At West Elm Orange County’s Grand Opening Party (details coming tomorrow), I spotted these elegant and timeless gold-rimmed dinnerware sets  (along with gold flatware – swoon!) but as is with most things, I can’t afford what I love. So, I decided to do a little searching and remembered that Mumbles and I bought cases of plates, bowls and mugs for our wedding from Dollar Tree (seriously!) — we bought it all in light turquoise and a robin’s egg blue color so our tablescapes would look a little more festive against white wedding tablecloths…I just loved them! And, we kept them to use for parties and other gatherings, including Dr. T’s Love Birds Bridal Shower. Each item at Dollar Tree is just $1, and they were able to ship the cases to our local store for us to pick up, which was really convenient. [If you’d like to see some photos of our wedding, you can check them out here on Grey Likes Weddings (still one of my favorite sites even though I’m no longer a bride).]

So, imagine my delight when I saw that Dollar Tree has an affordable collection of gold-rimmed dinnerware that you can purchase just in time for holiday parties and meals! Of course, these classify as the “steal” in the “splurge vs. steal” scenario so you’re not getting porcelain like the West Elm collection; these are ceramic. But still! This is the type of dinnerware you’re not likely to use but for a few months out of the year, anyway, so it makes sense to go for the savings rather than spending a fortune to have it sit tucked away in a cupboard all lonely and sad.  And, FYI — you can order online, but must do so by the case with most items, usually meaning you’ll need to buy in multiples of 12.  I really love this set, though I haven’t seen it in person so I can’t comment on the quality.  They’ve even got tumblers and wine glasses – ahh!  Too much good stuff, I tell ya!

Dollar Tree Gold-Rimmed Dinnerware Collection

10.5 in. plates | Mugs | Bowls | Wine Glasses |  Tumblers

P.S. If you’re trying not to be all matchy-matchy, here’s what I’d do: splurge a little bit on some of these super festive and fun Kamal Snow Dots Salad Plates, which are on sale now at http://www.westelm.com for $32 for a set of four. You can layer these salad plates on top of the dinner plates to break up the monotony of the place setting.

Good plan? Thought so.

P.P.S.  I also found these splurge glasses at Anthropologie.