I almost gave up on celebrating my birthday this year.
Then, while scrolling through Instagram, I saw a video from the Toronto influencer Isabelle Heikens, who hosts a multicourse dinner at her home each month. Heikens — who has more than 300,000 followers — prepped for her “winter citrus-themed” dinner party by making basil-infused olive oil, gutting grapefruits, whisking eggs, and setting her table with elegant plates.
In a separate video, her guests enjoyed cocktails while Heikens put the final touches on the meal. They all sat around the table devouring the food as Heikens beamed with pride.
I was sold. For my birthday in March, I decided to host a three-course dinner at home and invited my closest friends. I would be the chef, and my husband would be the sous chef.
To set the mood, I needed place settings — but I was on a budget. I ended up thrifting a 61-piece set that I later discovered was worth close to $1,000. Here’s how it happened.
I was on the hunt for the perfect dinnerware
Fine china is a must to make my vision come true.
But with half a dozen guests to feed, I couldn’t splurge on high-end dinnerware. I decided to visit Thrift Giant, a secondhand store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, hoping to find affordable pieces that would work beautifully together.
Thrift Giant was overflowing with pre-loved clothing, furniture, and electronics. Dishware made up the smallest section of the store, so I wasn’t expecting much. To my surprise, I hit the jackpot.
On a dusty bottom shelf, I found two bundles with 61 pieces of porcelain bone china, each stamped with “Oxford” on the bottom. Each bundle was $29.92.
The collection included 11 dinner plates, 12 salad plates, 12 bread and butter plates, 12 teacups with saucers, and a vegetable bowl with an attached underplate. The total cost at checkout was just $64.78 after tax.
I later learned that Oxford was a division of the Lenox Corporation that produced fine china from the late 1920s to the early 1990s.
I found pieces with my exact pattern, called Spring, on Replacements, a North Carolina-based online marketplace for fine china, crystal, silverware, and collectibles, both still in production and retired.
On Replacements, each dinner plate was $24, salad plates $14, bread and butter plates $10, teacups with saucers $10, the vegetable bowl $80, and the gravy boat with an underplate $190. Overall, my thrifted set seemed to be valued at about $950.
What’s more, the items I saw on Replacements were discounted by 25% because of imperfections — so it appears the set may actually be worth even more.
I’m not the only millennial into thrifting and dinner parties
Let my millennial friends and I be the first to tell you: The dinner party is making a comeback — and I’m not talking about potlucks.
Instagram and TikTok are filled with pictures and videos of everyday people and content creators — including Heikens and another influencer, Olivia McDowell, who has nearly 200,000 followers —sharing their chic culinary soirees and offering tips on hosting a flawless event.
The interest in entertaining has, in turn, revived interest in fine china, which was once reserved for the upper class but is now more accessible thanks to thrift stores, estate sales, and vintage shops. It coincides with a broader cultural shift toward nostalgia and secondhand shopping as Gen Z and millennials move away from fast fashion and overconsumption in favor of a more sustainable, timeless style.
May Eason, the founder of the Facebook group Beautiful Table Settings, which has more than 263,000 members, told the food and drink publication Eater in 2022 that the affection for vintage china is also simply about the love of sharing beautiful things.
“You’re doing this for your family and your friends, so you want to make your table presentable and pretty,” Eason said. “And it’s fun to play with it. I think younger people are finally realizing you can change it up.”
I completely agree.
I wanted everything to be flawless
While I’ve hosted dinners before, I had never put together an evening as curated as the ones Heikens throws.
I spent hours researching ideas on social media, screenshotting everything that caught my eye — from overflowing tablescapes filled with serving platters and colorful drinks to the perfect playlist.
At the time, my husband and I only had a couple of chairs, so we rented extras. I visited Home Goods or Anthropologie to find tablecloths and napkins.
To further enhance the evening’s vibe, I also purchased stylish drinking glasses from another thrift shop and bought fabric to drape along the walls.
I found Poco Grande glasses, martini glasses, grappa glasses, coupe glasses, café au lait glasses, milkshake glasses, and more, all priced from $0.95 to $2.99. I also scored a cake stand, serving platters, and bowls — each under $10. I walked away with a total of 30 pieces for just $100.
Altogether, including the china set, I spent only $168 on dinnerware for my party, far less than I expected. That left plenty of room in my budget of under $800 for groceries and decorations — and even a new outfit, too.
The evening was exquisite
In all, I managed to put together a lovely evening at what I consider to be a fraction of the cost.
The wine was the most expensive single item I splurged on. Everything else was thrifted, gifted, or lovingly arranged by my florist friend.
All evening, my guests commented that the setup looked straight out of an interior design magazine —something you’d expect to see in House Beautiful or Better Homes & Gardens, not in my Dallas apartment.
My birthday was such a hit that I’m already planning a Halloween party. My friends are expecting nothing less than another standout night, so I’m thinking of ways to outdo myself. I definitely foresee more treasure hunting at my favorite thrift and antique spots.
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