be pretty on the chairs at each end of the table.
I also found a set of beautiful window valances – enough for five windows- made from a heavy red, gold, and green Kaufmann fabric. The valances, priced at $6.99 each, were very pretty, well made, and would look lovely on a window over lace panels.
I’m glad I was only pretend shopping because it would have been hard to choose. But the good news is that even if I had purchased everything I found that afternoon, I would have only spent $119.81. And $20 over budget isn’t that bad, especially this time of year.
If you’ve got deeper pockets, and aren’t interested in putting together a room full of thrift-store finds, but still don’t want to pay full retail, local antique stores and malls are full of complete, or nearly complete sets of fine china and crystal, as well as dining room table and chairs and elegant linens.
When I wrote about vintage lunch boxes two weeks ago I speculated that they carry more than food. They’re packed with memories as well. I learned that in the right hands, they can also pack quite a wallop.
Mary, a reader from Idaho, wrote to say, “I can attest from personal experience that metal lunch boxes did indeed become schoolyard weapons! Back when my best friend and I were in the fourth grade, we got into a squabble over some long-forgotten event (I think I was probably teasing her) and she whacked me along side the head with her metal lunch box. Didn’t do any damage but sent me home yelling my head off. However, this didn’t affect our relationship. Now, 70 years later, we are still best friends.”
I also heard from an old friend in New Jersey who fondly remembered his “Zorro” and Disney “Davey Crockett” lunch boxes. He also confessed to saving his daughter’s “Tomb Raider” lunch box, but I suspect, for different reasons.
Q&A
I am a disabled 51-year-old woman who has no one to help me sort through many years of accumulation and handle a sale for a percentage. Do you know of any person or group that would be willing to do this? I am desperate to get this done before the snow flies.
Thanks, Evie
First, I would check with a professional. In Spokane, there are a number of reputable dealers listed in the yellow pages under “Estates” who will be happy to help you get the right price for your things. Most will take care of all the details, including getting your things ready to sell. If you decide to have a professional help you with the pricing only and want to conduct the sale yourself, you might consider asking a local church youth group, or non-profit organization to pitch-in for a percentage of the profits. They might even sell refreshments or hold a car wash to boost their fund-raising.
Charities like Goodwill and Salvation Army will send a truck to pick up the remaining items. Good luck!