Christmas Plates: A Tradition That Keeps Giving
Since Bing & Groendahl released the world's first Christmas plate in 1895, these artworks have been a staple part of the Christmas tradition in many homes. A tradition proudly passed down from generation to generation, with plates that not only decorate during the Christmas season but also tell stories from the past. Among the many motifs, you will find everything from classic snow-covered scenes and Christmas trees to more innovative and abstract designs that suit every taste and decor.
Christmas plates can add a personal and charming touch to your home's Christmas decorations, and with each plate's unique story and design, they invite coziness and conversations. - The earlier you start decorating, the more joy and anticipation it can create!
The Past's Glory in Today's Spaces: Vintage Christmas Plates in Fresh Surroundings
Christmas plates from previous years, often only available secondhand, add a special charm and story to the home. When you mix these cherished plates with your contemporary Christmas decorations, a unique bridge is created between past Christmases and the modern holiday season. - This bridge might be the very reason why it has become so trendy to decorate with retro elements in modern interiors.
Christmas plates have found their way back into many homes and are used both as beautiful decoration and for various everyday tasks. Whether you mix and match across the many brands with different motifs or want to collect a specific series of Christmas plates, you can find a huge selection here on the site.
What can you use Christmas plates for?
Christmas plates are not just beautiful to look at; they are a way to add a very special and personal Christmas touch to your home. Imagine an elegant Christmas plate decorating the wall, or a collection of carefully selected plates with Christmas motifs beautifully arranged on a shelf.
Besides their role as Christmas decoration, Christmas plates can also have a practical function in the home. Place a beautiful Christmas plate on the table as part of your Christmas decor, where it can serve as a bowl for small items like keys and jewelry, or use them as serving trays for the season's delicacies in a way that is both elegant and inviting. - A Christmas plate can indeed elevate the presentation of everything from cookies to rice pudding and pickled herring, creating an atmospheric and stylish frame around Christmas coziness.
Can you eat from Christmas plates?
There are actually many Christmas plates that you can eat from! - Most of the blue-painted plates are made with the underglaze method, which means they can be used as regular plates for eating. This applies, for example, to Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates, Bing & Groendahl Christmas plates, Desiree Christmas plates, Gustavberg Christmas plates, Rörstrand Christmas plates and Jenny Nyström's Christmas plates.
However, if your plate has a motif printed on the surface, you should not use it for eating. This means colorful printed motifs that are printed on top of the finished plate and line drawings also printed on the surface of the plate. These release colorants to the food and should therefore not be used for eating.
Give Christmas plates new life!
Use them for a new cake stand or tiered trays and arrange everything from sushi and tapas to homemade baked goods and fruit! - At DPH – Danish Porcelain House, we specialize in transforming old and new plates into modern and unique stands.
We have both finished cake stands and fittings so you can make stands yourself, as well as lots of plates you can buy if you don't already have any or are missing one or two. - And remember, only imagination sets limits!
Famous manufacturers of Christmas plates
When talking about Christmas plates, there are particularly three Danish manufacturers who have made a significant impact on the tradition. Their series cover more than 100 years of Christmas plate history and include thousands of different motifs, which are now collected by enthusiasts worldwide.
Bing & Groendahl Christmas plates
Bing & Groendahl laid the foundation for the Christmas plate tradition when the factory launched the world's first Christmas plate in 1895. The series quickly became popular, and the annual releases have become one of the longest-running plate series ever.
Bing & Groendahl Christmas plates are especially known for their detailed motifs and their characteristic blue colors, which over the years have become a hallmark of classic Danish Christmas plates.
Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates
Royal Copenhagen followed with its first Christmas plate in 1908. Since then, a new Christmas plate has been released every year, and the series is today among the most sought after in Danish porcelain.
Although the classic blue Christmas plates remain the most well-known, Royal Copenhagen has several times introduced alternative series and motifs. Among others, the colorful series Christmas in Denmark was launched as a different supplement to the traditional Christmas plates.
Desiree Christmas plates
When Desiree launched its first Christmas plates in 1970, interest in collector plates was at its peak. The factory chose a different direction than many competitors and let Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales form the basis for many of the motifs.
It is precisely the combination of Danish porcelain and classic fairy tales that has made Desiree Christmas plates a popular choice among many collectors.
Many others have also produced Christmas plates
Although Bing & Groendahl, Royal Copenhagen, and Desiree are the most well-known names, there are many other producers of Christmas plates.
Also, Aluminia has produced a series of beautiful Christmas plates in faience. Likewise, Tove Svendsen, Scan Lekven Design, Bucha and Nissen, and Egemose.
Among foreign producers who have released Christmas plates, can be mentioned the English Wedgwood, the German Hutschenreuther, Bareuther, Tettau, and Rosenthal, the Swedish Rörstrand and Jenny Nyström, the Norwegian Porsgrund, and the Finnish Arabia, as well as Noritake Japanese Christmas plates.
This means that collectors today can choose from a very wide range of Christmas plates – from the classic Danish blue plates to colorful and more modern interpretations of the Christmas motif.
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