What are some simple things you do to make a family meal just a little more special?

[CafeMom Team]

With all the day to day hustle and bustle going on in our lives, mealtimes are a great way to have some special one on one time with your family. 

We gave 25 moms Vanity Fair Everyday Napkins, Vanity Fair Everyday Plates and a $50 American Express gift card.  We asked them to use the napkins, plates and gift card for their everyday family meal situations - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, picnics, family bbq, etc. Then, we asked them to share their honest thoughts & opinions about Vanity Fair Everyday Napkins & Vanity Fair Everyday Plates with you. Check out this cool video and the comments on this post to see what they thought!

What are some simple things you do to make a family meal just a little more special?

>< The CafeMom Team

CafeMom gives moms an opportunity to try our advertisers' products. In return, we ask our moms to share their true experiences and honest opinions. To learn how you can be an influencer, click here.

[MichelleK41]

These were the BEST paper products I have ever used! Yes it was the first time our family had ever tried Vanity Fair paper products. We cooked fish, coleslaw and fries with a side of quesadillas and the Vanity Fair paper plates held it all! There was no leaky awkwardness, no flimsy holding and none of that bottom plate greasy look. The napkins seemed like an elegant wipe of the face! I actually also used the napkins to clean up spills and they were as absorbent as bounty!  We are a family of six and having these Vanity Fair products was a nice family add in to our weekend eating. I priced the Vanity Fair products and considering their absorbency and look of paper elegance, its worth the extra pennies. =)

[tramcd]

Hi, I am Tracy. I have a 3 and 4 year old and they love eating off disposable plates. I don't like them using them because when they carry them to the table with food or to throw away the plates they usually give and food ends up all over my floor. The Vanity plates were so sturdy feeling when I took them out of the package. The napkins felt so much thicker then what we are used to also. I used my $50 card to get the food we needed to eat on them like chicken, shells, cheese, meatballs, and much more. The first meal I tried them out for was lunch for the kids and me. I loved that I could put them in the microwave to heat up their lunches, so i didnt have extra dishes. The kids loved that I allowed them to carry them and they held up without being flimsy. Then I tested the plates and napkins out with one of my very messy dinners which is creamy chicken tacos. The tacos usually are dripping with liquid. The liquid just sat on the plate and didn't soak through at all. With the messy liquid you need a napkin too. I was surprised that the napkins didn't rip when I was wiping up the mess, and i only needed one napkin compared to my normal 2 to 3 in what I usually buy. We used the plates and napkins for several other meals and they worked great for all of them. I plan on using Vanity plates and napkins for all our get togethers, camping, and other occasions we use paper plates. I will post my pictures later when I can use my computer. Thanks Cafemom and Vanity for allowing me to try out the plates and napkins.

[dusky_rose]

Bumping for my review in the post before.

[StephanAndCoral]

Sorry this is late I recieved my package late Saturday 6/30/2012. video for this didn't work the camera needed to be charged but I have some pictures I will add to this at a later time. 

Hello from Southern Oregon! My name is Stephanie (StephanAndCoral), I have a great husband of 12 years named Shawn (my best friend of the last 18 years) and I am a sahm of 2 wonderful people. My son, Stephan, is 11 and my daughter, Coral, is 6. Thank you Vanity Fair and CafeMom for this influencer. We decided that being the weekend before the 4th of July we would have a BBQ. We really wanted to put these plates and napkins to the test so we invited our sister in law with her 2 children ages 5 and 3 for dinner. Our current plates just don't hold up especially without plate holders (which we never seem to have enough of). Our dinner consisted of BBQ Carne Asada, ears corn, baked beans, and watermelon. The Vanity Fair plates were thick and did not need a plate holder, they held plenty of food, had nice sides to them where the juices did not fall over the sides, and there was no leaks or soggy plates even when the plates were left for a bit while the kids continued playing. One of my nephews has a sensory disorder he cannot stand his hands to be dirty so we go through a lot of napkins to keep his hands clean we were so glad these napkins held up and only had to use 1 because of how durable they are. That right there won his mom over! We usually use paper plates for large gatherings or BBQ. Then we will use the remaining ones for kids lunches snacks, picnics or crafts. Stephan was surprised at how thick and durable the Vanity plates are but also light weight. everyone loved how they did not have to use a plate holder and the little kids loved being able to hold their own plates and that they did not drop any of their food ( the dogs didn't like this though lol). I love the Vanity Fair plates and napkins I am certain I will purchase the plates in the future especially when we know the food will be particularly messy :) 

did not get a picture in time for the whole watermelon the kids dug into it as I was setting it down lol

d

 my son Stephan.

[amy7243]

 I love reading all the reviews!!!

[Bmat]

Thank you for the reviews. I have also found vanity fair items to be sturdy and reliable.

Quoting dusky_rose:

Also waiting to receive my package. Will post my review here once I have a chance, thank you Cafemom!

Edit:  Hi ladies, Sue here, aka dusky_rose. I received my Vanity Fair napkins and plates on Friday, so I apologize for not being able to give my review sooner. This Sunday we were throwing a party for my youngest son David's 5th birthday, so we used some of the Vanity Fair napkins with the cake and ice cream we were serving (after having lunch at McDonald's). This was perfect timing because I had forgotten to buy napkins for the party. Here is my son blowing out the candles on his cake.

I found the napkins to be large, soft and of good quality. Here is a picture of the napkins and plates together.

Then for dinner, we had decided to grill some steaks that we had picked up on Saturday. I would have used my American Express gift card to purchase them, but the butcher shop that we had stopped at was a mom and pop operation and did not accept my card. So I will be saving my gift card for later grocery purchases. With our steaks I decided to microwave some baked potatoes and since the plates are microwavable, I wanted to put them to the test. These are medium sized potatoes before I microwaved them for 8 minutes on each side.

And here they are after microwaving. I think the plates passed my test.

My husband Shawn wanted to cut his steak (all of which got sadly overcooked) on a regular plate, but I decided to see how the plates hold up when cutting meat on the plate. So this is what I had on my plate.

I was sitting in a recliner while eating and cutting my steak and I have to say that these plates hold up really well, as you can see from my next picture there are only a few knife marks on my plate (after I cleaned it off with a napkin). I zoomed in on where the knife marks were so you can see that they did not break the surface of the plate at all.

I found these paper plates to be very sturdy and so did my husband and he was impressed with the quality of the napkins as well. I am thinking about taking these Vanity Fair everyday plates on our next camping trip in our home state of Washington state. We have never used this brand before, only a less expensive brand that requires plate holders to keep from getting a mess in your lap and they hardly held up, especially when cutting. I think with Vanity Fair everyday plates that plate holders would not even be necessary at all. These plates are the right size to hold our meals and it was so nice not to worry about having dishes to wash in the morning. Thanks again for letting us try these Vanity Fair products out. I'm going to look in the store the next time I am there to see how they are priced. It was a treat to use these plates and napkins, thanks!

[mrswillie]

Awh...I wasn't chosen.  We always try to eat as a family and do almost everyday.

[Bob192]

What a great idea!!  We really like Vanity Fair products, they are a good quality product!

[countrygirlkat]

Thank you for the detailed review.  I was shocked when you said that you were able to cut the steak on the plate and it held up.  I will definitely look into this brand for our next camping trip as well. 

Quoting dusky_rose:

Also waiting to receive my package. Will post my review here once I have a chance, thank you Cafemom!

Edit:  Hi ladies, Sue here, aka dusky_rose. I received my Vanity Fair napkins and plates on Friday, so I apologize for not being able to give my review sooner. This Sunday we were throwing a party for my youngest son David's 5th birthday, so we used some of the Vanity Fair napkins with the cake and ice cream we were serving (after having lunch at McDonald's). This was perfect timing because I had forgotten to buy napkins for the party. Here is my son blowing out the candles on his cake.

I found the napkins to be large, soft and of good quality. Here is a picture of the napkins and plates together.

Then for dinner, we had decided to grill some steaks that we had picked up on Saturday. I would have used my American Express gift card to purchase them, but the butcher shop that we had stopped at was a mom and pop operation and did not accept my card. So I will be saving my gift card for later grocery purchases. With our steaks I decided to microwave some baked potatoes and since the plates are microwavable, I wanted to put them to the test. These are medium sized potatoes before I microwaved them for 8 minutes on each side.

And here they are after microwaving. I think the plates passed my test.

My husband Shawn wanted to cut his steak (all of which got sadly overcooked) on a regular plate, but I decided to see how the plates hold up when cutting meat on the plate. So this is what I had on my plate.

I was sitting in a recliner while eating and cutting my steak and I have to say that these plates hold up really well, as you can see from my next picture there are only a few knife marks on my plate (after I cleaned it off with a napkin). I zoomed in on where the knife marks were so you can see that they did not break the surface of the plate at all.

I found these paper plates to be very sturdy and so did my husband and he was impressed with the quality of the napkins as well. I am thinking about taking these Vanity Fair everyday plates on our next camping trip in our home state of Washington state. We have never used this brand before, only a less expensive brand that requires plate holders to keep from getting a mess in your lap and they hardly held up, especially when cutting. I think with Vanity Fair everyday plates that plate holders would not even be necessary at all. These plates are the right size to hold our meals and it was so nice not to worry about having dishes to wash in the morning. Thanks again for letting us try these Vanity Fair products out. I'm going to look in the store the next time I am there to see how they are priced. It was a treat to use these plates and napkins, thanks!

[Madelaine]

Fun!  We use special plates and cups