Its that time of year when we all start thinking about holiday entertaining. As a boy, I recall the visit to our basement in order to find the good china in my grandmothers cabinet and the silverware that we hid from thieves by burying pieces in various cedar chests. It was all brought out and cleaned in preparation for the run of dinners that began with Thanksgiving and continued with my birthday, my mothers birthday, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, New Years Eve and New Years day. As an adult, I have been to many a party and dinner at friends houses during this season, and I am always amazed at the incredible amount of work that goes into holiday food preparation. Conversely, and, yes, I am sounding like a bit of a snob, I also have been to those houses where we eat from paper plates or out of plasticware containers. I understand that we are all busy and folks dont have time for elaborate dinners, but, wow, can we maybe move beyond the least common denominator of a paper plate? Several week ago, I was out at a flea market and spotted a wonderful pair of trapezoidal shaped covered Limoges vegetable dishes. They came home with me because I could see them on either end of our turkey platter at the table. The sight of them got me thinking about succotash and mashed potatoes and all of that. It was a glowing memory of this season. Holiday dining is so tradition based. It is that point in the year when we can all hopefully find a point in our lives or maybe borrowed from a book where we reflect back on the past. It is roasted meat and winter veggies eaten with wood smoke or pine or potpourri in the air. I share all of this today because I think its important for those of us in the antiques world to share our love of the past with the future. My daughters love setting the table formally. They enjoy pulling all the treasures out as I did as a boy and using them to prepare for a feast. And those treasures dont have to be family heirlooms. They can be things purchased from dealers, shows, shops or at auctions. My old friend, auctioneer Ted Wiederseim, and I were talking the other week about silver and china. He commented there are so many bargains to be found today because so many young people have no idea about what they have inherited. Sadly, Ted was spot on. Somewhere in the TV dinner pre-packaged food world of the last 30 years, using such things has been lost. Maybe families stopped taking them out for the holidays, and the memories faded. So as we enter the holiday season, I encourage my friends and colleagues to dig out and enjoy their china and silver and crystal. And if you dont have any, then go to the closest dealer or auction and find some. Start a new tradition and bring back the wonderful formal dining of the past. Who knows, maybe the various food networks will start a series about it all! Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.