Oval plates, and why they show up in November
Two of the three dinner-plate runs here are oval rather than round. That is a Thanksgiving-specific shape: a round nine-inch plate runs out of edge once turkey, stuffing, potatoes and a roll are on it, while an oval of the same area gives the sides somewhere to sit without touching the gravy. If your table serves a full plate rather than a buffet, the oval is worth the small premium.
Guest towels are the fall sleeper
Two packs on this six-piece shelf are guest towels — the heavier, folded paper napkins meant for a bathroom counter or a buffet line. They cost a little more per sheet than a lunch napkin and they behave completely differently: they do not shred when wet and they stand up folded. For a house that has twenty people in it for six hours, they are the piece guests remember.
Heavy duty means something on this shelf
The fall dinner plates in this catalog are the heaviest paper stock the brand makes. That matters when a plate is holding a pound of food and someone is carrying it from a kitchen counter to a folding table in another room. Check the printed dimensions on each card rather than the word on the package — the size and the coating are the facts, the adjective is marketing.
Buying for a table that grows
Thanksgiving counts are the least predictable of the year, because the guest list changes twice in the last week. Buy for the largest plausible table and accept the leftovers: plain fall prints keep to next November without looking dated, unlike a print with a year on it.