Essential serving ware for dinner parties

If you like entertaining and love to have dinner parties like me, I am sure you will agree that good serving ware is essential to have for a successful dinner party. I always look out for new serving plates. My best tip is to select a few pieces that you know will always come handy and you will use often. Another tip is to buy timeless pieces that can go well with different sets of plates and glassware. But they don't need to cost a lot, rather choose pieces that will give great value for the price. Personally I like to buy serving ware in white as it goes with everything really. I have chosen pieces that are oval shape as well as square. This will give a nice variety to choose from depending on what I serve. My favorite places to find a good bargain for serving ware are second hand shops and car boot sales. I have made some of my best deals here, how about 2 £ for 2 big serving bowl each, or 1,50 £ for a big oval shape serving platter. Not bad right?! 

But you can also make great deals in various department or retail stores, especially during sales. My latest buy comes from Wilko, where a I bought several serving pieces from their White Collection. I have to say that they are very good and come handy for everything really. I bought almost 5-8 pieces and all came up to 35 £ (which is generally the price for one piece in a nicer department store). This is a selection of what I bought:

To help you a little when it comes to choosing serving ware, I have done a list of serving ware that I think is worth investing in:

1. Serving platter and trays, as they are versatile and can be used for many things such as serving rice, fish, potatoes, starters, deserts, cookies and cakes
2. Serving bowls, for soups, stews, fruit, nuts, candies and sweets, pasta, vegetables or a nice salad
3. Serving utensils, for soups, rice, pasta, cakes
4. Jug for water or juice
5. Condiment set for dips and side dishes

I hope this will help you a little next time you have a dinner party. Have fun when choosing your serving ware, but make sure you keep in mind where to store them. I have a special designated compartment in my book case in the dining area for my serving ware as they are too big to keep in my small kitchen :)