On the Fourth Day of Christmas: a too-new vintage tablecloth

Last night I pulled out a new-to-me Christmas tablecloth and draped it across the dining room table.

I’m tempted to use some goofy eBay description like “perfect except for” or “nearly mint”, but it’s neither perfect or mint. The fabric isn’t crisp so it’s been washed at least once in the past, but boy, the gold areas have so much texture they’re almost crunchy.

I was surprised by the thickness of the gold bits…

The gold feels a bit like sandpaper

And the show stopping color.

What a red!

Ready to ring in the New Year, I guess, since these aren’t silver bells

And then I realized dinner involved tomato sauce and two small children under the age of seven.

Yes, I chickened out. It was my “too good to use” moment in a house where I’m usually so proud of using all my vintage stuff. (Maybe I should sell this one.)

So here’s what I did instead:

Modern jacquard holly with a newer Fire-King jadeite plate. The jadeite McKee tumbler, red-bordered napkin and felt napkin ring are all vintage.

And I’m the one that ended up dropping blobs of tomato sauce on the tablecloth!

Do you have things that are “too good to use”?